Those clever folks over at Weapons of Math Destruction have stuck yet again with another witty take-down of mal-education in the mathematics area.
As much as I like this one, I think the image of the face for the child “on fuzzy math” should be different. I see fuzzy math and its cousins as resulting more in happy witlessness. That’s the idea: Make it fun and engaging; students’ll just figure it out magically…re-discovering everything from counting through Archimedian insights and onto the calculus. Shouldn’t those kids be smiling?
For those outside the US who are not familiar with the brain-vs-brain-on theme incorporated into this cartoon, here’s a hint: There was an advertisement that first appeared in the 1980s showing a man holding a chicken egg and saying “This is your brain,” then cracking the egg into a frying pan and saying, “This is your brain on drugs.” Here’s a link to a Wikipedia entry about the brain-on-drugs advertisement.
Oh Well…off to a thumbnail catalog from Weapons of Math Destruction for the big version of this cartoon.
The sad face is probably from the first day of algebra upon the realization that he’s in deep trouble.
That’s probably it, Ken. Thanks for dropping by and commenting.
I think the image is an internal image. The brain showing indicates a bit of self reflection, maybe, and the “sad”/nervous face is an internal image of oneself on “fuzzy math.” Most people I teach math too seem to have confidence issues, and I’ve noticed that quite a few of them are actually great at math, they just think that they are not. The image is reflecting this confidence issue.