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Masterclass on mathematical thinking

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Re: Masterclass on mathematical thinking

#81

Post by melissalobos »

Try not to take this as me being mean, but I can't help but feel that for profit math education grands very hard against the basic concepts of math and math education("No royal road to math" and all that). I understand that someone of Tao's stature in the popular math community is likely very enticing to masterclass. However Tao himself benefited tremendously from being noticed at a young age and having his skills nurtured. It feels a bit wrong for any one in his position to be aiding a for profit institution, especially when the content is not free. I understand that they approached him, and I and everyone haven't to produce a free good quality version of this. But it does still FEEL wrong. I of course say this as a very privileged elite educated person.

EDIT: in the comments Prithvi has some interesting suggestions for doing a patreon at a higher level to be released freely. If possible and that eventually exists support that,

Re: Masterclass on mathematical thinking

#82

Post by Syzygies »

forgotmyoldacc wrote: post #10
Graffur wrote: post #7

My first reaction to this blog post was kind of negative because Master Class is not free. I watched the teaser video and it's actually pretty inspiring. As someone who has done undergraduate Computer Science level Math, but completely forgotten most things about Math except for simple Algebra, I am going to try this. The cost is €16/month which is cheaper than Netflix. I just cancelled my Spotify recently so this is…

Seems like motivation porn more than education. Not that there's anything wrong with that, just knowing which one is which is useful.

I'm a mathematician who joined Masterclass to improve my cooking. I look forward to checking out the class by Terence Tao, as a diversion.

I held off joining for the longest time because I didn't want twenty hours of each person telling me "You can do this!" The cooks such as Thomas Keller simply aren't capable of staying in affirmation mode that long (think of their kitchens!) and they do get down to business. I learned a lot, even as an experienced cook.

(Math meets Keller: I still don't believe they use a 10% brine in the restaurant. I think he's confused as to what they do.)

Re: Masterclass on mathematical thinking

#83

Post by adgjlsfhk1 »

nefitty wrote: post #51
NikolaeVarius wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Genes must have something to do with it. Take the case of Srinivasa Ramanujan No formal training in math. Made insane contributions to mathematics including solving "unsolvable" problems. > A child prodigy by age 11, he had exhausted the mathematical knowledge of two college students who were lodgers at his home. He was later lent a book written by S. L. Loney on advanced trigonometry.[18][19] He mastered this by the…

I'm not sure why people feel so allergic to the idea of a genetic intelligence boost. Our genes encode the layout of physical race tracks on which marbles of matter and information travel. Some people's bodies have a bunch of muscle tracks, so as they grow, their body benefits from the activity on those. They grow up to find it easier to gain muscle than other people. For geniuses, I imagine that the brain is a perfe…

The big reason is because there have been a number of studies that show that the ability of genetics to explain IQ is not especially major.

Re: Masterclass on mathematical thinking

#85

Post by beambot »

cloudedcordial wrote: post #56
Graffur wrote: post #7

My first reaction to this blog post was kind of negative because Master Class is not free. I watched the teaser video and it's actually pretty inspiring. As someone who has done undergraduate Computer Science level Math, but completely forgotten most things about Math except for simple Algebra, I am going to try this. The cost is €16/month which is cheaper than Netflix. I just cancelled my Spotify recently so this is…

I had a similar negative knee jerk reaction upon learning that Yo-Yo Ma gives one of the courses from MasterClass. The whole MasterClass business seems like entertainment as you've noted. Music could be entertainment but there's some deep subjects just like mathematics. One cannot just sit back and gain deep understanding.

It would take hundreds or thousands of lectures to go deep on a subject as vast as mathematics.

Even cooking would require hundreds -- there's a whole lot of dishes, cuisines, styles and techniques.

May of any subject is likely a years-long endeavor.

Re: Masterclass on mathematical thinking

#86

Post by amznbyebyebye »

paulpauper wrote: post #3

probably helps also to have a 1 in 100 million IQ too, but sounds like fun anyway. I am not sure how some of thee masterclasses are useful. Like the one by the astronaut . I don't plan on going into space anytime soon. Maybe Elon Musk would enjoy that one. No amount of videos will make even a typical PhD in math even as close to as good as him. It's 90% genes , 10% other factors.

These are like world class atheletes, gifted and they put in the hard work to get to where they are today. That is what it takes to be one of these once in a decade type of mathematician.

Re: Masterclass on mathematical thinking

#87

Post by lenkite »

forgotmyoldacc wrote: post #10
Graffur wrote: post #7

My first reaction to this blog post was kind of negative because Master Class is not free. I watched the teaser video and it's actually pretty inspiring. As someone who has done undergraduate Computer Science level Math, but completely forgotten most things about Math except for simple Algebra, I am going to try this. The cost is €16/month which is cheaper than Netflix. I just cancelled my Spotify recently so this is…

Seems like motivation porn more than education. Not that there's anything wrong with that, just knowing which one is which is useful.

I wish people would avoid suffixing porn to give a negative connotation to anything they disagree with. As a non-native English speaker, I truly hate the way some Americans butcher the language.

Re: Masterclass on mathematical thinking

#88

Post by lee »

beebmam wrote: post #84

The more that education becomes monetarily inaccessible to the masses, the more the masses will reject the educated. And then god help us.

This comment bothered me for a few reasons:

1. Masterclass is $20/month. The "masses" can absolutely afford it. It's not really a barrier for entry.

2. There's tons of free lecture content already. Khan Academy is a great example and it'll actually dive deeper than a short episodes.

3. If you're an American, $20/month is laughable for an education. Getting a post-secondary education is like getting a mortgage.

4. Why do we have to knock on highly produced commercial edutainment? It is not a threat to any other form of education by any stretch. At least someone watching this may get inspired or motivated to keep learning more Math.

Re: Masterclass on mathematical thinking

#89

Post by anonymouse008 »

lenkite wrote: post #87
forgotmyoldacc wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems like motivation porn more than education. Not that there's anything wrong with that, just knowing which one is which is useful.

I wish people would avoid suffixing porn to give a negative connotation to anything they disagree with. As a non-native English speaker, I truly hate the way some Americans butcher the language.

You and George Orwell:

Politics and the English language http://www.public-library.uk/ebooks/72/30.pdf

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