As it has been our tradition since Tuesday, we started the day with cognitive puzzles, flying contraptions, and mad marbles. Since the Origins of Math scholars have collectively and individually raised their skills and confidence in math and word puzzles. Today, several volunteers presented their solutions to the most difficult Mensa problems. It is worth noting that each one had an individual solution that was different from the others! Rounds of applause, please!

Coincidentally, it served as an opportunity to practice the Number Systems presentation that is looming on the horizon and will be the culminating event of the week. Students have already either wrapped up their Number Systems or are currently working on adding finishing touches to them. Many have moved on to practicing their presentations in front of their group. Each student will be presenting a fair share of the two Number Systems tomorrow when we set up our classroom as a mathematical conference hall.

To further advance our knowledge of the origins of mathematics, we travelled the world to the Industrial Revolution, Renaissance, Enlightenment, and 19th century, learning about individuals who have contributed, invented, and discovered the math we know today. Students had a chance to learn, discuss, and write about Piero de la Francesca, Descartes, Fermat, Newton, Leibniz, Euler, Gauss, and Lobachevsky. While learning about the key discoveries in mathematics, students’ attention was also focused on understanding that making mistakes is a normal path of domain knowledge acquisition and talent development. One of the goals of this class, along with learning about the origins of mathematics, is to normalize hard work, failure, mistakes, perseverance, and to see great mathematicians as people who also made mistakes, people with interesting but often difficult lives, and sometimes challenging personalities. Did someone say Newton? Descartes?

Questions of the day: