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Parts Of The Whole: Quantitative Literacy On A Desert Island, Dorothy Wallace
Parts Of The Whole: Quantitative Literacy On A Desert Island, Dorothy Wallace
Numeracy
Some of the specific institutional problems faced by quantitative reasoning courses, programs and requirements arise from the fragile intellectual position of “quantitative reasoning” as an idea, or meme. The process of isolation and reintroduction explains both the proliferation of living species and the way in which some difficult ideas take their place in a culture. Using evolutionary explanations as metaphor and the Copernican revolution as an example of a difficult idea, we draw lessons that can be applied to the “quantitative reasoning” meme, including the function of the National Numeracy Network as an island of protected discourse favoring the growth …
Parts Of The Whole: Moderating Competition In The World Of Ideas, Dorothy Wallace
Parts Of The Whole: Moderating Competition In The World Of Ideas, Dorothy Wallace
Numeracy
In both biological and mathematical dynamical systems, competition may be moderated by the presence of a top predator of both competing species. Applying this principle in memetics sheds light on why some strategies are more likely than others to promote quantitative literacy in various kinds of institutions.