“When am I ever going to use this?” Fractal edition

Wednesday, 10 December 2014 | 0 Comments

In a short period with Year 8, we used this template to make a Sierpinski Triangle.

I was asked the inevitable question - When am I ever going to use this in everday life?

I have so many better answers for this question than when I first started teaching.

In this case the "everyday life" is an opportunity to talk about how Mathematics can open up opportunities well beyond "everyday life". The awesomeness of fractals makes it easy to answer the question. I share the story of Loren Carpenter and show them his fractal film, Vol Libre.

Posted in • Reflection | Short URL: http://mths.co/3988

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Simon Job — eleventh year of teaching maths in a public high school in Western Sydney, Australia.
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