A Mathematician's Lament: How School Cheats Us Out of Our Most Fascinating and Imaginative Art Form Paperback – April 1, 2009

Once in a while we read books that we just know are especially important, and that we know we will be thinking and talking about long after reading them. This book is one of them for me.I am a returning adult student, and I am about to finish my training to become a math teacher. Having gone through my education program, my enthusiasm was just about completely drained, and I've been having trouble remembering why I ever wanted to become a math teacher in the first place. Why would anyone?Paul Lockhart knows, and his book has reawakened my desire to help students discover the joy of mathematics. His argument is concise, and he makes it forcefully. His book is a joy to read, mainly because his understanding of the subject and his passion for it are clear in every page. He reinforces ideas I already had about how school sucks the life out of math (and all subjects), but he also challenges some of my opinions. I think this will happen with most people who read it.Once he finishes making his argument about math education in about the first two-thirds of this short book, he devotes the remaining section to describing what he finds wonderful about mathematics itself. This section should make just about anyone want to become either a mathematician or a math teacher.I want people to read the book for the specifics of his arguments, but I want to discuss one important point that he makes. Many people in math education claim that in order to make math more understandable and interesting to students, we need to show how practical it is and how it is used in everyday life. I've always felt like this idea was wrong, or at least limited in its usefulness in that regard. Well, Lockhart demolishes the idea, essentially claiming that practical uses are simply by-products of math, and that the real excitement and beauty of mathematics is in the abstract, imaginary, and creative world of mathematical ideas that have no specific connection to the everyday. By-products and applications can make math seem boring and secondary to the uses it serves. I agree with him--and much more now after having read his argument.I honestly think just about everyone should read this book. Of course math teachers should, as should anybody involved in math education in any way. But I think people outside of math education should read it too. The specific mathematical ideas discussed in the book do not require a strong mathematical background, and I can't think of a better book that so concisely conveys the nature of the subject and the way it is viewed and misunderstood in society. I'm still not sure I agree with Lockhart's every point, but I love this book. (And I might agree with his every point after more thought and experience in the classroom.)

The author’s love of the subject leaps through the pages to the reader, you really get the sense that he is really trying hard to crush a widely-held view that math is a miserable, dry subject. Math really is fun and exciting!It’s worth the purchase price just for his concise summation of the current math curriculum and his trenchant take down of high school geometry as it is taught.There are points where I have some disagreement, as good as this book is. The use of fun games to create interest in math such as playing Go and other games, i question whether we need such gateway devices to create interest in math. If Go is fun, play Go, but it shouldn’t be played with the sole intention of leading to math. Math, really IS fun on it’s own, and without school, more kids will come to it naturally.Secondly, the author mentions that many of the questions and problems which lead mathematical inquiry have no practical use and it is the sheer pure joy of math itself that is the source of pleasure in doing it. I do not disagree but i would be hesitant to immediately make a statement like that considering math is such a vast subject and perhaps real world applications could very well drive interest in children. He does double back later to mention it’s not really important to worry about such things and I would agree.Don’t let these nitpicks stop you from buying the book. It’s an excellent book, and I believe the main point that the book successfully delivers is the radical change of view to the standard view of math: it’s an art form, not a misery and a distinctly human activity. Children if given a chance outside of school, will love it and not get turned off by it.. and it will be a pleasurable life long pursuit.

I absolutely love this book. As a high school math teacher I've often felt so wrong in doing things like handing over formulas, like one may hand over hard-earned money to a thief. It just doesn't seem fair to me or my students to present a conclusion that many in the past spent so much time trying to figure out, without giving my students the time and guidance to figure it out and earn it on their own. Take for instance the area of a triangle. Many of us as math teachers simply GIVE the formula A=1/2*b*h without explaining WHY let alone having the students explore on their own and find out the area of a triangle themselves. The author describes how math is "the art of reason" and that like music, like painting, it's okay to play around with it because in playing around one can discover so many beautiful things that last within the mind forever.The author also talks about how math education in public schools is destroying creativity with numbers, shapes, and the imagination, and gives several funny, sardonic examples of how we're doing that. He does however give several examples of beautiful problems and how to go about allowing students to explore this "imaginary land of mathematics" as he describes. The author makes an awesome comparison of his love for mathematics and the way numbers behave to the love a biologist has for animals and the way hamsters behave.I love his metaphors and allusions; they really bring the world of mathematics into a whole new light for people like me- a math teacher who rediscovered her love for math.This is a fun, interesting read for anyone who likes math and EVEN for those who hate it! You'll probably discover why you hate it and then realize that you actually hate the public school system for making you feel stupid and maybe even say math isn't so bad after all.