Friggin' Trig

via WikimediaCommons

Boy, given the comments generated you might have thought that Cathy O'Neil had suggested getting rid of the Confederate Flag or something, when all she did was recommend dropping trigonometry from the high school curriculum:
http://mathbabe.org/2015/06/22/fuck-trigonometry/

If you've missed out on all the brouhaha (or, have fond or not-so-fond memories of trig) check out her post and all the pro-and-con commentary.

Making Assumptions...

Patrick Honner, a NY award-winning math teacher who I previously interviewed here, gave this talk to Math For America about a month ago dealing with certain aspects and assumptions of standardized tests that he keeps an eye on (the audio isn't quite as crisp as one might like and may be better through earphones than over speakers):




In a slightly similar vein, Sol Lederman's latest podcast is with Glenn Van Brummelen who talks (and has a book) about "spherical trigonometry," which is a somewhat lost art that nonetheless remains valid and practical, even while planar trigonometry remains the brand we all learn routinely in school:

http://wildaboutmath.com/2013/01/27/glen-van-brummelen-inspired-by-math-18/