I'd say the skills are balance, power, foot position, etc. The tricks are the ollies or Yurchenkos or whatever--the applications of the skills. I'm saying we agree that doing without understnading is the problem, but I don't think this wording needs to be the hill to die on
November 3, 2025 at 6:02 PM
I'd say the skills are balance, power, foot position, etc. The tricks are the ollies or Yurchenkos or whatever--the applications of the skills. I'm saying we agree that doing without understnading is the problem, but I don't think this wording needs to be the hill to die on
Sure, but a skateboard trick, a gymnastics trick, or even a magic trick can't be done without understanding and practicing. I think the worry you are all having is when the trick is performed and I agree that this is bad. This is why I think it's semantics. I would call the problem algorithms
November 3, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Sure, but a skateboard trick, a gymnastics trick, or even a magic trick can't be done without understanding and practicing. I think the worry you are all having is when the trick is performed and I agree that this is bad. This is why I think it's semantics. I would call the problem algorithms
I suppose. But if I'm the one doing the trick, it doesn't seem like magic anymore? I guess I am thinking more of it as like a skateboarding trick than a magic trick--something I'm using my skill and knowledge to do.
November 3, 2025 at 4:11 PM
I suppose. But if I'm the one doing the trick, it doesn't seem like magic anymore? I guess I am thinking more of it as like a skateboarding trick than a magic trick--something I'm using my skill and knowledge to do.
Tricks like finding counterexamples, using the negative to prove by contradiction, taking extreme examples or simplified ones, etc. These are all tricks we use to better understand a concept and prove it using the properties, rules, and theorems you mention.
November 3, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Tricks like finding counterexamples, using the negative to prove by contradiction, taking extreme examples or simplified ones, etc. These are all tricks we use to better understand a concept and prove it using the properties, rules, and theorems you mention.
I disagree about not calling things "tricks" but maybe that's just semantics. There are all sorts of ways of thinking and different strategies that come up when thinking through mathematical ideas and I think of those as tricks in my bag to employ.
November 3, 2025 at 3:18 PM
I disagree about not calling things "tricks" but maybe that's just semantics. There are all sorts of ways of thinking and different strategies that come up when thinking through mathematical ideas and I think of those as tricks in my bag to employ.
When we were in San Juan this summer, our Uber driver took us past the Paseo de los Presidentes and he said that it stopped at Obama. I told him that was enough and they didn't need to add any more.
September 29, 2025 at 6:01 PM
When we were in San Juan this summer, our Uber driver took us past the Paseo de los Presidentes and he said that it stopped at Obama. I told him that was enough and they didn't need to add any more.
The SEVENTH president (Andrew Jackson) was elected TWICE, the first time in 1828. The angles of an isosceles right triangle are 45, 90, 45 and Michael Jordan was number 23.
2.71828182845904523...
September 13, 2025 at 2:48 PM
The SEVENTH president (Andrew Jackson) was elected TWICE, the first time in 1828. The angles of an isosceles right triangle are 45, 90, 45 and Michael Jordan was number 23.