TED2009
Arthur Benjamin: Teach statistics before calculus!
La fórmula d'Arthur Benjamin per canviar l'ensenyament de les matemàtiques
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Algú sempre li pregunta al profesor de matemàtiques "Utilitzarè el càlcul a la vida real?" I per molts de nosaltres, segons Arthur Benjamin, la resposta és no. Ell proposa una audaç proposta sobre com fer rellevant l'eduació de les matemàtiques a l'era digital.
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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Ara, si el President Obama
00:15
invited me to be the next Czar of Mathematics,
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m'invités a ser el nou Tsar de les matemàtiques,
00:19
then I would have a suggestion for him
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tindria un suggeriment per a ell
00:22
that I think would vastly improve
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que, penso, milloraria bastant
00:24
the mathematics education in this country.
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l'ensenyament de les matemàtiques en aquest país.
00:27
And it would be easy to implement
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I sería fàcil d'implementar
00:29
and inexpensive.
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i gens costosa.
00:31
The mathematics curriculum that we have
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El currículum de matemàtiques que tenim
00:33
is based on a foundation of arithmetic and algebra.
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està basat fonamentalment en l'aritmètica i l'àlgebra.
00:37
And everything we learn after that
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I tot el que aprenem després d'això
00:39
is building up towards one subject.
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és desenvolupar-ho cap a un tema.
00:42
And at top of that pyramid, it's calculus.
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I dalt d'aquesta piràmide, es troba el càlcul.
00:46
And I'm here to say
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I estic aquí per dir
00:48
that I think that that is the wrong summit of the pyramid ...
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que crec que aquest és el cim incorrecte de la piràmide ...
00:52
that the correct summit -- that all of our students,
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i que el cim correcte -- que tots els nostres estudiants,
00:54
every high school graduate should know --
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que cada graduat en secundària hauria de saber --
00:56
should be statistics:
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hauria de ser l'estadística:
00:59
probability and statistics.
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probabilitat i estadística.
01:01
(Applause)
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(Aplaudiments)
01:03
I mean, don't get me wrong. Calculus is an important subject.
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Vull dir, no em malinterpreteu. El càlcul és un element important.
01:07
It's one of the great products of the human mind.
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És un dels grans productes de la ment humana.
01:09
The laws of nature are written in the language of calculus.
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Les lleis naturals estan escrites en el llenguatge del càlcul.
01:13
And every student who studies math, science, engineering, economics,
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I tots els estudiants que estudiïn matemàtiques, ciències, enginyeria, economia,
01:17
they should definitely learn calculus
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han d'aprendre càlcul
01:19
by the end of their freshman year of college.
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abans d'acabar el primer any d'universitat.
01:21
But I'm here to say, as a professor of mathematics,
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Però estic aqui per dir, com a professor de matemàtiques,
01:24
that very few people actually use calculus
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que, de fet, molt poca gent utilitza el càlcul
01:28
in a conscious, meaningful way, in their day-to-day lives.
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de forma conscient i rellevant a la seva vida diària.
01:31
On the other hand,
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Per altre banda,
01:33
statistics -- that's a subject that you could,
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l'estadística -- és un element que pots,
01:36
and should, use on daily basis. Right?
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i hauries d'utilitzar en el dia a dia. Cert?
01:39
It's risk. It's reward. It's randomness.
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És risc. Són recompenses. És aleatorietat.
01:42
It's understanding data.
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És entendre les dades.
01:44
I think if our students, if our high school students --
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Crec que si els nostres estudiants, si els nostres estudiants de secundària --
01:46
if all of the American citizens --
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si tots els ciutadans d'Amèrica ..
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knew about probability and statistics,
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sabessin probabilitat i estadística,
01:51
we wouldn't be in the economic mess that we're in today. (Laughter) (Applause)
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no estariem dins la crisi econòmica en què estem avui dia.
01:54
Not only -- thank you -- not only that ...
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No només -- gràcies -- no només que
01:57
but if it's taught properly, it can be a lot of fun.
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[però] si es pensa de forma raonable, pot ser molt entretingut.
02:00
I mean, probability and statistics,
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Vull dir, la probabilitat i l'estadística,
02:02
it's the mathematics of games and gambling.
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són les matemàtiques dels jocs i les apostes.
02:06
It's analyzing trends. It's predicting the future.
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És analitzar tendències. És predir el futur.
02:10
Look, the world has changed
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Mireu, el món ha canviat
02:12
from analog to digital.
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d'analògic a digital.
02:15
And it's time for our mathematics curriculum to change
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I és el moment de que el nostre currículum canviï
02:18
from analog to digital,
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d'analògic a digital.
02:20
from the more classical, continuous mathematics,
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De la més clàssica, matemàtica continua,
02:24
to the more modern, discrete mathematics --
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a una més moderna, matemàtica discreta.
02:27
the mathematics of uncertainty,
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Les matemàtiques de la incertesa,
02:29
of randomness, of data --
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de l'aleatorietat, de les dades --
02:31
that being probability and statistics.
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i això és la probabilitat i l'estadística.
02:34
In summary, instead of our students
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En resum, enlloc de fer aprendre
02:36
learning about the techniques of calculus,
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als nostres estudiants tècniques de càlcul,
02:39
I think it would be far more significant
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crec que sería molt més important
02:42
if all of them knew what two standard deviations
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si tots ells sabessin què signifiquen dues desviacions
02:45
from the mean means. And I mean it.
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estàndard de la mitjana. I ho dic de debò.
02:48
Thank you very much.
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Moltes gràcies.
02:50
(Applause)
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(Aplaudiments).
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