The Nature of Mathematical Thinking

This volume—the single most comprehensive source of information about the nature of mathematical thinking—is intended for educators and mathematics teachers, psychologists, cognitive scientists, mathematicians, computer scientists, anthropologists, philosophers interested in logical-mathematical thinking, and the interested general public. Essays are written at a level that is accessible to this diversity of audiences. The book is divided into five parts, reflecting psychometric, cognitive/information-processing, cognitive/cultural, cognitive/educational, and mathematical (i.e., mathematicians') approaches to mathematical thinking. The authors of each chapter focus on their own approach but also address a common core of issues, including the nature of mathematical thinking, how mathematical thinking is similar to and different from other kinds of thinking, what makes some people or some groups perform better than others on mathematical thinking tasks, and how mathematical thinking can be taught and assessed. In this way, readers get a balanced introduction to the field, rather than a one-sided presentation or a set of chapters from a biased point of view. All of the contributing authors are distinguished scholars in the domain of mathematical thinking.