USSR was feminist in some regards. Women had women-only spaces to learn math and science. There is a lot more equality of performance in STEM in former soviet populations.
Math from Three to Seven
81–90 of 225 posts
Re: Math from Three to Seven
#82Earlier quoted context omitted.
Case in point: The reason why the US heavily relied on Soviet rocket engines for their launches for ~15 years (before SpaceX dominance) was because they were simply more advanced and cost effective. Material science apparently was a step above - Soviet scientists were able to create an alloy for use in oxygen-rich engines which was unbelievable to Western counterparts till they visited and had it demonstrated.
This is one example, and there could be many - both where USSR had an edge and where it was behind. I believe here we want to have the overall picture - and that picture was that there actually were some novelties which were interesting on the West, even though in overall quality of life and some associated parameters USSR was notably losing. Or, saying it from another end, USSR wasn't advanced enough to avoid dissol…
Yes, that was what I also wanted to point out here. As in, the set of novelties Soviets had over the West was at least non-zero. And that rocketry happened to be one may be surprising to some of those less informed about space technology.
Re: Math from Three to Seven
#83Axiom Maths is trying to import the concept of maths circles to the UK, providing support and materials for schools to host their own circles.
It is run by a team with deep expertise in mathematics education, including the founding head of King's Maths School, a state school that is one of the top performing sixth forms in the country.
Re: Math from Three to Seven
#84When my kid was three I encountered this lovely book and thought I'd read it to attempt to replicate something like it (despite all the warnings that it's a journal and not a guide); unfortunately I never got around to finishing the book (nothing against the book, just got distracted) and now the kid's already past seven :) But what little I read was delightful; thanks for posting this summary!
I have a similar experience. The book skips the first 20 weeks. Many of the activities require materials and I could have benefited from a more prescriptive curriculum. Some other math circle curricula are not as inspiring but are much easier to follow.
The book skips the first 20 weeks for the boys but covers those activities for the girls (around the end of the book). So I'd suggest reading the girl circle and then coming back to the boys circle... I've absolutely loved that book and I've been trying to incorporate some of the ideas in games with my son.
That said, do keep in mind that despite being from 3 to 7, his son is actually 3 years old and 10 months when he started (and I think the same for the daughter, I forgot). Personally, I've noticed that my just turned 3 years old son is not developmentally ready for a lot of the activities yet (but he's been surprisingly good at other activities), so I do think that you need to adapt depending on the children you try this on.
Re: Math from Three to Seven
#85My parents grew up in the Former Soviet Area so I will share this anecdote:
Both of my parents studied Chemistry.
Math is really important in our family. You are shamed if you don't understand something logical.
My dad still had to do military service even if he studied.
There was no strong incentive to study other than the fact that it was free and something to do for people who had no jobs, only 1 hour of TV per day, etc.
My hot take is that lack of entertainment and the fact that education was one of the only free things available to them was a large contributing factor.
Re: Math from Three to Seven
#86Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have a similar experience. The book skips the first 20 weeks. Many of the activities require materials and I could have benefited from a more prescriptive curriculum. Some other math circle curricula are not as inspiring but are much easier to follow.
Yep, I thought the idea seemed cool, but I couldn't figure out how to execute it.
A couple of other books that I think are useful and easier to execute than Zvonkin's books are the books by Christopher Danielson. Which One Doesn't Belong? is great to play with a child and Talking Math with Your Kids has some good ideas (way too short though)
Re: Math from Three to Seven
#87> All joking aside, we fledgling mathematicians understood that the single most important thing was not raw intelligence or knowledge (Americans tend to lag behind in the latter compared to all international students). What mattered was passion. The way to become successful in mathematics, like almost every endeavor, is to care about it, to love it, to obsess over it. This is the most important point from the article…
It depends on what you mean by “good enough”. Most developers today aren’t particularly passionate about it, and certainly not obsessed, but the demand for them is high enough so they still are “good enough” to have relatively cushy jobs.
Re: Math from Three to Seven
#88I have been trying to join/create a circle as an adult. I asked some of my online friends but no interest so far.
Re: Math from Three to Seven
#89The main cultural difference is that Americans don’t value maths and physics as much as they value law and business. Harvard Law school is still the thing you aim for when you’re a smart kid. MIT is what you aim when you’re good AND you’re really into it.
In France, the top thing to do is go to Polytechnique, which is an engineer school created by Napoleon. So culturally French people push their kids towards learning maths.
Re: Math from Three to Seven
#90From the book being reviewed: > All joking aside, we fledgling mathematicians understood that the single most important thing was not raw intelligence or knowledge (Americans tend to lag behind in the latter compared to all international students). What mattered was passion. The way to become successful in mathematics, like almost every endeavor, is to care about it, to love it, to obsess over it. And in this, Easter…
Hasn’t that happened already? As someone who started coding a long time ago and who did it for fun, I’ve seen the industry move from enthusiasts to mainstream and finally to massive comp optimisers who spend more time on angling for a promotion than building. I’ve fallen in and out of enjoyment of engineering many times. But I still come back because I love making something that adds value. There will always be space…
As someone who has needed to hire quite a few developers, I will say that the biggest communality of the greatest software engineers are those who are in it for fun. So I ask about side projects, I ask about what they did as kids, I ask about what they're excited about... Someone who is just there for the money can be great in a bigger company but has no place in a startup.