Author Topic: Defamiliarization in Mathematics ?  (Read 2038 times)

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Re: Defamiliarization in Mathematics ?
« Reply #15 on: November 11, 2017, 06:47:08 pm »
Something very weird was going down back then with these math textbooks.  Since when have mathematicians ever been as involved in writing secondary school textbooks?  And it was being funded by the federal government.  It's like a lost treasure trove!

You know the rare text that I was very curious to investigate, Introduction to Matrix Algebra (Frank Allen et al, circa 1961)?

LOOK WHAT I FOUND in pdf format  ---> Introduction to Matrix Algebra, Student Text (unit number 23).  I am just curious to see how they approached it.  Nowadays I suspect most high school math texts are filled with photographs - a lot of gorty fluff.

That is the digitized version of this book selling on ebay which is in Germany somewhere.   That book got around.


It's aimed at high school students - part of the SMSG experiment.   Maybe it will contain some insights into basis, dimension, linear independence, etc.


I think that these might spark your interests and reawaken a deep curiosity in the Weirdness of Mathematics.   I haven't really looked at any of them yet, so I am not certain.   I intend to focus on the Dolciani series since I am most interested in the exercises; but at least there are plenty of pdf files of those old experimental texts, in case we are curios and have the inclination to explore.

Here is a link to
A Guide to the School Mathematics Study Group Records, 1958-1977


I will try to leave hyperlinks in this thread when I find direct links to the pdf files.

Unit 17 (Intermediate Mathematics) corresponds to what would be called "Algebra 2" in the secondary schools.   

Some other research into SMSG lead to these:  School Mathematics Study Group

Holden, please follow that link, then right click on the texts to choose download.

You might be interested in 09 to 20, then 37 and beyond ... It could be like when you found those old math books in Sanskrit ...

You never know, this could turn out to be some Weird Lovecraftian Tale and we are being personally invited to explore it. 

Then again, why bother?

What were they trying to accomplish with these texts?

My plate is already full ... but maybe I will get around to looking through some of these.  Who know?


PS:  Raul, there is a good PDF reader called Evince.  There is a version you can download that will run on Windows XP.

« Last Edit: January 30, 2019, 04:40:44 pm by Kaspar the Jaded »
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