Tag: math

18 February 2015

February 18th, 2015

Dear Probabalistic Thinkers,

There are very few certainties in life. Everything else is based on probability. Even some things that seem like certainties are really only probabalities that are extremely likely.

Every choice you make in your life will be based on probability. What should I wear today? Is it going to rain? Will it snow? Will the sun come out behind those clouds? What kind of car should I buy? Which classes should I take in high school and in college? Who should I become friends with?

Learning to think probabalistically is difficult. Our brains weren’t designed that way. But like almost everything, it’s something we can learn to do. But it isn’t easy.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck
January 15, 2013

January 15th, 2013

Dear Problem Solvers,

Math really is only about solving problems. We often use numbers to solve those problems because they let us do it more efficiently, but we could solve almost any problem by drawing a picture. Many times, such a picture takes a very, very long time to create, so numbers are more efficient, but the job of math is solving problems.

You’ve been solving problems your whole life. In many cases, you probably used math to solve these problems and didn’t even know it. Our goal in math class is to give you the tools to solve problems more efficiently and more creatively. And after you get practice solving problems, you start making up problems of our own to which math is almost perfectly suited to solve.

We’ll spend a lot of time the rest of this year thinking of problems, solving problems, and talking about our mathematical methods of doing so.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck
December 17, 2012

December 17th, 2012

Dear Math Thinkers,

I’m sure you all heard about the terrible events in Connecticut on Friday. You might be sad, confused, and a little scared to come to school today–I know I am. But thinking like mathematicians might make us a feel a little bit safer and feel a whole lot better about the world.

There are over 100,000 schools in the United States with over 70 millions students in them. In recent years, the number of violent deaths at schools has been between 11 and 49 students. That’s out of 70 million. If you put that fraction on our Probability Meter, it would be so close to zero that you couldn’t even see it. The chance that any one school will have a school shooting is almost zero. The chance that any one student will die in a school shooting is extremely close to zero.

Anytime there’s a risk, however, we prepare ourselves for it. We practice our drills, keep our eyes open, and practice safety at school, so if the unthinkable ever happens, we’re prepared. And we do our best to prevent future tragedies like this from happening.

But we don’t live in fear.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck
October 4, 2012

October 3rd, 2012

Dear Woodshedders,

Woodsheddin’ is a term musicians use to describe the type of dedicated, independent, and intense practice that being great at a musical instrument requires. I know I’ve spent many hours woodsheddin’ on my guitar. In those hours of practice, my fingers grew stronger, my mind saw patterns on the fretboard, and my ears heard new sounds that I didn’t previously think possible.

To be great at anything requires intense practice. Yesterday, we practiced our multiplication algorithm. We’ll continue that today. To become proficient at these algorithms, you have to spend lots of time doing problems over and over. I can show you the process. I can coach you through the process. I can even show you cool new processes that might better fit your mind (we’ll learn the Egyptian method today). But I can’t do the practice for you. You have to put in the work. And if you do, you will get the rewards.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck
September 27, 2012

September 26th, 2012

Dear Innovators,

I saw on the news that California just allowed driverless cars on the roads. That makes it the third state in the country to do so. Can you imagine driving down the road and seeing a car being driving by no one? In just a few years, I think that will be a common sight.

Nowadays, computers and machines do a lot for us, but those computers and machines can only follow instructions humans give them. In the past, humans measured their skills by how well they could handle tools. Now, we measure our skills by how well we can give instructions to those tools. Computers and machines can do amazing things–things we never before thought possible–but we need smart and ingenious designers and programmers to imagine those things. I hope that many of you in this room will be those people.

In order to do that, however, you must have a strong foundation in math and science. That doesn’t mean you have to memorize every single concept we cover in math class, but it does mean that you have to learn to think mathematically. Machines speak in numbers, so you have to have a strong foundation in how numbers work so you can tell those machines all the world-changing things you want them to do.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck
August 28, 2012

August 27th, 2012

Dear Musicians,

Today, we’ll go to a concert and you’ll get the opportunity to hear and choose an instrument. I encourage each of you to take up an instrument or join the choir. Music is a gift that will last your entire life. No matter how many hours you spend practicing, there’s always more you can learn. I’ve played the guitar for 15 years, and I still learn something new everyday.

Music is also a great place to practice the skills we’re learning in class. Because math and music both deal with patterns, they are very similar. When practicing the trumpet (or whatever instrument you choose) you’ll also be practicing fractions and arithmetic and many other mathematical concepts.

Most of all, taking up an instrument or joining the choir will teach you that success and greatness are only achieved through hard work. The greatest musicians in the world got that way by spending tens of thousands of hours practicing. You can still enjoy playing an instrument without being the greatest in the world, but the hard work and dedication offers many rewards.

Play on!

Mr. Heimbuck
27 September 2011

September 27th, 2011

Dear Statisticians,

Numbers become data when we collect them and analyze them. For our data to be good, we have to go about collecting it in accurate, reliable, and precise ways. For our data to be meaningful, we have to use it to draw conclusions. The world is full of data. Some of it is good, some of it is bad. Some of it is reliable, some of it is not. Your job is to find the good data, analyze it for meaning, and use it to say something true about the world.

One tool for analyzing data is landmarks: median, maximum, minimum, range, mode, and mean. These landmarks help us make sense of data. Today we’ll collect data, organize data, and analyze data using landmarks. Then, we’ll use it to try to say something true about the world.

Sincerely,

Mr. H
26 September 2011

September 26th, 2011

Dear Problem Solvers,

When we do math, we’re learning how to think. More importantly, we’re learning how to solve problems. In the “real world,” no one actually does arithmetic, but those who know how to are better at solving problems because they’ve had lots of practice and they have a powerful method for doing so.

You’re going to have to solve problems every day of your life, numerous times, almost constantly. What should I believe? What is true? What is the good life? What kind of toothpaste should I buy? Those are the types of philosophical problems that math prepares us to tackle in analytic and truthful ways.

So when you’re doing your math today, spend less time worrying about your answers and more time thinking about your thinking. The most important thing you learn from math can’t be written on the other side of an equal sign. It’s in your head.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck