Monday, December 12, 2011

Recorde of statistics

Richard Hamblyn’s collection, The Art of Science: A Natural History of Ideas, introduced me to this wonderfully spirited paean to Arithmetick, extracted from Robert Recorde’s The Grounde of Artes, Teachying the Worke & Practise of Arithmetike, much necessary for all States of Men, which was published in 1543 during the reign of Henry VIII.

Doctors gather so great mysteries out of number & so much do write of it. And if I should go about to write of all the commodities of Arithmetick in civil acts, as in governance of Common-weales in times of peace, & in due provision & order of Armies, in time of war, for numbering the Host, summing of their wages, provision of victuals, viewing of Artillery, with other Armour; beside the cunningest point of all, for casting of ground, for encamping of men, with such other like: And how many ways also Arithmetick is conducible for all private Weales, of Lords & all Possessioners, of Merchants, & all other occupiers, & generally for all estates of men, besides Auditors, Treasurers, Receivers, Stewards, Bailiffs, & such like, whose Offices without Arithmetick are nothing: if I should particularly repeat all such commodities of the noble Science of Arithmetick, it were enough to make a very great book.
Robert Recorde c1510-58

Britain is (finally?) to develop a cutting edge workforce in everything from medicine & science to car manufacturing & digital technologies with the aid of a dozen maths colleges for 16 to 18 year olds, one in each major city in England (Which they? Surely London needs more than one?) Since we do not have enough maths teachers in schools they will be linked to universities & will be totally free in matters of pupil selection & curriculum.

We need them to ‘help make England an intellectual, cultural & economic leader in a field vital for our future’ said one official.

They will all be up & running by the time of the next election.

Fact: # of maths lessons currently taught by non-maths specialists??

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