Folk Mathematics
If modern mathematical practices are what distinguish modern professional mathematicians from older ideas of folk mathematics. Although such "folk" practices may well include useful formulae or algorithms, they are generally without the accompanying proof discipline.
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Famous quotes containing the words folk and/or mathematics:
“An’ when the earth’s as cauld’s the mune
An’ a’ its folk are lang syne deid,
On coontless stars the Babe maun cry
An’ the Crucified maun bleed.”
—Hugh MacDiarmid (1892–1978)
“It is a monstrous thing to force a child to learn Latin or Greek or mathematics on the ground that they are an indispensable gymnastic for the mental powers. It would be monstrous even if it were true.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)