Agreed: a special keyboard would not work, but how about TeX producing
the mathematical notation you'd like?
You'd type the TeX, and it could replace the TeX with the MN. Then,
if you needed to edit the MN, you'd double click on it to add/remove
the TeX script. Having an edit/view mode has worked find in other
contexts.
I'm not a TeX expert, but judging from all the books that use it
successfully, I think you could create the beautiful and succinct
notation you see in the books.
AND, you could send it to me (email, web page, blog, wiki, ..) so that
I could enjoy it too!
-- Owen
On Jul 1, 2009, at 4:50 PM, Frank Wimberly wrote:
I am reading Spivak's book(s) on differential geometry (there are 5
volumes). This includes topics like vector bundles, tensors, Lie
groups,
Riemannian metrics and de Rahm cohomology. I find the notation to be
beautiful and succinct and I think it would be very difficult to
treat those
topics with only the symbols on a standard keyboard. Obviously TeX
or other
tools can convert such symbols to the elegant notation but...
Frank
-----Original Message-----
From: discuss-boun...@lists.sfcomplex.org
[mailto:discuss-boun...@lists.sfcomplex.org] On Behalf Of Joseph Traub
Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 8:20 PM
To: Owen Densmore; friam@redfish.com
Cc: Joseph Traub; disc...@lists.sfcomplex.org
Subject: [sfx: Discuss] [FRIAM] Arthur Benjamin's formula for
changing math
education | Video on TED.com
Owen,
I find nothing to argue with in Benjamin's talk. He says that students
studying economics, science, engineering, or math should learn
calculus
but that it may not be needed by other students who should study
probability and statistics.
However, I don't understand your comment that math notation is the
roman
numerals of our times. Which branch of math do you have in mind?
Certainly
not calculus, where, as you know, we use Leibniz's elegant notation.
I also don't follow your comment about discrete versus continuous.
Among theoretical computer scientists, people who want to understand
the power of the computer and questions such as P vs NP study discrete
problems whereas people like me who want to solve problems
coming from, say, physics or computational finance think about solving
continuous problems such as path integration.
Best, Joe
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Joseph F. Traub, Edwin Howard Armstrong Professor of Computer
Science
and External Professor, Santa Fe Institute
tr...@cs.columbia.edu http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~traub
Phone: (212) 939-7013 Messages: (212) 939-7000 Fax: (212)
666-0140
Columbia University
Computer Science Department
1214 Amsterdam Avenue, MC0401
New York, NY 10027
USA
Administrative Assistant: Sophie Majewski
sop...@cs.columbia.edu (212)939-7023
**************************************************************
From: Owen Densmore <o...@backspaces.net>
Date: June 29, 2009 12:07:14 PM MDT
To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group
<friam@redfish.com>,
General topics & issues <disc...@lists.sfcomplex.org>
Subject: [FRIAM] Arthur Benjamin's formula for changing math
education |
Video on TED.com
Reply-To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group
<friam@redfish.com>
This is kinda cool and less than 3 minutes long!
http://www.ted.com/talks/arthur_benjamin_s_formula_for_changing_math_educati
on.h
tml
The thesis is a different spin on my claim that modern Math
Notation (MN)
is
the roman numerals of our times. Arthur Benjamin clearly explains
that statistics and probability should be the "pinnacle" of our
basic
math
education, not calculus. His reasoning includes the discrete vs
continuous
argument that resonates with my MN vs Algorithm (or MN vs script)
concern,
which I'd love to see resolved in a parsable reworking of MN.
-- Owen
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