The Development and Meaning of "ethnomathematics"

The development and meaning of "ethnomathematics"

The term "ethnomathematics" was introduced by the Brazilian educator and mathematician Ubiratan D'Ambrosio in 1977 during a presentation for the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Since D'Ambrosio put forth the term, people - D'Ambrosio included - have struggled with its meaning ("An etymological abuse leads me to use the words, respectively, ethno and mathema for their categories of analysis and tics from (from techne)".). The following is a sampling of some of the definitions of ethnomathematics proposed between 1985 and 2006: "The mathematics which is practiced among identifiable cultural groups such as national-tribe societies, labour groups, children of certain age brackets and professional classes". "The mathematics implicit in each practice". "The study of mathematical ideas of a non-literate culture". "The codification which allows a cultural group to describe, manage and understand reality". "Mathematics...is conceived as a cultural product which has developed as a result of various activities". "The study and presentation of mathematical ideas of traditional peoples". "Any form of cultural knowledge or social activity characteristic of a social group and/or cultural group that can be recognized by other groups such as Western anthropologists, but not necessarily by the group of origin, as mathematical knowledge or mathematical activity". "The mathematics of cultural practice". "The investigation of the traditions, practices and mathematical concepts of a subordinated social group". "I have been using the word ethnomathematics as modes, styles, and techniques (tics) of explanation, of understanding, and of coping with the natural and cultural environment (mathema) in distinct cultural systems (ethnos)". "What is the difference between ethnomathematics and the general practice of creating a mathematical model of a cultural phenomenon (e.g., the "mathematical anthropology" of Paul Kay and others)? The essential issue is the relation between intentionality and epistemological status. A single drop of water issuing from a watering can, for example, can be modeled mathematically, but we would not attribute knowledge of that mathematics to the average gardener. Estimating the increase in seeds required for an increased garden plot, on the other hand, would qualify".

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Meaning and concept

John Cooper initially refrained from discussing the song's full meaning, stating that it has "a gist of regret where you wish you had done things differently" and "even though there's a specific story, it has a lot of interpretations that have kind of meant a lot to a lot of people already." In November 2010, at a concert at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Cooper revealed it is about a young couple struggling with feelings of regret after an abortion. He retold this story and further explained his intent in writing the song in an Air 1 interview posted on Skillet's official website: Skillet - Lucy Story Behind The Song.

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Song meaning

In a concert performed in December 2005, Mayer explained the significance and meaning of the song: This is the most important song I've ever written, it's a time capsule song. I will listen to it every day of my life if I need to. It's honest to God the most important song I've ever written in my life, and it has the fewest words. I was in LA, and I was there for the summer, just writing tunes, and I was in the shower. And I do not know where it came from, but it's the damn truth you know, and I just sang, "gravity...is working against me." And I just want to say that my full-time job, being-this is true-being a musician is almost a side job to my full-time job of not screwing up. Because the world was devised to be pretty damn even, except for terminal illness, and things that people just absolutely... They are just flukes and they are ... You know, I do not know if they are making up for something else way far away that they do not deserve, but it all pretty much evens out. And if you are gonna do this thing and get paid, and you know, get a car over the phone, if you are gonna do this stuff, something else is gonna happen that is gonna be a temptation to pull you off of it because the people that do not have that going on, they are hoping for that, cause that makes the world even. That makes them even, it makes you even, and where I am now in my life, I am on a track where as soon as you get in a room, the room is full of things to take you out of the room. "Now that you've made it, here are a plethora of things you can do to not make it. Here are a... Here's the Out door..." and... It's a fill-in-the-blank you know. It's like mad libs. It's like: [puts hand up to ear like a telephone] "Oh hey John, this is [person that plays... person in the room]... Umm, [person's name, famous person's name] wants to meet you, they want to meet at the top of [famous restaurant] umm, they are really into ya, come on down, you know, in [number] minutes" and you go... "no." And inside you go... "yeah," but outside you go, "n-n-no." Because those are all ways to take you out. They exist as soon as you get... Even if you are not successful, when you get successful... It's like... I got successful when I was 23, and that's a crazy looking arc if you chart it out... And all I gotta do is stay up. And sometimes coming down is something to do, because staying up is really boring. If I go out to a party, most people who ask me to a party ask me there so I can be the famous guy at the party, not so I can meet famous people at the party. I am now... When I am on a plane from New York to LA or LA to New York, and I go [looking around the room], "there are no famous people on the plane, there's usually always one famous person on a plane from New York to LA..." and I go, "ahh shit that's me!! That's not right!" Umm, this is a song about... making sure you still love yourself... making sure you still have your head on, making sure you still say no the way your mom would say no. And I will need it every damn day of my life because it's easier to mess up than it is to stay here.