Presentation
The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics
Rose-Hulman Symposium
(2000)
Abstract
Every faculty member at Rose-Hulman, upon reaching the status of tenured full professor, is invited to make a presentation to his or her colleagues, at the opening symposium of the school. The presentation gives the faculty member an opportunity to give their spin on what is important for them and their profession. I chose to share with my colleagues the "unreasonable" effectiveness of mathematics as:
- a creative problem-solving tool, both in mathematics and a variety of disciplines,
- as a common language and system for conceptualization, both in mathematics and a variety of disciplines,
and that
- that the computer has made this effectiveness even stronger, and
- that the effectiveness is also coming in many areas outside the traditional calculus based applications in engineering and science.
These points were illustrated through a series of examples. Then the implications (as personal opinion!!) of this were presented:
- implications for faculty development and recruitment,
- implications for curriculum content and teaching style, and
implications for the development of the major.
Keywords
- effectiveness of mathematics
Disciplines
Publication Date
September 25, 2000
Location
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, IN
Citation Information
Sean A Broughton. "The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics" Rose-Hulman Symposium (2000) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/allen_broughton/91/
Creative Commons License
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