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The Math(s) Fix book by Conrad Wolfram Latest: Answers for the ChatGPT era
Resources for existing
readers and listeners »


THE MATH(S) FIX

The Math(s) Fix: An Education Blueprint for the AI Age is a groundbreaking book
that exposes why maths education is in crisis worldwide and how the only fix is
a fundamentally new mainstream subject. Engaging and accessible yet deep and
compelling, The Math(s) Fix argues that today's maths education isn't working to
elevate society with modern computation, data science and AI. Instead, students
are subjugated to compete with what computers do best, and lose.

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THIS IS THE ONLY BOOK TO:

 * Explain why being "bad at maths" may be as much the subject's fault as the
   learner's.
 * Put the ChatGPT shock into perspective by offering the reformer's roadmap for
   policymakers, employers, parents, teachers and students.
 * Show how a stuck educational ecosystem has students, parents, teachers,
   schools, employers and policymakers running in the wrong direction to catch
   up with real-world requirements.
 * Set out a completely alternative vision for a core computational school
   subject to fix the problem and seed more general reformation of education for
   the AI age.


THIS IS THE ONLY BOOK TO:

 * Explain why being "bad at maths" may be as much the subject's fault as the
   learner's.
 * Show how a stuck educational ecosystem has students, parents, teachers,
   schools, employers and policymakers running in the wrong direction to catch
   up with real-world requirements.
 * Set out a completely alternative vision for a core computational school
   subject to fix the problem and seed more general reformation of education for
   the AI age.

> I sometimes describe my job as computation for everyone through smart
> automation; between our efforts and others', it's worked remarkably well. The
> world is dramatically more computational than 30 years ago across an enormous
> range of fields. Except in education. Hence my evening job—and the subject of
> this book—which I sometimes describe as optimising everyone for computation
> through computational thinking.

CONRAD WOLFRAM is cofounder and CEO of Wolfram Research Europe. Over the last 30
years he has been a key part of the technology transformation that has brought
maths, computation and data science to the forefront of today's world and moved
us towards the fourth industrial revolution. Conrad regularly appears in the
media to speak about subjects ranging from the computational future and
artificial intelligence to twenty-first-century education. His team's work to
build a solution started in 2010 when computerbasedmath.org was founded—this
book being a key milestone in the journey to fundamental reform.

Invite Conrad to speak »
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WHAT IS THE MATH(S) FIX?

This book is about what the problem is, how it came about and how it can be
solved. It takes a cold, hard look at what maths education is and lays out what
it should be, not only to keep up with AI, but to empower humankind for this
upcoming era.


THE PROBLEM

The maths taught around the world today does not fit how it is used in the real
world. Computation technology is more accessible than ever before, but no
curriculum in the world assumes it exists. Instead it is focussed on the
mechanics of hand calculation, rather than the essence of real-world maths.


THE FIX

The fix is a new core computational subject that is built on actual problems
solved by real people in the real world with today's technology. A
computer-based maths curriculum should be built around real-world requirements
such as data science, information theory and modelling.


ACHIEVING CHANGE

Enabling transformation of this scale is no easy task. This part of the book
addresses common objections, sets out a roadmap for change and analyses where
computational thinking works, as well as its limitations, an essential part of
empowering society to question the world around it.

Get a quick overview on how to achieve change: CBM: The Change


PRAISE FOR THE MATH(S) FIX

> Conrad Wolfram is one of the most important mathematical thinkers of our time.
> This book is packed with incredible ideas that could fundamentally change the
> mathematics experience for students across the world. The vision Conrad puts
> forward will allow students to experience mathematics as a beautiful, exciting
> subject empowering them to use critical and computational thinking, solving
> the problems they will encounter in their 21st-century work and lives.

—Jo Boaler, author of bestseller Mathematical Mindsets:
Unleashing Students' Potential through Creative Math,
Inspiring Messages and Innovative Teaching

> Many are convinced that computers have pushed school maths ever closer to a
> cliff-edge falling into irrelevance. Almost uniquely, Conrad Wolfram's book
> offers a bold move forward. Based on both his experience and insight, he
> encourages us to 'jump into the unknown' and move from teaching computing
> skills to promoting computational thinking. He has pioneered this concept and
> drawn a compelling roadmap to overcome the deadlock, giving our students truly
> empowering maths skills.

—Jaak Aaviksoo, former Minister of Education, Estonia

> Give a copy of The Math(s) Fix to your local school superintendent and start a
> community conversation about how you can make education more relevant and
> equitable.

—Tom Vander Ark, journalist and former Executive Director of Education for the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Forbes

> A devastating assault on this parody of modern education comes from the
> information technology radical, Conrad Wolfram. Called The Math(s) Fix, it
> portrays maths as a subject which, perhaps like others, is trapped in the
> pre-computer age. Wolfram portrays maths exams as like taking a driving test
> with a horse and cart. It needs to take over where the computer leaves off, in
> a world of calculated uncertainty, risk and, dare we say it, common sense.

—Simon Jenkins, journalist and BBC broadcaster, The Guardian

> Wolfram estimates that about 80% of most math curricula involves rote hand
> calculations—redundant exercises like long division and exponential functions.
> Why bother with that mess when a computer can calculate it in seconds and at a
> much more complex level?

—Yoree Koh, reporter, The Wall Street Journal

> Wolfram’s latest book, The Math(s) Fix: An Education Blueprint for the AI Age
> challenges the conventional wisdom that math is meeting the needs of the world
> and contends that an entirely new domain should supplant math as we know it. A
> direction focused on critical and computational thinking and rooted in problem
> solving for 21st century challenges.

—Rod Berger, Forbes

> Rethinking how we teach an established and mainstream subject such as maths is
> fraught with danger. But The Math(s) Fix achieves this with such elegant and
> persuasive arguments that it is impossible to ignore. Essential reading.

—Martyn Farrows, COO, SoapBox Labs

> Maths is the weak link in every school. Progressive efforts at education
> reform are impossible without addressing this reality and offering a new diet
> of mathematics for children. [In this book] Conrad Wolfram makes an important
> contribution to this effort by making the case, not just for new pedagogical
> strategies, but also by sharing a vision of computationally rich mathematics
> experiences accessible to learners of all ages. Reinvent school maths and you
> change the world!

—Gary Stager, Ph.D., teacher educator and co-author of
Invent To Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom

> In this refreshingly irreverent, immensely readable and long-overdue book,
> Conrad Wolfram makes an utterly convincing case for maths—but as a newly
> configured computational subject with an ever growing justification—for
> individuals and society, spanning survival, subsistence and enrichment.
> Whether you are a policy maker or practitioner, parent or pupil—The Math(s)
> Fix will change your idea what maths can be forever.

—Silke Ackermann, Director, History of Science Museum, University of Oxford

> Many global and local experts talk about the importance of maths teaching in
> schools. However, Conrad Wolfram has developed a model that is genuinely
> transformational. The Math(s) Fix is provocative and pragmatic at the same
> time, providing a globally applicable solution to how we should teach maths to
> equip our young people for the future they will face. I would encourage
> everyone who cares about maths education to read this book... political
> leaders, government officials, school leaders and teachers.

—Sonia Sharp, former Deputy Secretary in the Department of Education, Victoria,
Australia

> In The Math(s) Fix Conrad Wolfram makes a compelling case that the way we
> teach mathematics is no longer fit for purpose. Rather than teaching young
> people to think like mathematicians we are trying and largely failing to train
> them to become suboptimal calculators. The solution is simple and elegant:
> refocus the math(s) curriculum away from calculating towards the full suite of
> computational thinking, identifying the right questions to ask, setting up the
> process for finding the solution, and analysing and interpreting the results.
> The Math(s) Fix deserves to be widely read by education policymakers and
> practitioners, and the public at large.

—Stavros N. Yiannouka, CEO of the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE)

> Conrad lays out a clear vision for how we can transform mathematics—from a
> subject that terrifies many students, to one that inspires and is universally
> applicable. Rather than simply memorising procedures, we should allow students
> to harness the power of computers and develop completely new ways of thinking.

—Philipp Legner, founder of Mathigon.org

> I never enjoyed maths until Conrad taught me its beauty and how I could apply
> it to my passions. Traditionally taught in schools like a dead language, we
> spend years training to compete with machines. In an era of AI the machines
> will win unless we reimagine what maths can be, where present and future
> generations harness its power to solve our most important challenges. This
> book tells us how.

—Graham Brown-Martin, broadcaster and author of Learning {Re}imagined

> Seymour Papert often said that his goal was to create a more 'learnable and
> lovable mathematics.' He wanted to put children in a better position to do
> mathematics rather than just learn a collection of mathematical facts. In this
> book Conrad is continuing the endeavour. Conrad understands, as Seymour did,
> that computation is key.

—Artemis Papert, independent artist

> Wolfram does an effective job of analyzing the problems with contemporary math
> education, and he makes a strong case for change. His writing is strong and
> often clever... and it makes for enjoyable reading on what might ordinarily be
> a dry subject. Wolfram will likely persuade many readers that, in 2020, using
> computers for calculation gives students room to focus on broader questions.
> ... A solid and thoughtful educational analysis.

—Kirkus Reviews
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ALREADY READ THE MATH(S) FIX?

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Graphics and Footnotes »

   Chapter 1: Maths v. Maths

 * page 6: The steps of the computational thinking process

   Chapter 2: Why Should Everyone Learn Maths?

 * page 26: Mathematics: abstract, virtual and physical forms

   Chapter 3: Maths and Computation in Today's World

 * page 34: Applying computation in different fields

   Chapter 4: The 4-Step Maths/Computational Thinking Process

 * page 41: The steps of the computational thinking process
 * page 43: Step 1: Define
 * page 47: Step 2: Abstract
 * page 50: Step 3: Compute
 * page 52: Step 4: Interpret
 * page 53: Conrad Wolfram TED Talk—Teaching Kids Real Math with Computers
 * page 53: The computational thinking process
 * page 54: University of Oxford
 * page 55: The Helter Skelter at St Giles Fair
 * page 55: The Helter Skelter at St Giles Fair images
 * page 57: Computation is cheap
 * page 59: Alternative process conceptualisations

   Chapter 5: Hand Calculating: Not the Essence of Maths

 * page 75: computerbasedmath.org

   Chapter 6: Thinking Outcomes

   Chapter 7: Defining the Core Computational Subject

 * page 92: Integration basics
 * page 95: themathsfix.org/12TimesTable
 * page 96: themathsfix.org/PredatorPrey
 * page 96: Example of long division
 * page 100: Examples of how outcomes fit the process
 * page 103: themathsfix.org/Outcomes
 * page 104: The 11 dimensions of the draft outcomes
 * page 111: The concept of trigonometry
 * page 111: Defining concepts and tools
 * page 113: Complex linkages between concepts and tools
 * page 115: Conceptual stages example
 * page 116: Draft curriculum concept list
 * page 117: Categories of computation
 * page 118: The computational thinking room
 * page 119: themathsfix.org/WolframLanguage

   Chapter 8: New Subject, New Pedagogy?

 * page 129: khanacademy.org
 * page 129: themathsfix.org/SeymourPapert

   Chapter 9: What to Deliver? How to Build It?

 * page 133: Tool centric vs example centric
 * page 133: Tool centric vs problem centric
 * page 139: Coordinate system example
 * page 141: A paper laptop
 * page 149: Example questions/issues
 * page 149: Example discussion points
 * page 150: Example of a complex model
 * page 161: themathsfix.org/FeynmanInterview
 * page 163: Example of today's CBM layout
 * page 164: Terminology: Modules, ontology and primers
 * page 169: themathsfix.org/SeeInside
 * page 171: 3 Levels of learning support
 * page 172: themathsfix.org/InsideModule

   Chapter 10: Objections to Computer-Based Core Computational Education

 * page 177: themathsfix.org/CBMCommunity
 * page 188: themathsfix.org/CompulsoryLatin
 * page 189: themathsfix.org/DFE2014
 * page 200: themathsfix.org/RungeKutta
 * page 202: The collapse of significance problem
 * page 203: themathsfix.org/OpenSource
 * page 205: The steps of the computational thinking process
 * page 206: Ambiguity in mathematics

   Chapter 11: Roadmap for Change

 * page 216: timssandpirls.bc.edu
 * page 216: oecd.org/pisa
 * page 237: Core system and pedagogical layers
 * page 255: themathsfix.org/YesPrimeMinister

   Chapter 12: Is Computation for Everything?

   Chapter 13: What's Surprised Me on This Journey so Far

   Chapter 14: Call to Action

 * page 288: themathsfix.org/Campaign
 * page 289: The Maths Fix Campaign for Core Computational Curriculum Change
   (MFC5)
 * page 297: themathsfix.org/WhatCanIDoNow
 * page 298: contact@themathsfix.org
 * page 314: conradwolfram.com/media



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