I seem to be doing a lot of musing these days, but in
reference to this thread I have been thinking about the way
the concept of multiplication has grown in my own mind. I
can still remember when I learned that 1/2 of 10 was the
same as 1/2 multiplied by 10. It may be obvious, but when
I learned it I was delighted. Then I knew how to find out
what 1/2 or 1/3 was.
Many of the jobs that use multiplication have little
residue of repeated addition in them. F = ma is a good
example. The concepts of polynomials, powers,
and proportion, in which multiplication is foremost do not
seem to partake of the repeated addition idea. I think we
need to say that the study of multiplication as repeated
multiplication may be useful at some level in the learning
process, but at some point we need to mature to learn what
multiplication really is. WBN
Barlow Newbolt
Department of Physics and Engineering
Washington and Lee University
Lexington, VA 24450
There is something fascinating about science. One
gets such wholesale returns of conjecture out of
such trifling investments of fact.
Mark Twain
Telephone and Phone Mail: 540-463-8881
Fax: 540-463-8884
e-mail: NewboltW@madison.acad.wlu.edu