Yeah, but who invented maths? .. was one of my favourite questions this week. I’m not sure whether the student was just a little bored and wanted a diverting chat, or whether there was a genuine interest. Either way it did get me thinking. Here’s what probably happened: A long time ago there lived a boy with an unpronounceable name. So we’ll call him Eric. He … [Read more...]
Who invented maths first?
Some say the ancient Egyptians invented maths - you know, the people who built the pyramids, mummified their kings, and wore those funny hats. The Egyptians were certainly brilliant engineers and inventive thinkers. Their pyramids are mathematical marvels. In order to build them, the Egyptians invented a new number system, so they could write down big sums. 1 is a single … [Read more...]
How to work out percentages of whole numbers – by converting to a fraction
Work out percentages of whole numbers by converting to fractions and then cross multiplication. … [Read more...]
Rip up those textbooks for maths confidence!
There is a scene in the Robin Williams film "Dead Poets Society" when he encourages the students to rip out the introductory pages of a poetry book. The general point is that they should be thinking for themselves and not using a graph to rate the poems effectiveness. I'm definitely not of the opinion that we should all be ripping pages out of books but I do feel that … [Read more...]
How to get 100% in maths – next time
It seems to be that every parent and teacher wants their child to get 100%. I understand this - it's very important to aim to get every question correct. There are two concerns: it's demotivating when the child doesn't get full marks and there is little opportunity to try again. It's a little old fashioned to talk about practice making perfect but, at least in maths, there are … [Read more...]