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title: "A Mathematician's Lament: How School Cheats Us Out of Our Most Fascinating and Imaginative Art Form"
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# A Mathematician's Lament: How School Cheats Us Out of Our Most Fascinating and Imaginative Art Form

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A Mathematician's Lament: How School Cheats Us Out of Our Most Fascinating and Imaginative Art Form [Paul Lockhart, Keith Devlin] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. A Mathematician's Lament: How School Cheats Us Out of Our Most Fascinating and Imaginative Art Form

Review: an important effort to emphasize the art of mathematics in teaching and learning - The author is lamenting the common (universal?) focus on failing to open students' eyes to the art of mathematics. The focus in schools is often authoritarian, based on transmitting algorithms and rote, mechanistic learning. On the other hand, there is a clever and fun side to the art of mathematics, a display of the elegance and beauty of mathematics, and a creative side to mathematics that is often missing in the teaching of mathematics. Prof. Lockhart laments this absence. Even very talented mathematicians, once in the school system, find it very difficult to introduce students to the fascinating, beautiful "why" questions and explorations of mathematics. This is common throughout the school system in the U.S. at every level, not just in grades K-12. Algorithms are rarely beautiful and elegant, rarely encourage our creativity, and rarely encourage the search for patterns and connections. The beauty and elegance of mathematics is the fascinating human side to mathematics. Of course, rote learning rarely engages students. The result is that, even the mathematically able and talented, can fail to connect with the raw human power of elegance and beauty in mathematics. Prof. Lockhart's book is very short, but it can be highly recommended as emphasizing a side to mathematics that is terribly important for us, and is lacking in the current education system. We live in an age when algorithms and the treatment of humans as machines dominates, while rote learning and drill is often viewed as necessary and expedient in education. Therefore, the author's lament seems to draw us to some ideal world that is very remote from today's world but worth thinking about and recognizing as important. In the real world, much of mathematics, at any level, and in any field, can seem overly hard, unmotivated, dry, and/or unappealing, even to mathematicians. There is some artistry about mathematics, as it is, and as we encounter it, but we do not have the privilege, none of us, of living in Prof. Lockhart's pristine and idealized version of the mathematical world.
Review: An Important Read - Once in a while we read books that we just know are especially important, and that we know we will be thinking and talking about long after reading them. This book is one of them for me. I am a returning adult student, and I am about to finish my training to become a math teacher. Having gone through my education program, my enthusiasm was just about completely drained, and I've been having trouble remembering why I ever wanted to become a math teacher in the first place. Why would anyone? Paul Lockhart knows, and his book has reawakened my desire to help students discover the joy of mathematics. His argument is concise, and he makes it forcefully. His book is a joy to read, mainly because his understanding of the subject and his passion for it are clear in every page. He reinforces ideas I already had about how school sucks the life out of math (and all subjects), but he also challenges some of my opinions. I think this will happen with most people who read it. Once he finishes making his argument about math education in about the first two-thirds of this short book, he devotes the remaining section to describing what he finds wonderful about mathematics itself. This section should make just about anyone want to become either a mathematician or a math teacher. I want people to read the book for the specifics of his arguments, but I want to discuss one important point that he makes. Many people in math education claim that in order to make math more understandable and interesting to students, we need to show how practical it is and how it is used in everyday life. I've always felt like this idea was wrong, or at least limited in its usefulness in that regard. Well, Lockhart demolishes the idea, essentially claiming that practical uses are simply by-products of math, and that the real excitement and beauty of mathematics is in the abstract, imaginary, and creative world of mathematical ideas that have no specific connection to the everyday. By-products and applications can make math seem boring and secondary to the uses it serves. I agree with him--and much more now after having read his argument. I honestly think just about everyone should read this book. Of course math teachers should, as should anybody involved in math education in any way. But I think people outside of math education should read it too. The specific mathematical ideas discussed in the book do not require a strong mathematical background, and I can't think of a better book that so concisely conveys the nature of the subject and the way it is viewed and misunderstood in society. I'm still not sure I agree with Lockhart's every point, but I love this book. (And I might agree with his every point after more thought and experience in the classroom.)

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #68,692 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #34 in Mathematics History #35 in Mathematics Study & Teaching (Books) #89 in Math Teaching Materials |
| Customer Reviews | 4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars (562) |
| Dimensions  | 5 x 0.51 x 7.52 inches |
| Edition  | Illustrated |
| ISBN-10  | 1934137170 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-1934137178 |
| Item Weight  | 5.5 ounces |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 140 pages |
| Publication date  | April 1, 2009 |
| Publisher  | Bellevue Literary Press |

## Images

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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ an important effort to emphasize the art of mathematics in teaching and learning
*by M***E on November 7, 2017*

The author is lamenting the common (universal?) focus on failing to open students' eyes to the art of mathematics. The focus in schools is often authoritarian, based on transmitting algorithms and rote, mechanistic learning. On the other hand, there is a clever and fun side to the art of mathematics, a display of the elegance and beauty of mathematics, and a creative side to mathematics that is often missing in the teaching of mathematics. Prof. Lockhart laments this absence. Even very talented mathematicians, once in the school system, find it very difficult to introduce students to the fascinating, beautiful "why" questions and explorations of mathematics. This is common throughout the school system in the U.S. at every level, not just in grades K-12. Algorithms are rarely beautiful and elegant, rarely encourage our creativity, and rarely encourage the search for patterns and connections. The beauty and elegance of mathematics is the fascinating human side to mathematics. Of course, rote learning rarely engages students. The result is that, even the mathematically able and talented, can fail to connect with the raw human power of elegance and beauty in mathematics. Prof. Lockhart's book is very short, but it can be highly recommended as emphasizing a side to mathematics that is terribly important for us, and is lacking in the current education system. We live in an age when algorithms and the treatment of humans as machines dominates, while rote learning and drill is often viewed as necessary and expedient in education. Therefore, the author's lament seems to draw us to some ideal world that is very remote from today's world but worth thinking about and recognizing as important. In the real world, much of mathematics, at any level, and in any field, can seem overly hard, unmotivated, dry, and/or unappealing, even to mathematicians. There is some artistry about mathematics, as it is, and as we encounter it, but we do not have the privilege, none of us, of living in Prof. Lockhart's pristine and idealized version of the mathematical world.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An Important Read
*by R***R on May 11, 2009*

Once in a while we read books that we just know are especially important, and that we know we will be thinking and talking about long after reading them. This book is one of them for me. I am a returning adult student, and I am about to finish my training to become a math teacher. Having gone through my education program, my enthusiasm was just about completely drained, and I've been having trouble remembering why I ever wanted to become a math teacher in the first place. Why would anyone? Paul Lockhart knows, and his book has reawakened my desire to help students discover the joy of mathematics. His argument is concise, and he makes it forcefully. His book is a joy to read, mainly because his understanding of the subject and his passion for it are clear in every page. He reinforces ideas I already had about how school sucks the life out of math (and all subjects), but he also challenges some of my opinions. I think this will happen with most people who read it. Once he finishes making his argument about math education in about the first two-thirds of this short book, he devotes the remaining section to describing what he finds wonderful about mathematics itself. This section should make just about anyone want to become either a mathematician or a math teacher. I want people to read the book for the specifics of his arguments, but I want to discuss one important point that he makes. Many people in math education claim that in order to make math more understandable and interesting to students, we need to show how practical it is and how it is used in everyday life. I've always felt like this idea was wrong, or at least limited in its usefulness in that regard. Well, Lockhart demolishes the idea, essentially claiming that practical uses are simply by-products of math, and that the real excitement and beauty of mathematics is in the abstract, imaginary, and creative world of mathematical ideas that have no specific connection to the everyday. By-products and applications can make math seem boring and secondary to the uses it serves. I agree with him--and much more now after having read his argument. I honestly think just about everyone should read this book. Of course math teachers should, as should anybody involved in math education in any way. But I think people outside of math education should read it too. The specific mathematical ideas discussed in the book do not require a strong mathematical background, and I can't think of a better book that so concisely conveys the nature of the subject and the way it is viewed and misunderstood in society. I'm still not sure I agree with Lockhart's every point, but I love this book. (And I might agree with his every point after more thought and experience in the classroom.)

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An honest, insightful perspective of the state of math education
*by N***N on December 5, 2018*

The author’s love of the subject leaps through the pages to the reader, you really get the sense that he is really trying hard to crush a widely-held view that math is a miserable, dry subject. Math really is fun and exciting! It’s worth the purchase price just for his concise summation of the current math curriculum and his trenchant take down of high school geometry as it is taught. There are points where I have some disagreement, as good as this book is. The use of fun games to create interest in math such as playing Go and other games, i question whether we need such gateway devices to create interest in math. If Go is fun, play Go, but it shouldn’t be played with the sole intention of leading to math. Math, really IS fun on it’s own, and without school, more kids will come to it naturally. Secondly, the author mentions that many of the questions and problems which lead mathematical inquiry have no practical use and it is the sheer pure joy of math itself that is the source of pleasure in doing it. I do not disagree but i would be hesitant to immediately make a statement like that considering math is such a vast subject and perhaps real world applications could very well drive interest in children. He does double back later to mention it’s not really important to worry about such things and I would agree. Don’t let these nitpicks stop you from buying the book. It’s an excellent book, and I believe the main point that the book successfully delivers is the radical change of view to the standard view of math: it’s an art form, not a misery and a distinctly human activity. Children if given a chance outside of school, will love it and not get turned off by it.. and it will be a pleasurable life long pursuit.

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