Tuesday, June 02, 2020
AI point-missing... so close yet so far....
Via Eurekalert, an interesting idea that serves the wrong audience.
Some people look at an equation and see a bunch of numbers and symbols; others see beauty. Thanks to a new tool created at Carnegie Mellon University, anyone can now translate the abstractions of mathematics into beautiful and instructive illustrations. The tool enables users to create diagrams simply by typing an ordinary mathematical expression and letting the software do the drawing. Unlike a graphing calculator, these expressions aren't limited to basic functions, but can be complex relationships from any area of mathematics.Broadly speaking, this is unquestionably a good concept. When possible, a physical experience with real things should be the first step in learning. Graphs and pictures should be the second step. A 3d picture, or a CG animation including the 4th time dimension, is better than a 2d graph. What's the problem?
Once the computer learns how the user wants to see mathematical objects visualized -- a vector represented by a little arrow, for instance, or a point represented as a dot -- it uses these rules to draw several candidate diagrams. The user can then select and edit the diagrams they want from a gallery of possibilities. The research team developed a special programming language for this purpose that mathematicians should have no trouble learning, Crane said. "Mathematicians can get very picky about notation," he explained. "We let them define whatever notation they want, so they can express themselves naturally."That's the problem. It's designed to serve the tastes of mathematicians. It might help create an attractive paper for tenure, but it won't help the people who need help. Autistic and Oriental students hungrily consume pure symbols, the more abstract the better. Abstraction is a vitamin for them. Mathematicians belong to those categories, so their preferences will still be hard for other types to comprehend. Other types learn best by doing concrete job-related tasks, then seeing graphs and hearing descriptions. So this tool will help mathies talk to other mathies. It won't help non-mathies learn.
Labels: AI point-missing, Carver, Experiential education
¶ 4:40 AM
