Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Discrete Math with Ducks is awesome!

"The guiding pedagogical principle behind the style and tone of this text is pretty silly.  I mean that literally:  I believe that students are more likely to absorb mathematics that is presented in a goofy way.  Bizarre situations help students separate the abstraction of the mathematics from the presentation of a problem and thus give students practice in recognizing the mathematical essence of the problems they find in other contexts.  Students who are enjoying the weirdness of problem presentations are also focusing on the mathematics.  It's easier to remember a zany concept setup than to recall a straightforward statement.  And there's no reason to be serious when there's an opportunity to have fun." --from the preface to Discrete Math with Ducks by saramarie belcastro

This book may win the prize for the highest variance reviews on Amazon, but I love it.