Top all-time · #8915
Keith Devlin
Personal blog · profkeithdevlin.orgmathwriting
Keith Devlin's personal blog at profkeithdevlin.org covers math and writing. Since 2012, 8 different Hacker News readers have linked it 10 times, most often “A Mathematician's Lament (2002) [pdf]”. The last post was in 2023, but the archive is still widely read.
Too few sampled comments (4) to say how often HN recommends it.?
Why HN links it
HN commenters link this site for Lockhart's Lament, a piece on maths education hosted on it, which one commenter suggests as a better reference than Feynman's account of arithmetic learning.
Summarised by Claude from a sample of 4 HN comments that link here. Each comment is marked recommending, critical or neutral (citing without judging); how this works.
Mathematics and other passions
Most-linked posts?
- A Mathematician's Lament (2002) [pdf]4 people · 4 mentions · first linked 2025-02-07
- What is a proof, really?2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2014-11-24
What Hacker News says?
False dichotomy. Mathematics is also a human language. Code and mathematics are more similar in many respects than code and Spanish. but they all share common features of being cultural, mutable, consensus-based, imperfect, and historically embedded. Wittgenstein's philosophy of mathematics might be interesting to you. His description of calculation as a linguistic process should settle the issue if you buy it. Edit…
Comment linking /2014/11/24/what-is-a-proof-really/
on “What We Learned From 40 Female YC Founders”Submitted What is algebra? as a story · 135 points
HN discussionFunny, I'm actually working on a game that intends to teach some of this stuff to a non-mathematical audience. Linear algebra is so far-reaching, I find it surprising that other branches of mathematics often seem to get preferential treatment (usually normal algebra and geometry), in spite of the fact that linear algebra is both: a) fairly advanced (i.e. not often taught in school, at least not the deeper stuff) b)…
Comment linking /2012/02/22/how-to-design-video-games-that-support-good-math-learning-level-3/
on “An Intuitive Guide to Linear Algebra”Submitted What is a proof, really? as a story · 62 points
HN discussion> You gotta drill the basic arithmetic in order to learn it Do less arithmetic. We have calculators so arithmetic matters less. > no amount of sugarcoating will make kids like it. Sugarcoating is exactly the wrong approach. Its making the subject itself enjoyable. https://profkeithdevlin.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/lockh... > This is the lesson unlearned by proponents of "New Math" and "Common Core" in the USA No…
Comment linking /wp-content/uploads/2023/09/lockhartslament.pdf
on “Show HN: Scream to Unlock – Blocks social media until you scream “I'm a loser””Submitted What is algebra? as a story · 5 points
HN discussionIn this case, Richard Feynman is just writing about his personal experiences of a well-known phenomenon. https://profkeithdevlin.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/lockh... ("Lockhart's Lament") would perhaps be a better reference, but nearly anyone who's been through the education system would be able to tell you this.
Comment linking /wp-content/uploads/2023/09/lockhartslament.pdf
on “Children's arithmetic skills do not transfer between applied and academic math”Submitted A Mathematician's Lament (2002) [pdf] as a story · 4 points
HN discussionSubmitted What Is Algebra? (2011) as a story · 4 points
HN discussionSubmitted A Mathematician's Lament (2002) [pdf] as a story · 1 points
HN discussion
