Presentation on Learning Math

[Peter Farrell]

Hello to the (Math) Future!

Hopefully this is a step towards the future of learning and exploring math. The Bay Area Python Interest Group invited me to speak at LinkedIn last Thursday about using Python in math education. They asked that I work in something about the Raspberry Pi, which (as the organizer of the SF Peninsula Raspberry Pi Meetup group) I took as an invitation to overdo it. So I loaded all my programs on my Pi 3 and did the whole presentation on it: the slides, my Python programs, a web search and my Minecraft maze and big honkin' pyramid. The graphical stuff starts about 11 minutes in.

People liked the visual, interactive, 3D stuff I showed them but they seemed particularly blown away that I did the whole presentation on a Pi. They made me hold it up afterwards to prove it.

Yes, that's the 2D cellular automaton from page 172 of Wolfram's New Kind of Science, in Minecraft. I've posted all the code for the slides and graphics on Github:

https://github.com/hackingmath/BayPIGgies-Talk

LinkedIn was recording it but they said it'll be a while before they post their professionally edited video. My colleague Ken Hawthorne was filming, too, and has posted his video here. 

Long story short, showing off is fun but I'd love to work with math teachers and help them incorporate Python programming into all their math lessons. And when they get some experience under their belt they'll be able to do more challenging explorations like fractals, cellular automata and 3D graphics. I never said it's going to be easy, but it can be more rewarding and meaningful than the way I learned math back in the day.

Let me know what you think!

Peter Farrell

[Joseph Austin]

Thanks for  sharing the video.  

It inspired me to go back and take another look at your HackingMath book.

And to download Sonic-Pi.

And I'm seriously considering ordering a RPi3--but I have a perfectly good Pi I've never used much, so I'm hesitating until I'm sure I'll actually use it.

At the beginning of the Q&A the Sonic Pi guy mentioned a group that was teaching Pi-s to help disadvantaged youth.

He  named the organization but I didn't catch the name.  I'm wondering whether there are similar organizations in the Raleigh-Durham area.

(Maria, if you are following, do you know?)

I was intrigued that  in the video you discussed using 4x4 matrices (homogeneous coordinates?) for 3D graphics transformations,

but in your book you only do 2D.  Do you have some published materials on the 3D version?

In a conversation with Ted I had mentioned an interest in teaching calculus starting (rather than ending) with differential equations.

I notice that the calculus section of your book includes basic DEs.  Perhaps we could work up some examples.

Joe Austin

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[Maria Droujkova]

Joe, there is a place that refurbishes computers for people who need them - they will probably know what you need: http://kramden.org/

Great place to know in any case!

Cheers,
Dr. Maria Droujkova

NaturalMath.com
Make math your own, to make your own math!

-- .- - ....

[Peter Farrell]

On Saturday, July 30, 2016 at 9:27:47 AM UTC-7, Joseph Austin wrote:

<snip>

I was intrigued that  in the video you discussed using 4x4 matrices (homogeneous coordinates?) for 3D graphics transformations,

but in your book you only do 2D.  Do you have some published materials on the 3D version?

I put a tutorial on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKkY_WNCj_Q 

In a conversation with Ted I had mentioned an interest in teaching calculus starting (rather than ending) with differential equations.

I notice that the calculus section of your book includes basic DEs.  Perhaps we could work up some examples.

I'd love to hear about it! I'm scheduled to teach a computer art elective this Fall and there will naturally be a bit of math in it.

Peter