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Masterclass on mathematical thinking

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Re: Masterclass on mathematical thinking

#121

Post by kinghtown »

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…

Which actually adds value to Masterclass because really what kind of an education could one get from Netflix?

I’ve thought for years that netflix could/should really do something interesting with education. I’d love some high quality lectures and courses from them. Like actually legit ones.

Re: Masterclass on mathematical thinking

#122

Post by imranq »

ramblerman wrote: post #94
imranq wrote: post #91

This is nice initiative and any attempt to make mathematics more accessible is a value added to society in my book. However, saying you will learn "mathematical thinking" by watching 1.5 hours of passively watching, even Professor Tao, is quite an overpromise. I don't think there's a subject that requires more hands on practice and thinking than math, especially higher level math, so this is more along the lines of e…

I fully agree on the celebrity worship, but am a bit confused with how you then align > Finally there's a celebrity aspect to Masterclass that's a bit strange. Like these guys are famous, and because they're famous, they are the most worthy to teach you something. with the recommendation > Academy of Achievement: https://achievement.org/ * Some good lessons with Eric Lander, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Bill Gates, Jeff…

You're right, that is somewhat contradictory. On the other hand those interviews don't profess to teach you a skill, but more of an outlook on life that led to success.

Re: Masterclass on mathematical thinking

#123

Post by elxr »

edanm wrote: post #105
lee wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

> 1. Masterclass is $20/month. The "masses" can absolutely afford it. It's not really a barrier for entry. Agree with your other points, but disagree on this - there are plenty of people who can't afford this kind of subscription (e.g. most materially poor countries in the world, which make up billions of people).

Yup, that's more than the average cell phone plan in a lot of countries.

Re: Masterclass on mathematical thinking

#124

Post by aiilns »

imranq wrote: post #91

This is nice initiative and any attempt to make mathematics more accessible is a value added to society in my book. However, saying you will learn "mathematical thinking" by watching 1.5 hours of passively watching, even Professor Tao, is quite an overpromise. I don't think there's a subject that requires more hands on practice and thinking than math, especially higher level math, so this is more along the lines of e…

I've taken a course by Dr. Keith Devlin (professor at Standford) through coursera: _Introduction to Mathematical Thinking_, which I found quite interesting. However, I studied medicine, so perhaps it may be too basic for someone who has studied mathematics in university.

Re: Masterclass on mathematical thinking

#125

Post by robertlagrant »

cinntaile wrote: post #67
dfdz wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In case anyone missed the response to a similar comment on the blog: > Terence Tao on 27 January, 2022 at 10:31 am The production values of the lecture series given by Masterclass would not be possible for me to replicate by myself. (For instance, the film shoot alone involved well over a dozen people, including makeup, prop design, camera and lighting crew, director, editing, etc., in a custom studio with profession…

Plenty of Youtube teachers put out good quality stuff without access to any of that. People would listen to Terrence Tao using a cheap ass webcam and drawing on screen using a Wacom tablet. It's a justification for something that doesn't add value for learning mathematical thinking. To me it sounds more like he gets paid a passive income and a lump sum to make infotainment.

> To me it sounds more like he gets paid a passive income and a lump sum to make infotainment.

Whether or not something's infotainment and whether or not it could be done more cheaply are orthogonal. There's no reason for him to make this on Youtube, any more than there's a reason for plumbers to do plumbing for nothing in their spare time.

Re: Masterclass on mathematical thinking

#126

Post by nopinsight »

cinntaile wrote: post #117
nopinsight wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the gratuitous cynicism toward the mathematician is uncalled for. Terence Tao has devoted a lot of time writing educational articles on his blog. [1] If he mainly cares for passive income, he could divert a bit of time to hire a production company and film a few courses. He would own 100% of the contents and make millions simply out of his global name recognition. Going with Masterclass is probably the path o…

> He would own 100% of the contents and make millions simply out of his global name recognition. I think you overestimate how commercially viable actual teaching is as opposed to infotainment. Either way, infotainment allows him to earn money and talk about a subject he loves. Good for him and people love infotainment, it tickles their brains just enough but not too much to require actual thinking.

There are large groups of people who do care about their own’s and their kids’ mathematical education — some in North America and other continents and a huge number in Asia.

An example: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/16/south-korea-te...

“Teaching pays: Cha said he earned $8m last year. “I’m madly in love with maths,” he said, looking the height of trendiness in his crimson shirt and trousers and tweed jacket, in his office in Gangnam – a wealthy part of Seoul famous for its conspicuous consumption and featured in the song Gangnam Style.”

There is a reason the PISA results of some countries stay consistently near the top: https://factsmaps.com/pisa-2018-worldwide-ranking-average-sc...

Re: Masterclass on mathematical thinking

#127

Post by [deleted] »

umvi wrote: post #11
uoaei wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it really common opinion that TT is smart because of his genes? I would think having a helpful and engaged math-fluent father and lots of encouragement from an early age has way more to do with it. You can't seriously believe that an introduction into mathematical thinking from an early age and close advision from math-fluent parents is only 10% of the reason that TT is where he is today.

From the wiki: > Tao exhibited extraordinary mathematical abilities from an early age, attending university-level mathematics courses at the age of 9. He is one of only two children in the history of the Johns Hopkins' Study of Exceptional Talent program to have achieved a score of 700 or greater on the SAT math section while just eight years old; Tao scored a 760 I think genetics have more to do with this level of a…

[deleted]

Re: Masterclass on mathematical thinking

#128

Post by [deleted] »

paulpauper wrote: post #24
lordnacho wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure why you think the split is so tilted towards genetics. If TT had been born in some 3rd world country with poor nutrition and crappy education system, how would he be exposed to all the higher level math topics? It's clear you need that exposure, you aren't just going to know things about what mathematicians have thought about and consider important without coming into contact with some.

We have a sample size of 600 + million ppl between the US and Western Europe with full access to food, electricity, and other modern necessities, not third world countries. How many are as smart as him.

[deleted]

Re: Masterclass on mathematical thinking

#129

Post by Emphere »

pumanoir wrote: post #41

Looks good. It reminds me of The Great Courses and its streaming service Wondrium [1]. They have (from the top of my head [1]) at least two courses that would be the equivalent to this one. The courses are taught by experts in a field who also happen to be great teachers (usually teaching award winning professors). 1. https://www.wondrium.com/art-and-craft-of-mathematical-probl... 2. https://www.wondrium.com/home

I would like to second this recommendation. For a long time I thought their content was low quality edutainment because of the generally 90s website design and the generic stock photos used for courses(admittedly, that's...a pretty shallow line of reasoning). The courses are usually taught by university professors, have a well thought out lesson plan and have helpful accompanying guidebooks (you can also request course transcripts, I believe). For example, the course linked above is taught by Paul Zeitz based on his book, "The Art and Craft of Problem Solving", which is a classic for learning Olympiad-level problem solving techniques. I've also learned a lot from their history courses.

Re: Masterclass on mathematical thinking

#130

Post by cinntaile »

robertlagrant wrote: post #125
cinntaile wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Plenty of Youtube teachers put out good quality stuff without access to any of that. People would listen to Terrence Tao using a cheap ass webcam and drawing on screen using a Wacom tablet. It's a justification for something that doesn't add value for learning mathematical thinking. To me it sounds more like he gets paid a passive income and a lump sum to make infotainment.

> To me it sounds more like he gets paid a passive income and a lump sum to make infotainment. Whether or not something's infotainment and whether or not it could be done more cheaply are orthogonal. There's no reason for him to make this on Youtube, any more than there's a reason for plumbers to do plumbing for nothing in their spare time.

I didn't claim they were related. The justification for the cost of MasterClass was that they have a huge crew that produces these professional looking video's. Which is probably true, but I think the value added is not big enough to justify the cost. There's no reason to make it on Youtube because he doesn't make money that way, I agree. We don't live forever after all. I mainly see it as a way for him to make some extra money and there is nothing wrong with that.
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