Jack to the Future

 Ethnomathematics is a broad subject and while the application of it to history is a part of the course, one of the other major topics is its application to teaching. We can learn about how math has evolved over the ages and what its significance was but that knowledge is useless without a way to carry it forward into what we do. As this course is primarily focused on its applications in teaching it is important to look at how it can be used to change how we teach as a whole. One way done in class was to assess different ways to integrate it. By looking at different approaches and weighing the pros and cons, what is needed out of integrating it can become more clear. In class we looked at 4 different approaches ranging from simply adding it as a supplemental to the class material to using it as a core document when creating the curriculum. We were able to look at why it is important and what parts of ethnomathematics is needed to benefit the curriculum, from these discussions a few...

      Math games are a fun past time. Even I enjoy playing games such as sudoku. However, did you know that Sudoku has its roots in ancient China, and thus, is a valuable part of ethnomathematics? In this class we watched a documentary that discussed math in different cultures and the topic of sudoku was brought up. This is because the earliest form of sudoku was actually engrained within the culture of the time. It was said that one day, a turtle was found and on its back was a a 3x3 grid which had the numbers 1-9 on it. This was the beginning of "Magic Squares" a game where you attempt to make such 3x3 (or larger) squares where each row, column and diagonal add up to the same number.      My family is a very proud player of sudokus and have even discussed it at various family gatherings. It has brought much strife, especially when family members don't fully understand it, but it has been a useful tool for teaching certain math concepts to the younger...

     Math is something that has been around for much longer, and in a much more complex form, then the average person would expect. This week we looked at the math that was developed in Egypt, Mesopotamia and Greece, and what we see, may be shocking to some people.      While Egypt is known for having many great innovations, from having a fairly accurate calendar to being able to build the pyramids. However, much of the math that we see was used in more practical scenarios, such as the use of fractions to be able to divide bread evenly. While they didn't go to the abstract levels of math that we know today they still used math often to make their own lives easier.     On top of Egyptians using math in more day to day exchanges, they also devised a way to do high level multiplication with ease, using different methods than we know today! Their method involved used a chart with 2 columns, in one you would write all the powers of 2 (2,4,8,16 etc.) up...

 Hello Reader,      Apologies for being absent. I will post 5 blogs (including this one) Regarding topics covered during specific weeks.      What is Ethnomathematics? Ethnomathematics is by definition " the study of the relationship between mathematics and culture." It would not be surprising for the average reader to not know this, or for you to not think this an interesting topic. This of course would be a poor assumption on the readers part. Once you start looking at yourself and others through the ethnomathematics lens, it can become quite clear how interesting this topic is.      I would invite the reader to participate in a small activity to demonstrate this point. Hold up 1 finger. Then hold up 2. You may see where I am going with this. 1 by 1 count up till 5 on your fingers. Look at how you did so. Did you start with your pointer finger and end with your thumb? Or did you start with your thumb and end with your pinky finger? Thi...

 Welcome one and all to the first post of Jack to the Future! This blog is primarily where I will be posting about my learning experience in the course Ethnomathematics at Brock University! While this blog will primarily focus on discussing aspects of the course as well as what I learn I hope this can be a branching off point where you can catch a glimpse into the world of ethnomathematics and inspire you to do some learning for yourself. Jack to the Future is meant to be a pun off the fact that my name is Jack (Shocking right?) and that the aim of this is to see how math affects culture. We will be looking into the past to see its affect and given the time travel nature of the popular "Back to the Future" movies the pun seems topical. A little bit about me however to start us off. I am a 5th year student at Brock University and am in the Bachelor's of Science program with a major in physics and minor in history. I took this course since I recently underwent some program ...