alt Hacker NewsFrom the evidence, one might dare to suggest that public education in the Soviet Union was pretty good, particularly of mathematics and the sciences. For example, the Math Circle as a social activity.
From the evidence, one might dare to suggest that public education in the Soviet Union was pretty good, particularly of mathematics and the sciences. For example, the Math Circle as a social activity.
I'm also unconvinced that "Hard==Better" and that aggressive flunk-out programs are the best idea for a society.
As someone who hated undergrad math and physics approaches to vector calculus--until I found _Div, Grad, Curl and All That_--I'd argue that shitty hard textbooks are just shitty. There seems to be a cultural bias toward asceticism here, where suffering purifies the soul.