tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post2961017541835395942..comments2024-03-26T04:19:38.862-07:00Comments on kitchen table math, the sequel: Lost in TimeCatherine Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-18317440761979544232008-04-18T11:19:00.000-07:002008-04-18T11:19:00.000-07:00I would think that proof constructing would be ret...I would think that proof constructing would be retained quite well, because it is almost all recognizing how conclusions fit together logically. You would have to have a rather better short term memory (you have to be able to hold all of the pieces in your mind as you write), and it would have to be in a simple enough context that you could relearn the axioms and definitions readily (that wouldn't retain), but the proof construction part is really quite like riding a bike.LSquared32https://www.blogger.com/profile/00858524638866166691noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-48702166323062947492008-04-18T11:07:00.000-07:002008-04-18T11:07:00.000-07:00Yes, you're right of course - to the extent that m...Yes, you're right of course - to the extent that math is procedural knowledge, you'd still have it...<BR/><BR/>I wish I knew to what degree things like constructing proofs coincide with procedural memory.<BR/><BR/>(Procedural memory is "how to" memory - like how to ride a bike.)Catherine Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-43228682459645645402008-04-18T10:44:00.000-07:002008-04-18T10:44:00.000-07:00Certain kinds of math, probably, like that describ...Certain kinds of math, probably, like that described in "Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid."<BR/><BR/>They're pattern-knowledge, not fact-knowledge.<BR/><BR/>I have a short page about learning and patterns on my website: <BR/><BR/>"Liz has played the trumpet for 15 years. She started young, then did not play for 12 years, then began playing again. She reads music, but mainly plays by the sound and feel of the notes, seeing the music as an instinctive pattern rather than as a series of notes or numbers on a scale. A visiting musician talked about the numbers of the notes on a scale that are most prevalent. Liz had to think through the patterns of notes and translate them to numbers on the scale before she could agree with him.<BR/><BR/>She also learned German as a series of patterns. Jeff and Liz were speaking German (poorly) to our neighbors when we lived in Germany. Jeff used the word alle when he should have used jede. Jede and alle do not have direct English equivalents. Liz instinctively knew which one to use with which words, but had to think through the pattern within several German phrases and translate them into English before she could explain the difference between the two and explain to Jeff when to use each word."<BR/><BR/>http://www.thephonicspage.org/Other/onlearning.htmlElizabethBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06128884454595561057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-30612588262572894512008-04-18T07:56:00.000-07:002008-04-18T07:56:00.000-07:00wow -- that's fascinating (the man reteaching hims...wow -- that's fascinating (the man reteaching himself Greek)Catherine Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-30203020169981454222008-04-18T07:55:00.000-07:002008-04-18T07:55:00.000-07:00I would love to know if a mathematician who suffer...I would love to know if a mathematician who suffered this brain injury would retain his ability to do math.<BR/><BR/>I'm guessing he or she would -- but I'm not sure why I think so.Catherine Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-2833417278917321112008-04-17T23:26:00.000-07:002008-04-17T23:26:00.000-07:00Fascinating!I recently read about a similar case, ...Fascinating!<BR/><BR/>I recently read about a similar case, but he's now recovered his mind, although he still has some physical symptoms. <BR/><BR/>Remarkably, he re-taught himself Greek using his own textbook:<BR/><BR/>"My Greek grammar had come out in the summer of 1996. I had spent seventeen years working on it, taking it through five pre-publication drafts that had been used in the classroom since 1979. In the fall of 1997, when I was teaching intermediate Greek again, I found myself not recognizing very much that was in the grammar. I couldn’t even understand the concepts, let alone recognize that these were my words! Then I discovered that even my basic Greek skills—parsing, vocabulary, translating—had all but disappeared. I had to relearn Greek in the midst of teaching it. I was teaching first-year Greek at the same time, and that helped me to relearn the basics. It was a very difficult year though, because I was really only one step ahead of the hounds all year. As I kept coming back to Greek, the synapses in my brain began to kick in. It was easier relearning Greek the second time around, but the circumstances were a bit unusual, especially having to reread my own grammar to understand the language better."<BR/><BR/>http://theologica.blogspot.com/2008/02/interview-with-daniel-wallace-part-1.htmlElizabethBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06128884454595561057noreply@blogger.com