Assignment #1 Reflection

The first assignment was an interesting one for my group as we had no previous knowledge on the history of Pythagorean Triples and how far back they dated (1800s); furthermore, seeing what the Babylonian's were able to do with Pythagorean triples was quite interesting as it is a very sophisticated topic for their time. I personally found it quite interesting to see the tablets Babylonians were working on and just how different our world is compared to there's including simple things like writing on manufactured paper vs clay. 

My group was tasked with seeing how many potential solutions there were to our given problem, as we had no prior knowledge of the subject and how to tackle this we decided to use a form of brute force to find the solution. We decided to pick numbers for x etc. and solve for n and then apply the given number to the remaining numbers. Though this may not have been the most efficient method we were able to come up with the solution that we were able to back solve using excel after. I found this quite interesting as the Babylonians must have spent a significant period of time studying this concept something that is often over looked in todays classrooms. 

I also found it difficult for our group to decide on how best to teach this topic as none of us are in the education program and have no prior knowledge of teaching math (though I have taught snowboarding to children before). I found it interesting to see everyone's presentations and how they differed and have a new appreciation for how difficult it must be to come up with whole lesson plans that are engaging and thoughtful. 

Dancing Euclidean Proofs

 The Dancing Euclidean Proofs article was extremely interesting article and I found the discussion of the relationship between humanizing mathematics through dance fascinating and the video definitely assisted in creating that visual. In all honestly I wasn't very familiar with arts-based mathematics learning in any form but after reading about it in the article it makes logical sense as we obviously don't all learn in the same format and some are much more visual learners. I also found it interesting how easily Euclid's proofs lend themselves to dance as I always thought of geometry as visual in nature as I remember building cubes, triangles, etc. throughout school in order to better understand the concept.  I also found it interesting how the artists utilized the sand on the beach to draw these geometric shapes while dancing almost like a teachers whiteboard in a classroom but rather using the earth. 

Euclid

 

Euclid is considered the founding father of geometry in relation to his work in the textbook "Elements" which was used to teach math (specifically geometry) for a significant period of time. Although Euclid did not discover every aspect of geometry he was one of the first individuals to put the theory into a textbook for it to be taught further. 

When reading the poem by Edna I feel she is referencing how Euclid's mathematical findings had significant beauty and was admiring his work. I believe when she references "while they stare at nothing" is showing how individuals were viewing geometry prior to Euclid's discovering's and then she says "heroes seek release from dusty bondage into luminous air" perhaps referencing how free we became when Euclid published his findings as we now knew significantly more about geometry. 

I believe the second poem is perhaps thinking of a time prior to Euclid's discovery and saying how Euclid has seen the beauty of geometry but no one else had at the time leaving Euclid as the only individual to fully understand the world of geometry. I don't fully understand the second part of the poem but perhaps Edna is referencing other individuals who had discovered different elements of geometry and calling them idiots as they had not fully seen the beauty of it like Euclid.