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Introduction to
Mathematical Thinking
Learnhowtothinkthewaymathematiciansdoapowerfulcognitive
processdevelopedoverthousandsofyears.
About the Course
NOTE:FortheFall2014session,thecoursewebsitewillgoliveat10:00AM
USPSTonSaturdaySeptember27,twodaysbeforethecoursebegins,soyou
havetimetofamiliarizeyourselfwiththewebsitestructure,watchsomeshort
introductoryvideos,andlookatsomepreliminarymaterial.
Thegoalofthecourseistohelpyoudevelopavaluablementalabilityapowerful
wayofthinkingthatourancestorshavedevelopedoverthreethousandyears.

Mathematicalthinkingisnotthesameasdoingmathematicsatleastnotas
mathematicsistypicallypresentedinourschoolsystem.Schoolmathtypically
focusesonlearningprocedurestosolvehighlystereotypedproblems.Professional
mathematiciansthinkacertainwaytosolverealproblems,problemsthatcanarise
fromtheeverydayworld,orfromscience,orfromwithinmathematicsitself.Thekey
tosuccessinschoolmathistolearntothinkinsidethebox.Incontrast,akeyfeature
ofmathematicalthinkingisthinkingoutsidetheboxavaluableabilityintodays
world.Thiscoursehelpstodevelopthatcrucialwayofthinking.

Thecourseisofferedintwoversions.TheeightweeklongBasicCourseisdesigned
forpeoplewhowanttodeveloporimprovemathematicsbased,analyticthinkingfor
professionalorgenerallifepurposes.ThetenweeklongExtendedCourseisaimed
primarilyatfirstyearstudentsatcollegeoruniversitywhoarethinkingofmajoringin
mathematicsoramathematicallydependentsubject,orhighschoolseniorswho
havesuchacollegecareerinmind.Thefinaltwoweeksaremoreintensiveand
requiremoremathematicalbackgroundthantheBasicCourse.Thereisnoneedto
makeaformalelectionbetweenthetwo.Simplyskipordropoutofthefinaltwo
weeksifyoudecideyouwanttocompleteonlytheBasicCourse.
Subtitlesforallvideolecturesavailablein:Portuguese(providedbyTheLemann
Foundation),English
Course Syllabus
Instructorswelcomeandintroduction
1.Introductorymaterial
2.Analysisoflanguagethelogicalcombinators
3.Analysisoflanguageimplication
4.Analysisoflanguageequivalence
5.Analysisoflanguagequantifiers
6.Workingwithquantifiers
7.Proofs
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Sessions
Sep29th2014Dec6th2014
Join for Free
Eligible for
StatementofAccomplishment
Course at a Glance
10weeksofstudy
810hoursofwork/week
English
English,Portuguese(Brazilian)subtitles
Instructors
Categories
Mathematics
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WatchIntroVideo
KeithDevlin
StanfordUniversity
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8.Proofsinvolvingquantifiers
9.Elementsofnumbertheory
10.Beginningrealanalysis
Recommended Background
Highschoolmathematics.Specificrequirementsarefamiliaritywithelementary
symbolicalgebra,theconceptofanumbersystem(inparticular,thecharacteristics
of,anddistinctionsbetween,thenaturalnumbers,theintegers,therationalnumbers,
andtherealnumbers),andsomeelementarysettheory(includinginequalitiesand
intervalsoftherealline).Studentswhosefamiliaritywiththesetopicsissomewhat
rustytypicallyfindthatwithalittleextraefforttheycanpickupwhatisrequiredalong
theway.Theonlyheavyuseofthesetopicsisinthe(optional)finaltwoweeksofthe
ExtendedCourse.
Agoodwaytoassessifyourbasicschoolbackgroundisadequate(evenifcurrently
rusty)istoglanceatthetopicsinthebookAddingItUp:HelpingChildrenLearn
Mathematics(freedownload),publishedbytheUSNationalAcademiesPressin
2001.ThoughaimedatK8mathematicsteachersandteachereducators,itprovides
anexcellentcoverageofwhatconstitutesagoodbasicmathematicseducationforlife
intheTwentyFirstCentury(whichwastheNationalAcademies'aiminproducingit).
Suggested Readings
Thereisonereadingassignmentatthestart,providingsomemotivational
background.
Thereisasupplementalreadingunitdescribingelementarysettheoryforstudents
whoarenotfamiliarwiththematerial.
Thereisacoursetextbook,IntroductiontoMathematicalThinking,byKeithDevlin,
availableatlowcost(USbaseprice$10.99)fromAmazon,inhardcopyandKindle
versions,butitisnotrequiredinordertocompletethecourse.
Forgeneralbackgroundonmathematicsanditsroleinthemodernworld,takealook
atthefiveweeksurveycourseonmathematics("Mathematics:MakingtheInvisible
Visible")DevlingaveatStanfordinfall2012,availableforfreedownloadfromiTunes
University(Stanford),andonYouTube(1,2,3,4,5),particularlythefirsthalves
oflectures1and4.
Course Format
TheBasicCourselastsforeightweeks,comprisingtenlectures,eachwitha
problembasedworkassignment(ungraded,designedforgroupwork),aweekly
ProblemSet(machinegraded),andweeklytutorialsinwhichtheinstructorwillgo
oversomeoftheassignmentandProblemSetquestionsfromthepreviousweek.
TheExtendedCourseconsistsoftheBasicCoursefollowedbyamoreintensetwo
weeksexercisecalledTestFlight.WhereasthefocusintheBasicCourseisthe
developmentofmathematicallybasedthinkingskillsforeverydaylife,thefocusin
TestFlightisonapplyingthoseskillstomathematicsitself.
FAQ
WillIgetacertificateaftercompletingthisclass?
ThecoursedoesnotcarryStanfordcredit.IfyoucompletetheBasicCoursewith
morethanaminimalaggregatemark,youwillgetaStatementof
Accomplishment.IfyougoontocompletetheExtendedCoursewithmorethana
minimalmark,youwillreceiveaStatementofAccomplishmentwithDistinction.
Whataretheassignmentsforthisclass?
Attheendofeachlecture,youwillbegivenanassignment(asadownloadable
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lives,thelivesoftheirfamilies,andthe
communitiestheyliveinwitheducation.
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PDFfile,releasedatthesametimeasthelecture)thatisintendedtoguide
understandingofwhatyouhavelearned.Workedsolutionstoproblemsfromthe
assignmentswillbedescribedthefollowingweekinavideotutorialsessiongiven
bytheinstructor.
Usingtheworkedsolutionsasguidance,togetherwithinputfromotherstudents,
youwillselfgradeyourassignmentworkforcorrectness.Theassignmentsare
forunderstandinganddevelopment,notforgradepoints.Youarestrongly
encouragedtodiscussyourworkwithothersbefore,during,andaftertheself
gradingprocess.Theseassignments(andtheselfgrading)aretherealheartof
thecourse.Theonlywaytolearnhowtothinkmathematicallyistokeeptryingto
doso,comparingyourperformancetothatofanexpertanddiscussingthe
issueswithfellowstudents.
Isthereafinalexamforthiscourse?
No.TheTestFlightexerciseinthefinaltwoweeksoftheExtendedCourseis
builtaroundaProblemSetsimilartothoseusedthroughoutthecourse,andyour
submissionwillbepeerevaluatedbyotherstudents,butthefocusisonthe
processofevaluationitself,withthegoalofdevelopingtheabilitytojudge
mathematicalargumentspresentedbyothers.Whilstnotanexam,TestFlightis
anintenseandchallengingcapstoneexperience,andisdesignedtoprepare
studentsforfurtherstudyofuniversitylevelmathematics.
Howisthiscoursegraded?
IntheBasicCourse,gradesareawardedfortheweeklyProblemSets,whichare
machinegraded.Theaggregategradeisprovidedinthecovernotetothe
StatementofAccomplishment,withanexplanationofitssignificancewithinthe
class.IntheExtendedCourse,additionalgradesareawardedforaseriesof
proofevaluationexercisesandfortheTestFlightProblemSet(peerevaluated).
TheaggregategradeisprovidedinthecovernotetotheStatementof
AccomplishmentwithDistinction,withanexplanationofitssignificancewithinthe
class.
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