TED2009
Arthur Benjamin: Teach statistics before calculus!
La fórmula de Arthur Benjamin para cambiar la enseñanza de las matemáticas
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Siempre alguien le pregunta al profesor de matemáticas, "¿Usaré el cálculo alguna vez en mi vida?" Y para la mayoría de nosotros, tal como lo plantea Arthur Benjamin, la respuesta es no. Él ofrece una propuesta audaz para hacer de la enseñanza de las matemáticas algo relevante en esta 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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Ahora, si el Presidente Obama
00:15
invited me to be the next Czar of Mathematics,
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me invitara a ser el próximo Zar de las Matemáticas
00:19
then I would have a suggestion for him
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le haría una sugerencia
00:22
that I think would vastly improve
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que mejoraría bastante
00:24
the mathematics education in this country.
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la enseñanza de las matemáticas en este país.
00:27
And it would be easy to implement
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Y sería bastante fácil de implementar
00:29
and inexpensive.
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y nada costosa.
00:31
The mathematics curriculum that we have
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El curriculum de matemáticas que tenemos
00:33
is based on a foundation of arithmetic and algebra.
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se basa fundamentalmente en la aritmética y el algebra.
00:37
And everything we learn after that
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Y todo lo que aprendemos a partir de entonces
00:39
is building up towards one subject.
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es formarnos hacia un concepto.
00:42
And at top of that pyramid, it's calculus.
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Y en la punta de la pirámide se encuentra el cálculo.
00:46
And I'm here to say
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Y aquí estoy para decir
00:48
that I think that that is the wrong summit of the pyramid ...
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que yo pienso que no es la cima correcta de la pirámide...
00:52
that the correct summit -- that all of our students,
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que la cima correcta -- que todos nuestros estudiantes,
00:54
every high school graduate should know --
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todo graduado de la escuela debería saber --
00:56
should be statistics:
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son las estadísiticas:
00:59
probability and statistics.
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probabilidad y estadísticas.
01:01
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
01:03
I mean, don't get me wrong. Calculus is an important subject.
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Lo digo en serio, no me mal interpreten. El cálculo es una materia importante.
01:07
It's one of the great products of the human mind.
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Es uno de los grandes productos de la mente humana.
01:09
The laws of nature are written in the language of calculus.
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Las leyes de la naturaleza estan escritas en el lenguaje del cálculo.
01:13
And every student who studies math, science, engineering, economics,
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Y todo estudiante que estudia matemáticas, ciencias, ingeniería, economía,
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they should definitely learn calculus
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definitivamente debería aprender cálculo
01:19
by the end of their freshman year of college.
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al final de su primer año como universitarios.
01:21
But I'm here to say, as a professor of mathematics,
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Pero estoy aquí para decir, como profesor de matemáticas,
01:24
that very few people actually use calculus
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que muy poca gente usa el cálculo
01:28
in a conscious, meaningful way, in their day-to-day lives.
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de manera consciente y relevante en su vida diaria.
01:31
On the other hand,
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Por otro lado,
01:33
statistics -- that's a subject that you could,
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las estadísticas -- es una materia que puedes,
01:36
and should, use on daily basis. Right?
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y deberías usar en el día a día. ¿Cierto?
01:39
It's risk. It's reward. It's randomness.
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Es riesgo. Es recompensa. Es aleatoriedad.
01:42
It's understanding data.
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Es entender los datos.
01:44
I think if our students, if our high school students --
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Pienso que si nuestros estudiantes, si nuestros estudiantes del colegio --
01:46
if all of the American citizens --
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si todos los ciudadanos Americanos --
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knew about probability and statistics,
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supieran acerca de probabilidad y estadísiticas,
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we wouldn't be in the economic mess that we're in today. (Laughter) (Applause)
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no estaríamos en el desastre económico que actualmente vivimos.
01:54
Not only -- thank you -- not only that ...
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No solo -- gracias -- no solo que...
01:57
but if it's taught properly, it can be a lot of fun.
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[pero] si es pensado razonablemente, puede ser tremendamente entretenido.
02:00
I mean, probability and statistics,
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Me refiero a que, probabilidad y estadísticas,
02:02
it's the mathematics of games and gambling.
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son las matemáticas de los juegos y las apuestas.
02:06
It's analyzing trends. It's predicting the future.
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Es analizar tendencias. Es predecir el futuro.
02:10
Look, the world has changed
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Miren, el mundo ha cambiado
02:12
from analog to digital.
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de análogo a digital.
02:15
And it's time for our mathematics curriculum to change
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Y es hora que nuestro curriculo de matemáticas cambie
02:18
from analog to digital,
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de análogo a digital.
02:20
from the more classical, continuous mathematics,
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De la más clásica, matemática contínua,
02:24
to the more modern, discrete mathematics --
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a una más moderna, matemática discreta.
02:27
the mathematics of uncertainty,
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Las matemáticas de la incertidumbre,
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of randomness, of data --
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del azar de datos --
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that being probability and statistics.
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y eso es probabilidad y estadísticas.
02:34
In summary, instead of our students
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En resumen, en vez de que nuestros estudiantes
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learning about the techniques of calculus,
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aprendan acerca de las técnicas del cálculo,
02:39
I think it would be far more significant
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pienso que sería mucho más relevante
02:42
if all of them knew what two standard deviations
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si todos ellos supieran que significan dos desviaciones
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from the mean means. And I mean it.
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estándar de la media. Y lo digo en serio.
02:48
Thank you very much.
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Muchas gracias.
02:50
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
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