Ronnie Letter

Ronnie Letter

[Peter Freyd]

               Copyright 2000 Newspaper Publishing PLC
                       The Independent (London)
                                   
                       August 27, 2000, Sunday
                                   
SECTION: SPORT; Pg. 27
LENGTH: 145 words
HEADLINE: LETTER: THE JOY OF MATHS
BYLINE: R. Brown
BODY:

IT IS UNTRUE to say, as Geoff Poole does (Letters, 13 August), that
university maths courses have not changed in 30 years. It depends
where you go. Prospective students should look for courses in which a
project is a requirement for the final assessment; where the project
does allow for a "maths in context" flavour when desired; and in which
the evaluation of mathematical method is seen as a part of the whole
course. Such considerations are also essential for prospective
teachers.

Those of us who are working on raising public awareness of mathematics
believe it is essential to popularise it. It is an essential component
of high-technology because it allows for precision and hence deduction
and calculation. This kind of rigour may not be easy, but it makes
those who can do it very employable.

R BROWN
University of Wales
Bangor, Gwynedd