Contrary to what we learned in Mrs. Glickman's Algebra II class lo those many years ago, mathematics is not a language that transcends all cultural barriers. That's because tackling math problems requires a willingness to give in to abstraction, a leap that not all cultures are equipped to make. Just check out how the Saora people of Orissa, India, react to word problems:
Saora school children took more interest in mathematical problems that depicted actual local events/facts rather than...
Published on January 06, 2010 07:24