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[Phys-l] algebraically unwashed



On Dec 5, 2007, at 3:10 PM, John Denker wrote:

. . . For those who are algebraically unwashed,
sometimes an example will get the point across. . . .

This made me think about the Piaget term "concrete operational." Is this the same as "algebraically unwashed?" According to Piaget, children outgrow this level of thinking at the age of 10 to 15. On the other hand many never outgrow it. It is not the age that counts, it is the kind of exposure to analytical thinking, often needed in mathematics and physics.

_______________________________________________________
Ludwik Kowalski, a retired physicist
5 Horizon Road, apt. 2702, Fort Lee, NJ, 07024, USA
Also an amateur journalist at http://csam.montclair.edu/~kowalski/cf/