How to Think like a School Math Genius

“The true joy in mathematics, the true hook that compels mathematicians to devote their careers to the subject, comes from a sense of boundless wonder induced by the subject.

“There is transcendental beauty, there are deep and intriguing connections, there are surprises and rewards, and there is play and creativity.

“Mathematics has very little to do with crunching numbers. Mathematics is a landscape of ideas and wonders.”

—James Tanton

James Tanton has a new website. It looks cool, and it’s a great place to discover the things he’s working on these days.

But his wonderful, old-fashioned site full of great insights and interesting problems is gone.

😞 I hate it when some part of the internet that I love disappears. So here’s my attempt to recover one tiny bit of the old site, five tips for creative problem solving through intellectual play.

Introduction

“Here is a PowerPoint presentation of five key principles for brilliant mathematical thinking, along with loads and loads of examples to explain what I mean by each of them. A call for us teachers to really be mindful of the life thinking we should foster, encourage, promote, embrace and reward – even in a math class!

“One can argue that our curriculum and assessment currently reward speed and answers to “what” questions. And students, good for them, do that which is absolutely appropriate and right for those goals – memorise and do.

“I believe we can do better and more!

“This presentation is from an hour-ish-long lecture and so comes in four parts. It extends the previous videos I have on this topic by adding more examples and bringing it all together in one place.

“Enjoy!”

—James Tanton

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Two Key — but Ignored— Steps to Solving Any Math Problem

A few things that James did in the past are still available online, like his short-lived Medium blog. This was one of my favorite articles:

“Every challenge or problem we encounter in mathematics (or life!) elicits a human response. The dryness of textbooks and worksheets in the school world might suggest otherwise, but connecting with one’s emotions is fundamental and vital for success — and of course, joy — in doing mathematics.

“So… Experience mathematics as a human! Help your students do so too!”

—James Tanton

Read the Article

That’s it for this week’s peek into the mind of a great teacher. For more of James’s old site, check it out on the Wayback Machine. And if you enjoyed these videos, be sure to pick up one of his books — which do have links on his new website, just scroll down a bit.