How to get kids interested in math

This is from a comic strip called Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal (SMBC).

Move over calculus, now there's something meatier

I saw this video recently and thought that it was worth sharing. The idea is interesting, namely that we should change the focus of the mathematics curriculum from calculus to statistics and probability because most people use statistical reasoning on a daily basis and should know more.

In Ontario there is a data management stream of the mathematics curriculum. I do not know if that is the case elsewhere in the U.S. so Ontario is ahead of the game on this one. I believe that what this means is that his idea is not as novel as he makes it seem. Moreover, in Ontario we are facing the same educational challenges and such a change does not create a dramatic difference. To see math scores dramatically improve I think that we will have to look to other solutions.

Math waterboarding

I think that even the most math cynical out there will like this video. I watched it 3 times last night and several of the videos made by other high speed cameras. The video is of a waterdroplet and what we observe is then explained by a mathematician. I would have perferred to see a little more discussion about how the mathematics is related, but you can't have everything.