Hooray for Soviet education system!
Although lack of money is one of the problems discussed, those who still insist that American schools fail to do a competent job of educating their students because they are under-funded after reading this and this should probably just swallow their tongues. My brother will probably be nodding in agreement at this part:
“Russian students have a much deeper understanding of the models of mathematics,” says Alexei Odinokov, general co-manager of an Intel Corporation lab in Nizhny Novgorod, a city that was closed to Westerners in Soviet times.
Such mathematical training provides Russian computer programmers with more flexibility in crafting computer software, Mr. Odinokov says. “In the West, they know one algorithm and try to apply it more efficiently,” he says. Russian programmers, by contrast, consider other algorithms that could be used to solve a programming problem, he says.
Also relevant. Key line:
Teacher to classroom full of Asian kids: “Wun Lung, given two functions u(x) and v(x), the first derivative of uv with respect to x is u(dv/dx) + v(du/dx). True or false?�
To gringo kids: “Billy, if during Grub Moon, one heart-warming aboriginal finds seven repellent grubs to eat, and another heart-warming aboriginal finds nine, how many will they have together?� (Answer: They won’t have a clue because their number system doesn’t go that high.)
October 21st, 2005 at 1:06 am
In Soviet Russia, system educates you!
Seriously, though, yes, I was nodding in agreement, though it should be noted that you could replace “Russian” with virtually any other nationality in that statement and it would still be true. Being better at math than Americans ain’t exactly hard.
Oh, and I think you were intending this link in your addendum: http://www.fredoneverything.net/Clowns.shtml
October 21st, 2005 at 1:27 am
And, amidst a pretty disgusting show of resigned cultural self-flagellation here emeges at least one probably true observation: “It is said that the USA can now only maintain its economic leadership because 40 percent of its hi-tech sector is being run by Asian immigrants.”