Suggest a change

These fields are all optional and need only
be supplied if you would like a direct reply.

Subject
Your email address
Your real name

You must answer this!

If you don't, my spam filtering will
ensure that I never see your email.

What's 8 plus five (in digits only)?

Please make your changes here and then
Editing tips and layout rules.

File: JustGiveMeTheAnswer

''' <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"
'''       href="/rss.xml" title="RSS Feed">

********> width="25%"
|>>
''' <a title="Subscribe to my feed"
'''    rel="alternate"
'''    href="https://www.solipsys.co.uk/rss.xml">
'''    <img style="border-width: 0px;"
'''         src="https://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png"
'''         align="middle"
'''         alt="" />Subscribe!</a>
_
''' <a href="https://twitter.com/ColinTheMathmo">
''' <img src="https://www.solipsys.co.uk/new/images/TwitterButton.png"
'''      title="By: TwitterButtons.net"
'''      width="212" height="69"
'''      alt="@ColinTheMathmo"
'''     /></a>
<<|
----
My latest posts can be
found here:
  * ColinsBlog
----
Previous blog posts:
  * MoreMusingOnPollardRho
  * IdleThoughtsAboutPollardRho
  * WhenOptimisingCodeMeasure
  * ADogCalledMixture
  * AnotherPayPalScam
  * WhyTopPostingHasWon
  * UnexpectedInteractionOfFeatures
  * ArchimedesHatBoxTheorem
  * ConsideringASphere
  * ToLinkOrNotToLink
  * GenericAdviceForWritingAThesis
  * JustTeachMyChildTheMaths
  * NotASpectatorSport
  * LeftTruncatablePrime
  * TheDoctorAndTheLawyer
  * FourPointsTwoDistancesProof
  * MeetingRonGraham
  * NapkinRingVersusSphericalCap
  * TheFourPointsPuzzle
  * RadiusOfTheEarthPartTwo
  * GrepTimingAnomaly
  * TheRadiusOfTheEarth
  * ThisWorksToCureMyHiccoughs
  * PerhapsWeSavedOne
  * ThinkingAboutMastodon
  * DisappearingTrainsOnVirgin
  * TheIndependenceGame
  * OneOfMyFavouritePuzzles
  * ThinkingAboutRecursion
  * MemorisingTheTube
  * SpikeySpheres
  * SurprisinglyQuick
  * AnUnexpectedFraction
  * YouHaveToAdmireTheirOptimism
  * RepresentativesMatter
  * PythagorasByIncircle
  * APuzzleAboutPuzzles
  * HowNotToDoTwitter
  * Calculating52FactorialByHand
  * SmallThingsMightNotBeSoSmall
  * NotIfYouHurry
  * FactoringViaGraphThreeColouring
  * AnotherProofOfTheDoodleTheorem
  * WhenObviousIsNotObvious
  * GraphThreeColouring
  * TheDoodleTheorem
  * BeCarefulWhatYouSay
  * TheMutilatedChessboardRevisited
  * AMirrorCopied
  * TheOtherOtherRopeAroundTheEarth
  * PhotocopyAMirror
  * ThePointOfTheBanachTarskiTheorem
  * SieveOfEratosthenesInPython
  * FastPerrinTest
  * RussianPeasantMultiplication
  * FindingPerrinPseudoPrimes_Part2
  * FindingPerrinPseudoPrimes_Part1
  * TheUnwiseUpdate
  * MilesPerGallon
  * TrackingAnItemOnHackerNews
  * HackerNewsUserAges
  * PokingTheDustyCorners
  * ThereIsNoTimeForThis
  * PublicallySharingLinks
  * LearningTimesTables
  * GracefulDegradation
  * DiagrammingMathsTopics
  * OnTheRack
  * SquareRootByLongDivision
  * BeyondTheBoundary
  * FillInTheGaps
  * SoftwareChecklist
  * NASASpaceCrews
  * TheBirthdayParadox
  * TheTrapeziumConundrum
  * RevisitingTheAnt
  * TheAntAndTheRubberBand
  * IrrationalsExist
  * MultipleChoiceProbabilityPuzzle
  * RandomEratosthenes
  * WrappingUpSquareDissection
  * DissectingASquarePart2
  * DissectingACircle
  * DissectingASquare
  * AnOddityInTennis
  * DecisionTreeForTennis
  * DecisionTreesInGames
  * AMatterOfConvention
  * DoYouNourishOrTarnish
  * BinarySearchReconsidered
  * TwoEqualsFour
  * TheLostPropertyOffice
  * TheForgivingUserInterface
  * SettingUpRSS
  * WithdrawingFromHackerNews
----
Additionally, some earlier writings:
  * RandomWritings.
  * ColinsBlog2010
  * ColinsBlog2009
  * ColinsBlog2008
  * ColinsBlog2007
  * ColinsBlogBefore2007
********
!!! Just give me the answer!

[[[> This page has been _ TaggedAsEducation ]]]
A while ago I saw an exchange on a programming forum I visit on occasion.
A poster had asked a question that at first sight (and in all honesty,
subsequent examination) appeared pretty simple. The poster claimed to
have tried everything they could think of, that nothing worked, and
they'd appreciate any help.

The first couple of replies offered hints, and asked to see their attempts.
Then someone posted a complete, clear and correct solution. Of course, we
never heard from the original poster (OP) again.

Others asked why a solution has been given - it was clearly homework,
why just give the answer? What could the OP possibly learn except the
answer to this one question?  How does that really help?

Anyone who has any familiarity with the internet newsgroups and other
forums will recognise this.  Anyone who has taught will recognise this.
"Just give me the answer!" is the cry.  The question is seen as something
that needs an answer, and the answer is all that matters.

We decry the youth of today for this attitude.  "It's clearly," people
say "a product of the internet, gaming and television generation.  The
quick fix, the quick answer, the immediate gratification."

Occasionally I would, unthinkingly, say the same thing.

More recently I was asked for some help with a computer question. I called up
the man page, checked with Google, found the answer, and started to explain.

"Just tell me how to do it." was the reply.

[[[>50 I prefer this version:
  * "Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life."
-- Terry Pratchett, Jingo
]]]
There's the old saying: "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.
Teach him to fish and you feed him for life."  But it's not the teaching to
fish that's the problem.  I know plenty of people who are willing, eager,
even, to teach people how to fish (figuratively speaking).

The problem is that people don't *want* to learn to fish. Fishing is hard,
fishing is boring, fishing is *work,* dammit. People just want to be given
fish.

How do we change this?  How do we give people a love of learning, exploring,
finding things out for themselves? How to we create that hunger not for
answers, but for the process of problem solving?

There's a lot of research floating around now about using games to convey
knowledge and skills. Specially desiged games now teach fractions and
equations, and the kids seem to do better on the tests. The problem is, we
still haven't taught them to fish.

We need to foster the dogged persistence.  We need to nurture the willingness
to experiment, to be wrong, to try different approaches, and to explore the
problem without immediate reward.

Research shows that the best predictor of future success is the willingness
to sacrifice immediate satisfaction for the potential of greater future
rewards.  We need to teach the pleasure to be found in the chase, and not
just in the kill.

But we can't, because it can't be assessed, measured, weighed, or assigned
a number.  That's why the real education of things that really matter won't
happen in schools.

Which is a shame.
----

|>>
| |>> <<<< Prev <<<< ---- MoreMusingOnPollardRho <<| | : | |>> >>>> Next >>>> ---- LatitudeCorrection ... <<| |
----
********>
''' <a href="https://mathstodon.xyz/@ColinTheMathmo">
''' <img src="https://www.solipsys.co.uk/images/Mastodon_Mascot.png"
'''      width="256" height="280"
'''      alt="https://mathstodon.xyz/@ColinTheMathmo"
'''     /></a>
********
''' <a href="https://mathstodon.xyz/@ColinTheMathmo/">You can follow me on Mathstodon.</a>
_ _ _ _
[[[>
''' <a href="https://twitter.com/ColinTheMathmo">Of course, you can also<br>follow me on twitter:</a>

''' <a href="https://twitter.com/ColinTheMathmo">
''' <img src="https://www.solipsys.co.uk/new/images/TwitterButton.png"
'''      title="By: TwitterButtons.net"
'''      width="212" height="69"
'''      alt="@ColinTheMathmo"
'''     /></a>
''' <img src="/cgi-bin/CountHits.py?JustGiveMeTheAnswer" alt="" />
]]]
********<

----

!! Send us a comment ...

''' <form action="https://www.solipsys.co.uk/cgi-bin/FormMail.pl" method=post>
''' <input type=hidden name="recipient"               value="colinsblogcomment@solipsys.co.uk" >
''' <input type=hidden name="subject"                 value="Blog comment : JustGiveMeTheAnswer"         >
''' <input type=hidden name="redirect"                value="https://www.solipsys.co.uk/new/ThankYouForYourComment.html" >
''' <input type=hidden name="missing_fields_redirect" value="https://www.solipsys.co.uk/RequestError.html">
''' <input type=hidden name="env_report"              value="REMOTE_HOST, REMOTE_ADDR, HTTP_USER_AGENT"  >
''' <input type=hidden name="print_blank_fields"      value="1"                                          >

********> width="47%"
You can send us a message here. It doesn't get published,
it just sends us an email, and is an easy way to ask any
questions, or make any comments, without having to send a
separate email. So just fill in the boxes and then
''' <font size="+4"><INPUT TYPE="submit" VALUE="CLICK HERE TO SEND"></font>
******** width="53%"
********<

''' <table cellpadding="5">
'''   <tr>
'''     <td valign="top">Your name </td> <td valign="top">:</td>
'''     <td> <input type=text name="realname" size="48"> </td>
'''   <tr>
'''     <td valign="top">Email </td> <td valign="top">:</td>
'''     <td> <input type=text name="email" size="48"> </td>
'''     </tr>
'''   <tr>
'''     <td valign="top">Message </td> <td valign="top">:</td>
'''     <td> <TEXTAREA NAME="Message" ROWS=10 COLS=64></TEXTAREA> </td>
'''     </tr>
'''   </table>

''' <center>
'''   <font size="+4">
'''     <INPUT TYPE="submit" VALUE="CLICK HERE TO SEND">
'''     </font>
'''   </center>
''' </form>

********<