\ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n
I continued my mnemonic language setup with notes on the scope and characteristics of the language.<\/strong> Some key characteristics:<\/p>\n This week I aim to finish up the setup, and then next week I\u2019ll move on to math.<\/p>\n I switched my PAO number alphabet from Dominic O\u2019Brien\u2019s<\/a> to one based on letter shapes.<\/strong> The idea came to me while I was slightly struggling to convert a speed limit sign to Dominic letters and I realized I already had a tendency to associate numbers and letters by shape. I had to flip and rotate some numbers, but my new alphabet feels pretty straightforward, and the conversions are much easier for me: 0 = O, 1 = I, 2 = N, 3 = E, 4 = A, 5 = S, 6 = G, 7 = L, 8 = B, 9 = P. I can reuse about half of my names from the Dominic alphabet, so now I just need to come up with the new ones, plus the actions and objects I never finished.<\/p>\n \ud83d\ude0e<\/p>\n From David Tall\u2019s How Humans Learn to Think Mathematically<\/em> (overview<\/a>) I learned that he and Jo Boaler don\u2019t disagree on visual math learning after all.<\/strong> He explains that many mathematicians take an embodied approach to thinking about formal math, most famously Einstein and Feynman. The main value of the book for me, other than inspiring me to keep pushing ahead in math, is that it pinpoints the struggles students have learning particular math concepts, which will hopefully give me a shortcut in getting through them.<\/p>\n \ud83e\udd14<\/p>\n Since I\u2019m finally caught up on weeknotes and since compressing my writing time for them rarely works, I\u2019m going to try working on them throughout the week before they\u2019re due.<\/strong> I\u2019ve mostly resisted this approach in the past because it\u2019s hard to assess my week while it\u2019s in progress, but only some of my topics cover the whole week. Others take place on a single day, and writing about those as I go might be easier. I\u2019m guessing it\u2019ll be a relief to spend my several days of blogging before my (self-imposed) deadline instead of after it, and I imagine I\u2019ll feel more in control of the process.<\/p>\n \ud83d\ude0e<\/p>\n I believe I spied a great egret building a nest on my walk near work.<\/strong> It was standing on a low tree branch over the water, picking up twigs in its beak and carefully laying them in the branches. But I read they normally nest in April and high in the trees, so maybe that\u2019s not what it was doing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n A post shared by Andy Culbertson (@thinkulum)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
Math<\/h2>\n
Productivity<\/h2>\n
Nature<\/h2>\n
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