The author has been reading Barry Mazur's "Imagining numbers," one of a number of recent general books about mathematics. This one, typically, is said in the preface to be for "people who have no training in mathematics." It does, perhaps untypically, invoke algebraic symbolism and solve quadratic and cubic equations. More…

Historical issues concerning the role of mathematics in the school curriculum are considered, with numerous examples illustrating varying emphases. (MNS)

Some ways of thinking and acting geometrically are described which are related to the approach used by ancient humans. The focus is on intuitive geometric imagery, an attempt to resurrect a way of describing possible viewpoints of geometry outside of those commonly accepted. (MP)

Proposes three thought experiments on various contexts of teaching mathematics. The experiments are intended to raise questions about the mathematics curriculum and to engage discussion about what topics should have high priority in arithmetic teaching. (DDR)

Reviews M.B. DeBevoise's "Conversations on Mind, Matter, and Mathematics," (a book of translated conversations between Jean-Pierre Changeux and Alain Connes), which explores the question of whether a machine could reproduce the activity of the human brain. Explains how mathematics might be able to mediate between mind and matter. (DDR)

Presents two case studies from a book by Lusiane Weyl-Kailey in which she addresses the learning problems of 14-year-old boys from either a psychoanalytic perspective or a mathematical perspective, depending upon her diagnosis of the boys' problems. (MDH)

Discusses issues related to orality, aurality, and literacy in the teaching and understanding of mathematics. Also discusses ritual and tradition in mathematics instruction. (MM)