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Big Think - We Are What You Think - 5 views

www.bigthink.com

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shared by ty frederickson on 02 Dec 12 - Cached

Assignment! - 51 views

Keep Your Head - Article Response Of what value are emotions in the learning process? Emotions affect the way we interpret a lot of things and the way take information into account. However essenti...

started by ty frederickson on 17 Mar 13 16 follow-ups, last by Shubham Parashar on 10 Apr 13

Fractals at the Heart of African (Community and Art) Design - 6 views

www.ted.com/...glash_on_african_fractals.html

shared by ty frederickson on 22 Oct 13 - Cached

Amal Waqar on 26 Oct 13

I found this argument and concept very exciting. I've always been passionate and interested in learning and developing understanding of different cultures, and what different cultures find sacred. In the two main cultures I was raised in (American and Omani), mathematics plays an important role in education and careers. It had never occurred to me that individuals around the world could view mathematics in a religious and holy light. The Bamana priests found their sand divinations so sacred that they wouldn't share their "secrets" with Eglash. Only his initiation into Bamana priesthood allowed him access to the secrets. The fact that the Bamana priests guarded their divinations so much demonstrates the significance they believe mathematics has, and correlates with the spiritual qualities they believe mathematics to have. While this belief of math having divine qualities is new to me, it has been recurrent in mathematical history. Funnily enough, it sounds like Cantor believed himself to be a "mathematical prophet". Whether we believe his claim to be true or not, he also considered math a divine matter, and provided us with mathematical concepts that have come to shape our technology-driven, modern world. I've struggled with math as an academic subject, consistently viewing it as something that "needs to be done" rather than something that is fascinating and representative of culture and identity. What Eglash is doing by connecting individuals with their "mathematical cultural heritage" is inspiring. It is providing a new backdrop for mathematical education and is (I believe) fundamental to developing deeper understandings of mathematics in cultures.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">I found this argument and concept very exciting. I've always been passionate and interested in learning and developing understanding of different cultures, and what different cultures find sacred. In the two main cultures I was raised in (American and Omani), mathematics plays an important role in education and careers. It had never occurred to me that individuals around the world could view mathematics in a religious and holy light. The Bamana priests found their sand divinations so sacred that they wouldn't share their "secrets" with Eglash. Only his initiation into Bamana priesthood allowed him access to the secrets. The fact that the Bamana priests guarded their divinations so much demonstrates the significance they believe mathematics has, and correlates with the spiritual qualities they believe mathematics to have. While this belief of math having divine qualities is new to me, it has been recurrent in mathematical history. Funnily enough, it sounds like Cantor believed himself to be a "mathematical prophet". Whether we believe his claim to be true or not, he also considered math a divine matter, and provided us with mathematical concepts that have come to shape our technology-driven, modern world. I've struggled with math as an academic subject, consistently viewing it as something that "needs to be done" rather than something that is fascinating and representative of culture and identity. What Eglash is doing by connecting individuals with their "mathematical cultural heritage" is inspiring. It is providing a new backdrop for mathematical education and is (I believe) fundamental to developing deeper understandings of mathematics in cultures.</div>

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Himesh Settinayake on 26 Oct 13

I found this video interesting because it reminded me of the golden spirals I believe they were called, and how they could often be found all around us such as in the simple patterns in the petals of a flower. Personally, this made me think about where else in the world, whether man made or natural, that different forms of mathematics can be found. Referring to Jean-Baptiste Michel's "The Mathematics of History", there is even a simple mathematical proportionality that can be found in the regularizing of verbs over a period of time. So then, can we use mathematics to derive any other lingering mysteries in the world, such as the proportionality of an empire's size to its period of reign? How reliable will this strand of 'historical' mathematics be? In Ron Eglash's "The Fractals at the Heart of African Designs", can it be proven that the African tribes were whole-heartedly attempting to create fractal patterns, or were they simply trying to create patterns that satisfied aesthetically? In that sense, we can never know what the tribesmen and women of the time were thinking, or whether they were even conscious of such beautiful fractal patterns. In my opinion, it would be interesting if one could personally question one of the tribesmen who designed such patterns in order to determine their thought processes. Perhaps there is a deeper, more fundamental meaning to these recurring fractal patterns in the architecture in these African places that we have yet to understand.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">I found this video interesting because it reminded me of the golden spirals I believe they were called, and how they could often be found all around us such as in the simple patterns in the petals of a flower. Personally, this made me think about where else in the world, whether man made or natural, that different forms of mathematics can be found. Referring to Jean-Baptiste Michel's "The Mathematics of History", there is even a simple mathematical proportionality that can be found in the regularizing of verbs over a period of time. So then, can we use mathematics to derive any other lingering mysteries in the world, such as the proportionality of an empire's size to its period of reign? How reliable will this strand of 'historical' mathematics be? In Ron Eglash's "The Fractals at the Heart of African Designs", can it be proven that the African tribes were whole-heartedly attempting to create fractal patterns, or were they simply trying to create patterns that satisfied aesthetically? In that sense, we can never know what the tribesmen and women of the time were thinking, or whether they were even conscious of such beautiful fractal patterns. In my opinion, it would be interesting if one could personally question one of the tribesmen who designed such patterns in order to determine their thought processes. Perhaps there is a deeper, more fundamental meaning to these recurring fractal patterns in the architecture in these African places that we have yet to understand.</div>

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Mariko Makhmutova on 26 Oct 13

Ron Eglash's talk about fractal patterns in African villages was very intriguing. The perspective that people in Africa are not educated seems even more bizarre after finding out about some of these patterns. Eglash mentioned something about knowing things about mathematical fractals because of algorithms that were applied for practical purposes. I find it to be rather interesting that in seemingly developed communities, we learn mathematics and then we create ways to apply it. However, in these villages, the people are posed with problems and then they use mathematics to solve them. I wonder how this approach changes the different societies' perspectives on mathematics. We often hear students complaining about how 'finding x won't help them in the future', but if people were presented with practical issues that were only solvable by maths, maybe their perspective would change. Another thing that I found to be fascinating was the almost subconscious mathematical relationship between the length of the straw and the strength of the wind in the windscreen example. It would be interesting to see what practical mathematical relationships other cultures have established.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Ron Eglash's talk about fractal patterns in African villages was very intriguing. The perspective that people in Africa are not educated seems even more bizarre after finding out about some of these patterns. Eglash mentioned something about knowing things about mathematical fractals because of algorithms that were applied for practical purposes. I find it to be rather interesting that in seemingly developed communities, we learn mathematics and then we create ways to apply it. However, in these villages, the people are posed with problems and then they use mathematics to solve them. I wonder how this approach changes the different societies' perspectives on mathematics. We often hear students complaining about how 'finding x won't help them in the future', but if people were presented with practical issues that were only solvable by maths, maybe their perspective would change. Another thing that I found to be fascinating was the almost subconscious mathematical relationship between the length of the straw and the strength of the wind in the windscreen example. It would be interesting to see what practical mathematical relationships other cultures have established.</div>

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Yukiko Saito on 26 Oct 13

What I thought was interesting was that he brought up that mathematics is in nature and it is there consciously however we are unconscious about it. All the examples from Africa explains mathematics in real life and in their culture however they do not take it as "mathematics", they just do it. They know about the mathematics that goes into the process though Englash went back the process to see the mathematics in it. This was interesting people with more developed technology goes back to understand the mathematics behind what people in Africa do in their daily life. I never thought mathematics can connect to nature or some people's daily life. To me, mathematics seemed very abstract and I just couldn't see it connecting with mathematics because I believed things that happens in nature are more spontaneous and without any particular patterns. Now I think I understand when people say "we need mathematics for everything" and "we cannot live without mathematics", though we need most subjects that we learn in school. We tend to just think about a subject in the particular class room when we should paying more attention outside of class to see how it connects to us and how most things in life is from what we learn in school.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">What I thought was interesting was that he brought up that mathematics is in nature and it is there consciously however we are unconscious about it. All the examples from Africa explains mathematics in real life and in their culture however they do not take it as "mathematics", they just do it. They know about the mathematics that goes into the process though Englash went back the process to see the mathematics in it. This was interesting people with more developed technology goes back to understand the mathematics behind what people in Africa do in their daily life. I never thought mathematics can connect to nature or some people's daily life. To me, mathematics seemed very abstract and I just couldn't see it connecting with mathematics because I believed things that happens in nature are more spontaneous and without any particular patterns. Now I think I understand when people say "we need mathematics for everything" and "we cannot live without mathematics", though we need most subjects that we learn in school. We tend to just think about a subject in the particular class room when we should paying more attention outside of class to see how it connects to us and how most things in life is from what we learn in school.</div>

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Maha Kabir on 29 Oct 13

I found this TED Talk very interesting, and after watching this and especially after today's TOK class, I am starting to realize the mathematical concepts in different situations and environments around me. One things that Mr Eglash said that really intrigued me was the function of the fractals in the villages of Cameroon. He explained and showed a diagram illustrating how the houses in a village all circle the leader's home in the middle, who is in the middle of his family within the bigger circle. Even the houses on the outside are surrounded by other houses in a circle, and I found the reason behind this mathematical layout very interesting. Eglash explained how when people went deeper and deeper in the cirles, they had to be more polite and respectful. Also the more important people were in the centre of the circles. These two factors highlight how mathematics is used as a form of representing social hierarchy/discrimination, as social class and importance in the society is reflected through one's position in the multiple fractals. Also, another thing that I found interesting goes back to a central debate we discussed in class: was mathematics invented or discovered? Eglash told us how the people in these various African tribes had told him that they had not known what fractals were, they had just shaped their villages this way because they looked attractive and interesting, and in my opinion fulfilled their social representational needs. But we have made something out of shapes within shapes, we have given thm names, applications and intellectual importance. But these African villages have given them applications and importance as well, without even knowing what they were. But a question arises: do we even know what they are? We have given them meaning through our interpretations and perceptions, but how can we know whether 'our' fractionals are the same as 'their' fractionals? Do we need to mathematically understand what something is in order to find it useful

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">I found this TED Talk very interesting, and after watching this and especially after today's TOK class, I am starting to realize the mathematical concepts in different situations and environments around me. One things that Mr Eglash said that really intrigued me was the function of the fractals in the villages of Cameroon. He explained and showed a diagram illustrating how the houses in a village all circle the leader's home in the middle, who is in the middle of his family within the bigger circle. Even the houses on the outside are surrounded by other houses in a circle, and I found the reason behind this mathematical layout very interesting. Eglash explained how when people went deeper and deeper in the cirles, they had to be more polite and respectful. Also the more important people were in the centre of the circles. These two factors highlight how mathematics is used as a form of representing social hierarchy/discrimination, as social class and importance in the society is reflected through one's position in the multiple fractals. Also, another thing that I found interesting goes back to a central debate we discussed in class: was mathematics invented or discovered? Eglash told us how the people in these various African tribes had told him that they had not known what fractals were, they had just shaped their villages this way because they looked attractive and interesting, and in my opinion fulfilled their social representational needs. But we have made something out of shapes within shapes, we have given thm names, applications and intellectual importance. But these African villages have given them applications and importance as well, without even knowing what they were. But a question arises: do we even know what they are? We have given them meaning through our interpretations and perceptions, but how can we know whether 'our' fractionals are the same as 'their' fractionals? Do we need to mathematically understand what something is in order to find it useful</div>

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