As indicated on the first-day handout, you will complete a project which will account for 20% of your grade. It will be:

Read newspapers and magazines to find current articles that have a mathematical flavor or some mathematical significance.  An article does not need to be a news story; it could be a comic, an editorial cartoon, an editorial, a column, etc.  Collect ten such articles (from a variety of sources, and on a variety of topics).  Write a short discussion (several sentences) about each article with respect to its mathematical significance, as seen by you. Some suggestions about what you might want to discuss:

• How the article illustrates a practical use of mathematics.
• How it illustrates a misuse of mathematics to arrive at possibly false conclusions.
• How does it relate to you as a lay-person?
• Why the article has no significance to a lay-person.
• What does it say or imply about the spirit and use of mathematics?
• What does it say or imply about mathematicians as scholars?
• What does it say or imply about mathematicians as people?
• What can we learn (if anything) about math by reading this article?
• How would you change the article to give it more significance?
• How does it improve (if at all) the understanding and appreciation by lay-persons of what mathematics is really about?
• Does it improve or worsen the lay-person’s attitude about math? In what way?

Note: If you read the Statesman, you will find some relevant articles. But you should be examining multiple sources: news-magazines (Time, Newsweek) , publications that you receive, publications that you find in the library (you will have to buy your own copy so you can cut the article out), things that you find on the Internet. Don’t use mathematical publications –– I want you to present topical articles that the non-mathematical public might be reading. Technically-oriented magazines written for the general reader (like Science, Nature or Scientific American) are acceptable, but normally contain articles that are too long to be the kind of thing I have in mind. However, some of their news articles might be useful.

Here are the report ground rules:

Format:
Projects will be typewritten, with a title page containing the usual information. Use your imagination to think up a catchy title. Projects will be bound in a flat theme folder (please, not one with rings).

The title page should be followed by a table of contents, showing title, source and date for each of the 10 articles.

Attach (neatly, using invisible tape) the original article (not a copy) to the back side of plain (unlined) notebook paper. Follow that by your discussion on the front side of the next page. That way, when I read your work, your article will appear on a left sheet, your discussion on a right sheet as I open your folder, and I can see them both at once. Include the source and date of each article. Number each article – 1 through 10.

Do not enclose your comment pages in polyethylene page covers. I want to be able to write on them.

Due date:
Beginning of class on the date shown in the schedule. Late work will be docked 10% for each class meeting day (or portion thereof) that it is late. If you enter class late on the due date and turn your paper in, that’s 10% off. If you will be using a word processor, run off your final copy earlier than the night before the paper is due. Computers, printers, etc. break, and I will not accept that (or any other reason) as an excuse for lateness. Start now, get done early, and avoid a big headache!

Variety:
The articles should be from a variety of sources –– at least 4.  If you use only one source, you will lose 5 points, 2 sources – 3 points, 3 sources – 1 point.  The articles should not all be of the same type: all financial, all cartoons, etc.  You will need at least 4 different kinds of articles, and similar scoring will apply.

Content:
Your remarks should not simply restate what the article says.  I can read!  Nor should it say things like "This article has some fractions in it and fractions are math."  You must add something to what the article says by discussing the mathematical significance of the article, as described earlier.  One way to do this is to show how the article could be applied in your own life, e.g. "According to the formula in this article, my body mass index is . . . and I need to improve my diet."  Some other ways are listed on the front.  The quality of your comments will account for 1/2 of your grade.

Grading:
You will receive 10 points for each article discussed.  Those 10 points will be accumulated as follows:
 

I have some sample projects for you to examine to see what they should look like.