The Shape of Things To Come

"There are changes lyin' ahead in every road 
And there are new thoughts ready and waiting to explode 
When tomorrow is today the bells may toll for some 
But nothing can change the shape of things to come."

Pardon my stubborn connection to the 60's....




Am always a tad nervous about heading down the rabbit-hole of math education… the topic is so huge (but also so vital), with a multitude of views, from so many intelligent, passionate people… but seems impossible not to venture there on occasion:
I'm familiar with Conrad Wolfram's views for reforming math education from some of his prior interviews, but somehow I missed this 2+ year-old TEDTalk (17 mins.) that summarizes his thoughts nicely (emphasizing programming/coding over calculating/computation, computer work over manual, pad-and-pencil work):



Speaking of math education, any day now Keith Devlin should be announcing his own personal company's animated approach to young math education (from innertubegames.net), so, anxious to see what that looks like.

And speaking of animation, Sol Lederman's newest podcast was with the producers of the popular computer-generated film "Dimensions" who are now out with "Chaos."
Unfortunately, the podcast audio was unsatisfactory so Sol had to transcribe the interview.  His post below links to the pdf transcription of that interview AND to a link for viewing "Chaos" (in 9 parts):

http://wildaboutmath.com/2013/02/16/an-interview-with-the-chaos-film-makers/

And finally, on a somewhat different note about the future of mathematics, this potent piece from John Baez on what is being deemed "green mathematics" and its role in our lives to come as we approach significant planetary problems ahead:

http://tinyurl.com/c3ge4nj

Baez writes that "mathematics will become increasingly driven by our need to understand the biosphere and our role within it" and notes that interdisciplinary "network theory" will be a major tool for solutions going forward.