EdwardFrenkel

I agree that we should diversify. Our math curriculum has not changed in decades, if not centuries, which is a shame. How come physics and biology classes get updated, and math classes do not?

In regards to math education: The key problem is that in our schools today, we do not convey to our students what mathematics is really about, what it's good for, but instead make students memorize procedures and calculations that appear to them devoid of any meaning. Mathematics, in their minds, then become a cold, lifeless, boring, and irrelevant subject. What is even worse is that many of us have traumatic experiences in our math classes as children, such as being shamed by a teacher in front of the class for incorrect solution. These memories stay with us, even if we are not consciously aware of them. And this creates the fear of mathematics.

Now, let's talk about the material. Do you know that most of mathematics we study at our schools today is more than 1,000 years old? For example, the formula for solutions of quadratic equations was in al-Khwarizmi's book published in 830, and Euclid laid the foundations of Euclidean geometry around 300 BC (2,300 years ago). If the same time lag were true in physics or biology, we wouldn't know about the solar system, the atom and DNA. I think this is unacceptable and really scandalous. Especially, today, when mathematics is all around us (think about computers, smartphones, GPS devices, video games, search algorithms and so on). But we do not teach our kids about all this stuff and instead keep feeding them the same old material. This makes no sense!

People sometimes say that we need to study the old and "boring" stuff because it is necessary to understand the new and exciting ideas. But I can tell you as a professional mathematician: this is simply not true. You do not need to know Euclidean geometry, the geometry of lines on a plane -- which is flat -- to understand the geometry of a sphere, the geometry of parallels and meridians on a globe -- which is curved, not flat. Students can grasp this non-Euclidean geometry even faster, and it's a lot more fun! And in fact this is closer to reality because the Earth is round, and its surface is spherical. It's not flat! Unfortunately, in our math classes today the world is still flat.

What we should do instead is present mathematics not as a set of calculations and procedures that need to be memorized for the exam, but as what it truly is: a parallel universe of beauty and elegance -- just like art, literature, and music. And we must show the connections between mathematics and our daily lives, to get students motivated to study.

Reddit mods have apologized to me for the abrupt shutting down of my AMA two weeks ago, and they have been super-nice in arranging this AMA. I think the mods have legitimate grievances, which boiled to the surface on July 2. I hope that all these issues will be resolved and Reddit will continue providing valuable service for the community. I am happy to contribute to that.

I do! This used to be a problem, because I would be completely covered in chalk at the end of the lecture. But now I use a special Japanese chalk, which leaves much less dust, so it's better. :)

The Riemann Hypothesis.