Re: intuition + sophisticated calculators

[LUDWIK KOWALSKI <KOWALSKIL@alpha.montclair.edu>]

For those who are not familiar with Ti-83. Explaining why I do not like it. 

The calculator has 50 keys. If you press a key it does what is written on 
its face. But not always. Each key has two additional roles to play. If 
you press the "2nd" key (just before) then it is the role #2, as printed 
in yellow above each key. And if press the "alpha" key (just before) then 
it is the role #3, as printed in green above each key. So far so good; 
computer keyboards have a similar feature, but not for each key. 

Three times fifty is 150. This is not enough. Many keys bring menus with 
sets of additional choices (commands, instructions and words to be borrowed 
for pasting). For example, the key PROGRAM brings three menus: EXEC, EDIT 
and NEW. The first one is used to execute one of the preexisting program 
(choosing it from the menu). The second one is used to edit (make changes 
in an existing program, also from the menu) and the third is used to start 
creating a new program.

But that is not all. The very same PROGRAM key (without pressing 2d or 
alpha before) does something completely different when one is in the EDIT 
mode (that is after the EDIT menu was selected). In that case the PROGRAM 
key brings three different menus: CTL, I/O and EXEC. The first two contain 
words, such as IF and ELSE, which can not be typed while editing programs. 
One selects such words from menus and pastes them into the program. 

There are many other menu-bringing keys with similar features. I do not 
like this kind of learning barriers. But I am only a soldier. This is a 
teaching weapon given to me and I am trying to master it, without too much 
pleasure. The generals who promote weapons must know better what they are 
doing. They probably expect kids to learn this staff quickly "by intuition", 
that is without thinking. And what I am doing is the counter-productive 
"critical thinking". Soldiers are not expected to ask questions. 

Or perhaps, by their own definition, intuition is the highest level of 
thinking. The question about intuition was asked here last week; it is 
worth debating. Especially  in the context of the issue of "learning by 
intuition". Is learning by intuition as valid as learning by reasoning?

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subject: Intuition

On 4/6/98  Darwin Z. Palima <dpalima@nip.upd.edu.ph> wrote: 
> I always encourage my students to develop physical intuition to help
> them solve problems. However, when I think about it, my definition of
> intuition is rather "intuitive". Could you help me have a more concrete 
> definition of intuition? Do you know of studies in building intuition?
And Bob Sciamanda, <sciamanda@edinboro.edu>, responded:
> > A great question, Darwin.
> > I guess when you speak "from intuition" you are digging deeply down into
> > your spoken and unspoken assumptions and convictions about the behavior
> > of reality and/or you are expressing "how you would have done it if you
> > were God".  Getting a student to express these ideas (and ruminate on 
> > them) would provide an excellent beginning springboard (complete with
> > personalized motivation) for learning,  An excellent pedagogical 
> > approach, and a worthy topic of discussion for this forum!

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