Mathematics for Human Flourishing: The Christian Origins of Religious Freedom Paperback – 2 March 2021

Per chi ha a che fare con la matematica e con la scuola: imperdibile!!!!

The book includes correspondence (letters) between the author and Christopher Jackson, a prisoner who has been learning mathematics on his own while serving time (even now). The author, a Harvey Mudd College professor, shares his own mathematical journey, from growing up in rural Texas to almost quitting while in graduate school at Harvard. The essential theme of the book is the link between mathematics and what it means to be a human.The message of the book is this: the “proper practice of mathematics cultivates virtues that help people flourish” (p. 10). Su disputes the misconception that mathematics is just a tool; rather, he powerfully demonstrates that it is for human flourishing, just like music and art are, nurturing virtues. He writes, “The skills society needs from math may change, but the virtues needed from math will not” (p. 11). He heavily criticizes both the outdated math curricula and pedagogy.He describes “math explorers,” which could, in his opinion, be all humans. He stresses creativity, imagination, abstraction (p. 43), fun, joy, beauty, struggle, and reflection. These virtues then become the outline of the entire book. Chapters have titles like “permanence,” “truth,” “justice,” and “freedom.”He also has a plenty of personal stories, including how he discovered he was adopted, his recent marriage, growing up as a Chinese American in Texas, being the first person of color to lead the MAA (the title “Finally, An Asian Guy Who’s Good at Math” is hilarious, p. 154). A photo of Francis Su and Christopher Jackson, taken in prison (p. 221), is also inspirational.Throughout the book, there are very interesting math questions and puzzles that encourage critical thinking. My favorites include ants on a log, 100 lightbulbs, and 5 points on the sphere.

Fantastic book. Heart warming. Encouraging. Wonderful.

Each single chapter is inspiring and motivating. This book is for readers from all walks of life e.g. students, parents, educators, engineers, philanthropists.

This book is awesome. Falls right in line with giving students real world learning )maths in context). It is set out well, easy to read and provides excellent examples for discussion.