On the internet, nobody knows you're a dog

I'd forgotten that!

Maria Konnikova mentions the cartoon in an interesting piece about online comments.

I've always been amazed by kitchen table math commenters. Smart, funny, and civil for years on end.

we're number 15!

wow!

(See what happens when I go off campaigning??)

Steven H on soccer games & grocery stores

I see KTM as more than a kitchen table; it's a web-based extension of a grocery store or soccer sideline where we can discuss with other parents and teachers without having to rush home to cook dinner. There are always new parents coming into the grocery store. Hopefully they will realize that they aren't "the only one who's complained."

I think parents are very interested in any information they can get. This is the kind of information that many people won't talk about in a letter to the editor. It's also information that schools really don't want to discuss publically either.

For many discussions, there is a niceness factor that gets in the way of critical analysis. If a waiter asks if you liked your meal, most will probably say it was just fine, still tip 15%, but then go to another restaurant. For schools, you can't go anywhere else and you have to worry about consequences. Besides, I really like the teachers at my son's school. Since there is no process for parental input on curriculum or things that go on behind the veil, I would have to become a real pain in the ass to try and make changes. So what happens? parents smile and say that everything is fine, but then go out and hire a tutor.

KTM works to remove the veil (and sometimes the niceness factor) to try to get to the core of issues. In math, this means the details of mastery and the meaning of understanding. Things are happening at schools and parents have to pick up the pieces at home. These aren't always nice, happy, constructive discussions because they involve fundamental beliefs and assumptions.

help desk

How do I get rid of knicksgrl?

what is a mile?

from Doug S:

1 mile = 5280 feet = 1760 yards = 8 furlongs = 320 rods.

Unless it's a nautical mile, which is 1852 meters (precisely), 6076.115 ft, or quite close to 1 minute of longitude at the equator (its original definition).

Every once in awhile I'm tempted to reflect (another perfectly fine English language word ruined by edu-texts) upon the fact that I have spent the last 2 1/2 years hanging out with people who know what a nautical mile is and whether it's longer or shorter than a regular mile and by how much.

Doesn't this imply that somebody took a wrong turn somewhere back in the mists of time?

Like, say, in my high school math courses?

So every once in awhile I'm tempted to make meaning out of all this.

Then the feeling passes.