Mathematical terminology and notation through a linguistic lens Introduction The first time I attended graduate school was for Linguistics. My first year, I taught English as a Second Language. My most resistant students were Mathematics majors, because many of them held the opinion that mathematics is a universal language. Why bother getting fluent in English?…
Month: May 2021
Keeping, Changing, Flipping
Consider the following task: \[1.\quad \text{Simplify the expression }\frac{3}{4}\div\frac{2}{5}.\] It is very common for students to struggle with this sort of task. A common teaching approach is “Keep Change Flip,” but too often that’s presented as a mechanical trick without any deeper understanding of why it works. In proper mathematical language, “Keep Change Flip” translates…
Like a Butterfly
lentement, doucement, comme un papillon contre le vent you reminded me to breathe because i’d forgotten i’d inhaled once then held it inside to bound around and pollute my soul i didn’t want to exhale because i was afraid the toxins would strangle the world my father had told me to keep the demons deep…