Re: [COFF] [TUHS] Photos of University Computer Labs - now off topic

From: John Cowan <cowan@ccil.org>
To: Dr Iain Maoileoin <iain@csp-partnership.co.uk>
Cc: COFF <coff@minnie.tuhs.org>
Subject: Re: [COFF] [TUHS] Photos of University Computer Labs - now off topic
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2021 13:02:26 -0500	[thread overview]
Message-ID: <CAD2gp_TLL5tXHbb_qnJMrw6Q-jwVJWyjtHa4hbY+mYwnDLwhkQ@mail.gmail.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <0531de6e-6c93-bdde-9ee4-cd4ab1f54e0b@csp-partnership.co.uk>

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-tuhs +coff

On Thu, Dec 23, 2021 at 11:47 AM Dr Iain Maoileoin <
iain@csp-partnership.co.uk> wrote:

I totally agree.  My question is about language use (or drift) - nothing
> else.  In Scotland - amongst the young -  "Arithmetic" is now referred
> to as "Maths".   I am aware of the transition but cant understand what
> caused it to happen!  I dont know if other countries had/have the same
> slide from a specific to a general - hence the questions - nothing deeper.
>

Language change is inexplicable in general. About all we know is that some
directions of change are more likely than others: we no more know *why*
language changes than we know *why* the laws of physics are what they are.
Both widening (_dog_ once meant 'mastiff') and narrowing (_deer_ once meant
'animal') are among the commonest forms of semantic change.

In particular, in the 19C _arithmetic_ meant 'number theory', and so the
part concerned with the computation of "ambition, distraction,
uglification, and derision" (Lewis Carroll) was _elementary arithmetic_.
(Before that it was _algorism_.)  When _higher arithmetic_ got its own
name, the _elementary_ part was dropped in accordance with Grice's Maxim of
Quantity ("be as informative as you can, giving as much information as
necessary, but no more").  This did not happen to _algebra_, which still
can mean either elementary or abstract algebra, still less to _geometry_.

In addition, from the teacher's viewpoint school mathematics is a
continuum, including the elementary parts of arithmetic, algebra, geometry,
trigonometry, and in recent times probability theory and statistics, for
which there is no name other than _ mathematics_ when taken collectively.

> In lower secondary school we would go to both Arithmetic AND also to
> Maths classes.
>

What was taught in the latter?

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