TED2009
Arthur Benjamin: Teach statistics before calculus!
Arthur Benjamin si oppskrift for å endra matematikkutdanninga
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Somme spør støtt mattelæraren: "Kjem eg nokon gong til å få nytte av funksjonsanalyse i det verkelege livet?" Og for dei fleste av oss, seier Arthur Benjamin, er svaret nei. Han kjem med eit dristig framlegg til korleis ein skal gjera matematikkutdanninga relevant i den digitale tidsalderen.
Arthur Benjamin - Mathemagician
Using daring displays of algorithmic trickery, lightning calculator and number wizard Arthur Benjamin mesmerizes audiences with mathematical mystery and beauty. Full bio
Using daring displays of algorithmic trickery, lightning calculator and number wizard Arthur Benjamin mesmerizes audiences with mathematical mystery and beauty. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
Now, if President Obama
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Viss President Obama
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invited me to be the next Czar of Mathematics,
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inviterte meg til å verte den neste matematikk-tsaren,
00:19
then I would have a suggestion for him
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ville eg hatt eit framlegg til han
00:22
that I think would vastly improve
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som eg trur ville ha betra
00:24
the mathematics education in this country.
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matematikkutdanninga i landet stort.
00:27
And it would be easy to implement
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Og det ville ha vore både lett
00:29
and inexpensive.
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og billeg å gjennomføre.
00:31
The mathematics curriculum that we have
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Matematikkpensumet me har
00:33
is based on a foundation of arithmetic and algebra.
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er basert på grunnleggjande aritmetikk og algebra.
00:37
And everything we learn after that
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Og alt me lærer etter det
00:39
is building up towards one subject.
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byggjer oppover mot eitt fag.
00:42
And at top of that pyramid, it's calculus.
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Og på toppen av denne pyramiden står funksjonsanalysen.
00:46
And I'm here to say
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Og eg er her for å seie
00:48
that I think that that is the wrong summit of the pyramid ...
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at eg meiner dette er feil topp på pyramiden ...
00:52
that the correct summit -- that all of our students,
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at den rette toppen -- som alle studentane våre,
00:54
every high school graduate should know --
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alle som går ut frå high school burde kunne --
00:56
should be statistics:
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skulle ha vore statistikk:
00:59
probability and statistics.
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sannsynsrekning og statistikk.
01:01
(Applause)
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(Applaus)
01:03
I mean, don't get me wrong. Calculus is an important subject.
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Eg meiner, misforstå meg rett -- funksjonsanalyse er eit viktig emne.
01:07
It's one of the great products of the human mind.
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Det er ei av mennesket sine største intellektuelle bedrifter.
01:09
The laws of nature are written in the language of calculus.
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Naturlovene er skrivne i dette språket.
01:13
And every student who studies math, science, engineering, economics,
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Og alle som studerer matematikk, naturvitskap, tekniske fag, økonomi,
01:17
they should definitely learn calculus
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bør absolutt lære seg funksjonsanalyse
01:19
by the end of their freshman year of college.
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i løpet av det første studieåret.
01:21
But I'm here to say, as a professor of mathematics,
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Men eg er her for å seie, som matematikkprofessor,
01:24
that very few people actually use calculus
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at svært få menneske faktisk nyttar funksjonsanalyse
01:28
in a conscious, meaningful way, in their day-to-day lives.
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på ein medviten, meiningsfull måte i kvardagsliva sine.
01:31
On the other hand,
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Statistikk derimot --
01:33
statistics -- that's a subject that you could,
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det er eit fag som du kan,
01:36
and should, use on daily basis. Right?
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og bør, nytta til dagleg. Ikkje sant?
01:39
It's risk. It's reward. It's randomness.
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Det er risiko. Det er vinst. Det er vilkårlegheit.
01:42
It's understanding data.
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Det er å forstå data.
01:44
I think if our students, if our high school students --
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Eg trur at viss studentane våre, viss elevane våre på high school --
01:46
if all of the American citizens --
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viss alle amerikanarar --
01:48
knew about probability and statistics,
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kunne sannsynsrekning og statistikk,
01:51
we wouldn't be in the economic mess that we're in today. (Laughter) (Applause)
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ville vi ikkje ha hamna i det økonomiske uføret som me er i i dag.
01:54
Not only -- thank you -- not only that ...
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Ikkje berre -- takk skal de ha -- ikkje berre det ...
01:57
but if it's taught properly, it can be a lot of fun.
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viss det vert undervist på rett måte, kan det vere verkeleg moro.
02:00
I mean, probability and statistics,
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Eg meiner, sannsynsrekning og statistikk,
02:02
it's the mathematics of games and gambling.
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er matematikken for spel og gambling.
02:06
It's analyzing trends. It's predicting the future.
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Det er å analysere trendar. Det er å spå om framtida.
02:10
Look, the world has changed
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Høyr her, verda har endra seg
02:12
from analog to digital.
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frå analog til digital.
02:15
And it's time for our mathematics curriculum to change
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Og det er på tide at matematikkpensumet vårt endrar seg
02:18
from analog to digital,
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frå det analoge til det digitale.
02:20
from the more classical, continuous mathematics,
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Frå den meir klassiske, kontinuerlege matematikken,
02:24
to the more modern, discrete mathematics --
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til den meir moderne, diskrete matematikken.
02:27
the mathematics of uncertainty,
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Til matematikk om uvisse,
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of randomness, of data --
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om vilkårlegheit, om data --
02:31
that being probability and statistics.
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og dette er sannsynsrekning og statistikk.
02:34
In summary, instead of our students
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For å oppsummere, i staden for at studentane våre
02:36
learning about the techniques of calculus,
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skal lære teknikkar for funksjonsanalyse,
02:39
I think it would be far more significant
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meiner eg det hadde hatt mykje meir å seie
02:42
if all of them knew what two standard deviations
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at alle saman visste kva to standardavvik
02:45
from the mean means. And I mean it.
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frå gjennomsnittet tyder. Og det meiner eg.
02:48
Thank you very much.
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Tusen takk skal de ha.
02:50
(Applause)
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(Applaus)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Arthur Benjamin - MathemagicianUsing daring displays of algorithmic trickery, lightning calculator and number wizard Arthur Benjamin mesmerizes audiences with mathematical mystery and beauty.
Why you should listen
Arthur Benjamin makes numbers dance. In his day job, he's a professor of math at Harvey Mudd College; in his other day job, he's a "Mathemagician," taking the stage in his tuxedo to perform high-speed mental calculations, memorizations and other astounding math stunts. It's part of his drive to teach math and mental agility in interesting ways, following in the footsteps of such heroes as Martin Gardner.
Benjamin is the co-author, with Michael Shermer, of Secrets of Mental Math (which shares his secrets for rapid mental calculation), as well as the co-author of the MAA award-winning Proofs That Really Count: The Art of Combinatorial Proof. For a glimpse of his broad approach to math, see the list of research talks on his website, which seesaws between high-level math (such as his "Vandermonde's Determinant and Fibonacci SAWs," presented at MIT in 2004) and engaging math talks for the rest of us ("An Amazing Mathematical Card Trick").
Arthur Benjamin | Speaker | TED.com