Unlocking
Word Meanings
Read
the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. innate (adj.) [ih-neyt, in-eyt] – something that is already present since
one’s birth
Example: The ability to make
sounds is innate in all human beings.
2. tribe (n.) [trahyb] – any group of people that are joined together
by common ancestors, way of life and/or loyalty to a leader
Example: People from the tribe of Eskimos all know how to hunt
whales.
3. concept (n.) [kon-sept] – an idea
Example: The concept of democracy is hard to explain.
4. accurately (adv.) [ak-yer-it-lee] – done without error or mistake
Example: He won the contest
because he answered the questions accurately.
5. counterpart (n.) [koun-ter-pahrt] – a person or thing that has the same
function or quality as another
Example: A governess is the
female counterpart of a governor.
Article
Read the text below.
Knowledge
of geometry may be innate according
to an experiment by French scientist Pierre Pica.
In
most formal schools, people learn geometry using the principles introduced by
the Greek mathematician Euclid 2,300 years ago. Pica and his team wanted to
find out if other cultures which do not have formal education are able to
answer geometry questions.
In
his experiment, Pica involved 22 adults and 8 children from an Amazon tribe called
Mundurucu. The tribe does not have words for geometrical concepts like square, triangle, lines and points, so Pica
presented them with everyday situations that lead to questions concerning
geometry.
The
participants answered accurately even without formal training in geometry.
Pica then compared the answers of the Mundurucu to French and American
participants who answered similar questions. The answers of Mundurucu
participants matched their Western counterparts.
Pica
got a more surprising result when he asked the Mundurucu a question based on a
non-Euclidean concept. This concept opposes Euclidean geometry which is
normally taught in formal schools. Mundurucu participants answered the
questions more accurately than the Western participants who were trained in
Euclidean geometry.
Pica’s
experiment reveals that knowledge of geometry does not depend on language or
formal training and may, in fact, be innate. In addition, it suggests that
western education can be misleading because as demonstrated in the experiment,
not all concepts used in western education apply to all situations.
Viewpoint
Discussion
Enjoy
a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion
A
·
Why do you think western education
is used in most schools across the globe?
·
Do you think non-western schools should
use their own knowledge in education? Please explain your answer?
Discussion B
·
Do you enjoy math? Why or why not?
·
In what situations do you think do
we use or need mathematics?
