7.9, due April 1

• Difficult: I was a little confused by the example in the middle of page 231. It says (2 4 3)(1 2 4 3) = (1 4 2 3). No... to me this says 1 goes to 2, and 2 goes to 4 so one goes to 4. Then 2 goes to 4 and 4 goes to 3 so 2 goes to 3. Then 3 goes to 1, and 1 goes to 1, so 3 goes to 1. Then 4 goes to 3, and 3 goes to 2 so 4 goes to 2. Thus I get (4  3 1 2) which is NOT the same answer they got. What am I doing wrong?
• Reflexive: I think I really like this new notation. It totally makes sense to have (2465) mean 2 -> 4 -> 6 ->5. However, I haven't been able to make it work. So... maybe it isn't that great.

Make Up Post-- ME Social

I attended MEA's activity where we got together and met with other majors who's initials were ME (Math Education, Music Education, and Mechanical Engineering). The reflective part of this post is easy: I enjoyed discussing with the mechanical engineers the similar classes we have taken, and the different classes. Their major is MUCH more computational than mine (as made evident by this class). I'm not sure if I can find a "difficult" part, though. It was just... fun.

Make Up Post-- MEA Core Curriculum

• I attended a lecture by Dr. Peterson on the current math core curriculum in schools and how it is changing.
• Difficult: I had a really hard time understanding if Dr. Peterson thought that the core curriculum was good or if it needed improvement, or both. He seemed... certainly not abivalent, but abiguous and disjointed. He frequently gave his opinion on the core, but sometimes his opinions would contradict themselves. Very confusing.
• Reflective: I've noticed that the BYU math education program seems to be full of a lot of ideals, but I have a feeling most of them are vain. Yes, there are so many wonderful ways to incorporate math into the classroom so that it becomes more than just memorizing formulas. But with the way the core is currently set up, I don't know if it's possible. And I don't think the system is ready for a complete overhaul of the core. I wish he had talked about that. How will we incorporate these ideals, not just the ideals themselves.

7.6, due March 25th (Part 2)

These blog posts are SO hard for me to remember! I don't know why. Anyway. Here's today's:

• Difficult: I'm TOTALLY lost. I thought I understood what normal meant, but then it says that Na=aN does NOT imply that na=an. Then what DOES it imply? How do you test for normalcy if not like that? That's how I did most of my homework that's due Friday.
• Reflective: It seems like congruence classes always seem to multiply the same way. Which is nice, so long as it never changes.

7.3, due March 11

• Difficult: I didn't understand if a subgroup had to contain elements of the group G, or if it just had to be a group under the operation in G. Because if the subgroup H doesn't have to contain elements from G, then it doesn't seem like a subgroup to me, it seems more like a... co-group. What exactly makes group H "sub"? I think that 7.11 was saying it has to be a subset of the group G, but that's not what the definition said. So I'm confused.
• Reflective: If a center is every element in a such that ag=ga, then does that mean that every element is a center in an abelian group? That'd be nifty.