Preuve Proof Prueba

Web Newsletter
Juillet/Août 1997

La bibliographie

The bibliography

La bibliografia

Au lecteur ...
La partie principale de cette bibliographie est constituée d'articles publiés dans des revues, des livres et des chapitres de livres accessibles par les réseaux de distribution ordinaires, ainsi qu'aux thèses. Je compte sur les remarques et suggestions des utilisateurs pour améliorer cet outil.

Al lector ...
La parte principal de esta bibliografía es constituida por artículos publicados en revistas, libros y capítulos de libros accesibles por las redes de distribución ordinarias, igualmente las tesis. Yo cuento con las remarcas y sugestiones de los utilizadores para el mejoramiento de este útil.

To the Reader ...
This bibliography consists to a large part of articles published in journals, of books, and of chapters of books, all accessible from normal sources, as well as of theses. I am counting on remarks and suggestions from users to improve this tool.

Nicolas Balacheff


Un outil de recherche

A search tool

Un herramienta de búsqueda

 

Nouveautés

News

Noticias

Arsac G., Mantes M. (1997) Situations d'initiation au raisonnement déductif. Educational Studies in Mathematics 33, 21-43.
Hoyles C. (1997) The curricular shaping of students' approaches to proof. For the Learning of Mathematics 17(1) 7-16.
Shimizu Y. (1997) A mode of thought in J. W. A. Young's theory of the disciplinary value of the study of mathematics: as succeeded by H. P. Fawcett in "The nature of proof". Tsukuba Journal Of Educational Studies in Mathematics 16, 39-48 (en japonais).

 

Communications in Visual Mathematics

Is Taking Shape!

Investigate the prototype for the first completely electronic mathematics journal.

Supported by a the National Science Foundation, published by the MAA.

Now is the time to get involved - let know what you think! Send your ideas, comments, and suggestions to

Thomas Banchoff
or
Davide Cervone.

A contribution to the theme visualization

by D.F. Almeida from the University of Exeter :

Proof and the eye:
a means for understanding Group theory.

More about the theme in the May/June Newsletter

Hypothèse

un logiciel d'apprentissage de la géométrie et d'aide à la résolution de problème

Accès à une version de démonstration et et des compte-rendus d'expérimentation sont disponibles sur le ...

site web de l'académie de Strasbourg

Lu à propos de l'Affaire Sokal

"A chaque étape de ce simple exercice -- discuter, interpréter et traduire des traces en énoncés observationnels puis en énoncés théoriques, les rendre compatibles avec des énoncés ou des traces préexistantes --, fait peser sur les "travailleurs de la preuve " (Bachelard) des exigences et des contraintes qui leurs sont extérieures mais qui ne déterminent pas les traductions suivantes"

"Au dualisme entre nature et société qui conduit à des questions grossières et sans réponse, les sciences studies ont substitué un objet intermédiaire infiniment plus riche : la dynamique des chaînes de traduction qui permet à des énoncés de circuler et en circulant de gagner en généralité"

"Si les textes scientifiques ont une force de conviction c'est au moins pour deux raisons qui définissent leur originalité et qui font qu'un article de nature ne peut en aucun cas être comparé avec une nouvelle d'Edgard Poe. [...] La première est que la force d'un texte scientifique lui est en partie donnée par les autres textes et par conséquent par les autre énoncés sur lesquels il s'appuie ou qu'il transforme. [...] La seconde caractéristique d'un texte scientifique est qu'il exhibe l'ensemble des traductions et des équivalences qui ont permis la construction des énoncés"

Extraits de Michel Callon (1997)
Défense et illustration des "science studies"
La Recherche 299 (juin 1997) 90-92

Texte complet sur le Web : http://www.larecherche.fr

 

ANNOUNCEMENT

Topic Group on Proof at the 8th International Congress on Mathematical Education (ICME 8)

The Proceedings of the Topic Group on Proof at the 8th International Congress on Mathematical Education (ICME 8), Seville, Spain in July 1996 has now been published through the Association for Mathematics Education of South Africa (AMESA). The organizers of the topic group were Michael de Villiers, South Africa and Fulvia Furinghetti, Italy.

The following authors contributed to the Proceedings: Gila Hanna, Erich Wittmann, Michael de Villiers, Nitsa Movshovitz-Hadar, Bram van Asch, Ken Retzer, Dennis Almeida, Fulvia Furinghetti & Domingo Paola, John Pegg, M Ibanes & Tomas Ortega, Olga Leon & Dora Calderon, David Reid, Victor Katz, Ana-Rosa Scarafiotti & Francesca Alloatti, Ana Mesquita, Carolyn Maher, Lesley Jones, Yasuhiro Sekiguchi, Antonio Garnica and Zsofia Ruttkay.

The papers were grouped into five broad areas, namely:

(1) Computers & Proof Heuristics
(2) Informal/Formal Methods of Proof
(3) The Role of Proof
(4) The Learning of Proof
(5) Teacher Training & Educational Practice.

Post graduate students, lecturers and teachers in mathematics and mathematics education at all levels would find this an extremely useful resource of current research and thinking on proof. The 300 pp Proceedings is available at $19 (USD) which includes postage (surface mail only) and can be ordered from:

"Proof Proceedings"
c/o Prof Michael de Villiers
Mathematics Education
University of Durban-Westville
4000 Durban
South Africa

Please make out all cheques to: AMESA. (Only pre-paid orders will be processed).

For further information, contact : Prof. Michael de Villiers

 

Cinderella's Cafe

Cinderella's Cafe is a JAVA software written by Juergen Richter-Gebert and Ulrich Kortenkamp.
It is a full featured interactive geometry program, including proving functionalities. A demo version of some of the features may be found at

http://www.cinderella.de/Demo/Standalone/cindy.html

The site is in german language, but the user interface should be easy to understand and all messages of the program are in english...

Proof by confirmation

a contribution from D.N. (Jim) Smith,
Sheffield Hallam University.

Proof by confirmation "works" like this ....

You begin your working out with whatever it is that you are trying to prove..... apply some logic to it and reach a conclusion. If the conclusion is true, the novice assumes that the original statement is true.

An example...
To prove that -2<3 Add 3 to both sides... 1<4 this is true, hence the first line is confirmed true.

Another example
To prove that -1=+1 Square both sides... 1=1 this is true hence the first line is confirmed true, but is clearly false.

Hence I've used a proof by contradiction to prove that "proof by confirmation" is not a proof at all. There is a curious implication of the failure of proof by confirmation; it is that it is impossible to prove that proof works, since any such proof would have to be rely upon the initial assumption that proof does work, i.e. be a proof by confirmation, which as we have seen, is no proof at all.

Reactions to
d.n.smith@shu.ac.uk
or to
The Proof Web Newsletter


PME XXI Reminder

Research on Mathematical Proof

a Research Forum to be held at PME 21

Gila Hanna's plenary lecture at the last PME meeting, in Valencia, raised some important issues. There is considerable interest currently in research on teaching and learning proof in mathematics and the choice of this as a research forum theme will enable the community to learn more about the major on-going programs.

Coordinator : Gila Hanna from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Toronto, e-mail: ghanna@oise.utoronto.ca

 

An Italian forum on Proof

Mariotti M. A., Bartolini Bussi M. G., Boero P., Ferri F., Garuti M. R. (1997)
Approaching Geometry theorems in contexts: from history and epistemology to cognition.

 

Current call for papers

NCTM 1999 Yearbook on Mathematical reasoning.
Information and guidelines:  http://www.nctm.org  under "Educational Materials / 1999 Yearbook"

See also Proof Newsletter January/February 1997

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