15,910 research outputs found
Algebraic thinking of grade 8 students in solving word problems with a spreadsheet
This paper describes and discusses the activity of grade 8 students on two word
problems, using a spreadsheet. We look at particular uses of the spreadsheet, namely
at the students’ representations, as ways of eliciting forms of algebraic thinking
involved in solving the problems. We aim to see how the spreadsheet allows the solution of formally impracticable problems at students’ level of algebra knowledge,
by making them treatable through the computational logic that is intrinsic to the
operating modes of the spreadsheet. The protocols of the problem solving sessions
provided ways to describe and interpret the relationships that students established
between the variables in the problems and their representations in the spreadsheet
Formal concept analysis and structures underlying quantum logics
A Hilbert space induces a formal context, the Hilbert formal context , whose associated concept lattice is isomorphic to the lattice of closed subspaces of . This set of closed subspaces, denoted , is important in the development of quantum logic and, as an algebraic structure, corresponds to a so-called ``propositional system'', that is, a complete, atomistic, orthomodular lattice which satisfies the covering law.
In this paper, we continue with our study of the Chu construction by introducing the Chu correspondences between Hilbert contexts, and showing that the category of Propositional Systems, PropSys, is equivalent to the category of of Chu correspondences between Hilbert contextsUniversidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech
Epistemic and Ontic Quantum Realities
Quantum theory has provoked intense discussions about its interpretation since its pioneer days. One of the few scientists who have been continuously engaged in this development from both physical and philosophical perspectives is Carl Friedrich von Weizsaecker. The questions he posed were and are inspiring for many, including the authors of this contribution. Weizsaecker developed Bohr's view of quantum theory as a theory of knowledge. We show that such an epistemic perspective can be consistently complemented by Einstein's ontically oriented position
Marriages of Mathematics and Physics: A Challenge for Biology
The human attempts to access, measure and organize physical phenomena have led to a manifold construction of mathematical and physical spaces. We will survey the evolution of geometries from Euclid to the Algebraic Geometry of the 20th century. The role of Persian/Arabic Algebra in this transition and its Western symbolic development is emphasized. In this relation, we will also discuss changes in the ontological attitudes toward mathematics and its applications. Historically, the encounter of geometric and algebraic perspectives enriched the mathematical practices and their foundations. Yet, the collapse of Euclidean certitudes, of over 2300 years, and the crisis in the mathematical analysis of the 19th century, led to the exclusion of “geometric judgments” from the foundations of Mathematics. After the success and the limits of the logico-formal analysis, it is necessary to broaden our foundational tools and re-examine the interactions with natural sciences. In particular, the way the geometric and algebraic approaches organize knowledge is analyzed as a cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural issue and will be examined in Mathematical Physics and Biology. We finally discuss how the current notions of mathematical (phase) “space” should be revisited for the purposes of life sciences
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