Yeah, the big lie of mathematics education is that everything currently known just appeared fully formed inside mathematicians heads because they are mathematicians gifted with mathematical thinking.
The reality is that every advance in mathematics evolved after decades of people crunching numbers (typically for some engineering application) with an earlier form of math until they worked out the advance. I think students would have more confidence in their own ability if they understood that the mathematical innovators were equally stumped for long periods of time.
The reality is that every advance in mathematics evolved after decades of people crunching numbers (typically for some engineering application) with an earlier form of math until they worked out the advance. I think students would have more confidence in their own ability if they understood that the mathematical innovators were equally stumped for long periods of time.