ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Arthur Benjamin - Mathemagician
Using daring displays of algorithmic trickery, lightning calculator and number wizard Arthur Benjamin mesmerizes audiences with mathematical mystery and beauty.

Why you should listen

Arthur Benjamin makes numbers dance. In his day job, he's a professor of math at Harvey Mudd College; in his other day job, he's a "Mathemagician," taking the stage in his tuxedo to perform high-speed mental calculations, memorizations and other astounding math stunts. It's part of his drive to teach math and mental agility in interesting ways, following in the footsteps of such heroes as Martin Gardner.

Benjamin is the co-author, with Michael Shermer, of Secrets of Mental Math (which shares his secrets for rapid mental calculation), as well as the co-author of the MAA award-winning Proofs That Really Count: The Art of Combinatorial Proof. For a glimpse of his broad approach to math, see the list of research talks on his website, which seesaws between high-level math (such as his "Vandermonde's Determinant and Fibonacci SAWs," presented at MIT in 2004) and engaging math talks for the rest of us ("An Amazing Mathematical Card Trick").

More profile about the speaker
Arthur Benjamin | Speaker | TED.com
TED2009

Arthur Benjamin: Teach statistics before calculus!

Ang reseta ni Arthur Benjamin sa pagbago ng edukasyon ng matematika

Filmed:
2,625,810 views

Laging may nagtatanong sa guro ng matematika, "Gagamitin ko ba ang calculus sa totoong buhay?" At para sa karamihan sa atin, ang sagot ay hindi. Naghahandog siya ng isang mungkahi kung paano gawing makabuluhan ang edukasyon ng matematika sa panahon ng digital.
- Mathemagician
Using daring displays of algorithmic trickery, lightning calculator and number wizard Arthur Benjamin mesmerizes audiences with mathematical mystery and beauty. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
Now, if President Obama
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Ngayon, kung inimbita ako
00:15
invited me to be the next Czar of Mathematics,
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ni Pangulong Obama na maging Emperador ng Matematika,
00:19
then I would have a suggestion for him
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meron akong payo para sa kanya
00:22
that I think would vastly improve
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na sa tingin ko na magpapahusay nang husto
00:24
the mathematics education in this country.
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sa edukasyon ng matematika sa bansang ito.
00:27
And it would be easy to implement
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At madali lang ito iisagawa
00:29
and inexpensive.
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at mura pa.
00:31
The mathematics curriculum that we have
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Ang kurikulum ng matematika natin ngayon
00:33
is based on a foundation of arithmetic and algebra.
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ay may batayan sa arithmetic at algebra.
00:37
And everything we learn after that
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At lahat ng mga natutunan natin matapos nun
00:39
is building up towards one subject.
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ay patungo sa isang paksa.
00:42
And at top of that pyramid, it's calculus.
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At ang nasa tuktok ng piramide ay ang calculus.
00:46
And I'm here to say
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At naririto ako para sabihin
00:48
that I think that that is the wrong summit of the pyramid ...
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na yun ang maling tuktok ng piramide ...
00:52
that the correct summit -- that all of our students,
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na ang tamang tuktok – na nararapat alamin ng ating mga mag-aaral,
00:54
every high school graduate should know --
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na nararapat alamin ng bawat high school graduate –
00:56
should be statistics:
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ay ang estatistika:
00:59
probability and statistics.
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ang probabilidad at ang estatistika.
01:01
(Applause)
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(Palakpakan)
01:03
I mean, don't get me wrong. Calculus is an important subject.
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Oo alam ko ngang mahalaga ang calculus.
01:07
It's one of the great products of the human mind.
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Isa ito sa pinakamagaling na produkto ng utak ng tao.
01:09
The laws of nature are written in the language of calculus.
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Nakasulat ang mga batas ng kalikasan sa wika ng calculus.
01:13
And every student who studies math, science, engineering, economics,
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At lahat ng estudyante na nag-aaral ng matematika, agham, pag-iinhinyero, ekonomika,
01:17
they should definitely learn calculus
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ay nangangailangan talagang pag-aralan ang calculus
01:19
by the end of their freshman year of college.
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pagsapit ng katapusan ng primer anyo ng kolehiyo.
01:21
But I'm here to say, as a professor of mathematics,
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Pero naririto ako para sabihin na, bilang isang propesor ng matematika,
01:24
that very few people actually use calculus
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konting-konti lang ang mga tao na gumagamit ng calculus
01:28
in a conscious, meaningful way, in their day-to-day lives.
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sa sadya at makabuluhang pamamaraan, sa kanilang pang-araw-araw na kabuhayan.
01:31
On the other hand,
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Sa isang banda,
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statistics -- that's a subject that you could,
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ang estatistika – isang paksa na maaari,
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and should, use on daily basis. Right?
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at nararapat, gamitin araw-araw. Diba?
01:39
It's risk. It's reward. It's randomness.
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Ito'y panganib. Ito'y gantimpala. Ito'y sapalaran.
01:42
It's understanding data.
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Ito'y pag-uunawa ng data.
01:44
I think if our students, if our high school students --
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Sa tingin ko na kung alam ng ating mga mag-aaral –
01:46
if all of the American citizens --
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kung alam ng lahat ng mga Amerikano
01:48
knew about probability and statistics,
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ang probabilidad at estatistika,
01:51
we wouldn't be in the economic mess that we're in today. (Laughter) (Applause)
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hindi siguro magulo ang ekonomiya natin ngayon.
01:54
Not only -- thank you -- not only that ...
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Hindi lang – salamat – hindi lang yun ...
01:57
but if it's taught properly, it can be a lot of fun.
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[ngunit] kung tama ang pagturo nito, maaaring maging masaya ito.
02:00
I mean, probability and statistics,
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Ibig sabihin, ang probabilidad at ang estatistika,
02:02
it's the mathematics of games and gambling.
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ay ang matematika ng laro at pagsusugal.
02:06
It's analyzing trends. It's predicting the future.
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Pagsusuri ito ng mga trend. Panghuhula ng kinabukasan.
02:10
Look, the world has changed
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Alam nyo, lumipat na ang mundo
02:12
from analog to digital.
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sa digital mula sa analog.
02:15
And it's time for our mathematics curriculum to change
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At panahon na para baguhin ang kurikulum ng matematika natin
02:18
from analog to digital,
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patungong digital mula sa analog.
02:20
from the more classical, continuous mathematics,
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Mula sa mas klasiko na 'continuous mathematics',
02:24
to the more modern, discrete mathematics --
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patungo sa mas makabago na 'discrete mathematics.'
02:27
the mathematics of uncertainty,
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Ang matematika ng walang kasiguraduhan,
02:29
of randomness, of data --
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ng ala-suwerte (randomness), ng data –
02:31
that being probability and statistics.
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at yun ang probabilidad at estatistika.
02:34
In summary, instead of our students
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Sa kabuuan, imbis na pag-aralan ng
02:36
learning about the techniques of calculus,
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ating mga estudyante ang mga paraan ng calculus,
02:39
I think it would be far more significant
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sa tingin ko mas magiging mahalaga
02:42
if all of them knew what two standard deviations
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kung alam nilang lahat kung ano ang ibig sabihin ng
02:45
from the mean means. And I mean it.
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dalawang standard deviations mula sa mean.
02:48
Thank you very much.
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Maraming salamat po.
02:50
(Applause)
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(Palakpakan)
Translated by chris s
Reviewed by Johann Trinidad

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Arthur Benjamin - Mathemagician
Using daring displays of algorithmic trickery, lightning calculator and number wizard Arthur Benjamin mesmerizes audiences with mathematical mystery and beauty.

Why you should listen

Arthur Benjamin makes numbers dance. In his day job, he's a professor of math at Harvey Mudd College; in his other day job, he's a "Mathemagician," taking the stage in his tuxedo to perform high-speed mental calculations, memorizations and other astounding math stunts. It's part of his drive to teach math and mental agility in interesting ways, following in the footsteps of such heroes as Martin Gardner.

Benjamin is the co-author, with Michael Shermer, of Secrets of Mental Math (which shares his secrets for rapid mental calculation), as well as the co-author of the MAA award-winning Proofs That Really Count: The Art of Combinatorial Proof. For a glimpse of his broad approach to math, see the list of research talks on his website, which seesaws between high-level math (such as his "Vandermonde's Determinant and Fibonacci SAWs," presented at MIT in 2004) and engaging math talks for the rest of us ("An Amazing Mathematical Card Trick").

More profile about the speaker
Arthur Benjamin | Speaker | TED.com