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[Phys-L] Re: Calculators a Distraction?



yes they are both procedures. But I think the procedure of using a look
up table and doing a calculation is qualitatively different. I suspect
that is to what Herb G. referred. Besides one is unconscious
(automatic) and the other quite ....

bc

p.s. My friend, B. Mumford, for some of his PICs, uses a look up table
instead of the algorithm to determine some value, as it is either
quicker &/ or uses less memory.



RAUBER, JOEL wrote:

Memorizing a value is memorizing a procedure. A very short procedure
and one with less wide range of applicability; but it is still a
procedure.

Memorizing a value is memorizing a symbol map

A --> B


Memorizing a procedure is just a convoluted version of the same thing

A --> C --> D --> B

Admittedly your memorized procedure may be a more flexible and have a
wider range of applicability than my memorized procedure. But your
memorized procedure requires more steps to have been memorized as the
price for that flexibility and range of applicability.


Whatever your procedure is, it can ultimately be reduced to small
building blocks that in a sense are memorizations.

I'm assuming here that a procedure is something you can write an
algorithm for doing. E.g taking a square root.

I can either memorize that root 9 equals 3

Or I can memorized a sequence of steps (standard root finding algorithm
of grade school yore), which involves a lot of memorized items. This
may involved memorized multiplication tables, memorized sequences of
long division, memorized addition and subtraction tables etc)

Or I can memorize that I enter 9 into the calculator and memorize which
button is the root button.
________________________
Joel Rauber
Department of Physics - SDSU

Joel.Rauber@sdstate.edu
605-688-4293



| -----Original Message-----
| From: Forum for Physics Educators
| [mailto:PHYS-L@list1.ucc.nau.edu] On Behalf Of Herbert H Gottlieb
| Sent: Tuesday, February 08, 2005 11:36 AM
| To: PHYS-L@LISTS.NAU.EDU
| Subject: Re: Calculators a Distraction?
|
|
| On Tue, 08 Feb 2005 09:04:28 -0600 "RAUBER, JOEL"
| <Joel.Rauber@SDSTATE.EDU> writes:
| > |
| > | On Sun, 06 Feb 2005 13:34:20 -0600 "RAUBER, JOEL"
| > | <Joel.Rauber@SDSTATE.EDU> writes:
| > | > ........... I think today's students can be expected to find
| > the
| > | square root of 9 or 16 in their head. And to take 8 and
| divide by
| > | 2 in their head.
| > |
| > | *** But students do not calculate such things "in their
| head" . No
| > | calculation is necessary in such cases. It is merely a matter of
| > | memory.
| > |
| >
| > Isn't all calculation ultimately reduced to memorized procedures?
|
| *** I beg to differ. Students can memorize the value of the
| square roots of 9 or 16. They can also memorize the
| procedure for finding the square roots of numbers such as
| 1483 and 2496. However, memorizing a value is not the same as
| memorizi ng a procedure and then using the procedure to
| calculatge a value.
|
| Herb
| >
| >
|
|
| Herb Gottlieb from New York City
| A friendly place to live and visit
|