As a math teacher and teacher educator, I always look for new ways to make sure mathematics is perceived as relevant to the various people I interact with. In this blog I will explore the visualization of mathematical concepts through photography. The idea is to take a look at how mathematics can be popularized and how overall motivation for engaging in mathematical activities can be increased by the use of visual mathematics embedded in a real-world context. This will hopefully lead the path to greater mathematical awareness for all.
So anyway, what is a Mathematical Selfie you are asking?
Well, a “selfie” is commonly defined as a self-portrait photograph. Here I shall expand this definition to mathematical selfies as external representations of one’s mathematical perception of the world, in other words, a self-portrait of your mathematical world.
In turn, mathematical awareness, or mathematical mindfulness, are defined as knowledge or perception of the presence of mathematics all around us. The antonym to which we will label as mathematical blindness, a severe and widespread condition that allows people to go about their daily lives without ever noticing how much mathematics surrounds them. No, I am not talking about meditating on mathematical concepts -- although that could be interesting as well -- rather to develop a certain habit of mind that allows you to notice where the mathematics is in our world. So... breathe in, breathe out... and notice the rate, the flow, the volume. Yup, that simple.
Just to give you a better idea of what I am talking about, here is an example of a mathematical selfie I took this past summer as I was visiting a friend in France. The bridge and its reflection in the water provide a nice illustration of function transformation (reflection across the horizontal axis), with the line of symmetry being the water surface:
No comments:
Post a Comment