This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/sep/12/rachel-riley-countdown-learning-love-maths
The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Previous version
1
Next version
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Countdown’s Rachel Riley on learning to love maths | Countdown’s Rachel Riley on learning to love maths |
(about 9 hours later) | |
I love that once you know the basic rules of maths, you can do whatever you want with it. | I love that once you know the basic rules of maths, you can do whatever you want with it. |
When I was little, I carried a book of times tables around everywhere and always tried to get the best score. I like the fact that you don’t need any tools, only your head. I also enjoy rules and, with maths, you are either right or wrong. | When I was little, I carried a book of times tables around everywhere and always tried to get the best score. I like the fact that you don’t need any tools, only your head. I also enjoy rules and, with maths, you are either right or wrong. |
Lots of people say they hate maths and when I ask them why, they inevitably mention a teacher they had when they were young. Maths is like learning a language: you need to learn the basics to get going, but a lot of adults go into blind panic about numbers and switch off. | |
It’s never too late to start again. When I was preparing for my Countdown interview, I had to re-learn all my times tables. I did thousands of brain and maths games. The brain is muscle. If you don’t exercise it, it will get slow. | It’s never too late to start again. When I was preparing for my Countdown interview, I had to re-learn all my times tables. I did thousands of brain and maths games. The brain is muscle. If you don’t exercise it, it will get slow. |
I’m trying to encourage young people to get into maths, to see the hundreds of different ways it’s used in all areas of life – from biology to climate change. | I’m trying to encourage young people to get into maths, to see the hundreds of different ways it’s used in all areas of life – from biology to climate change. |
I was never aware of fewer girls doing maths at school, but I think perhaps some girls are afraid of getting things wrong, so hold back until they think they’ve got the right answer. From my experience, boys will happily just give it a go, even if their answer turns out to be wrong, which is how you learn. Ultimately, what you need is a logical brain. | I was never aware of fewer girls doing maths at school, but I think perhaps some girls are afraid of getting things wrong, so hold back until they think they’ve got the right answer. From my experience, boys will happily just give it a go, even if their answer turns out to be wrong, which is how you learn. Ultimately, what you need is a logical brain. |
I’ve done more than 1200 shows of Countdown, and we never use computers, only our heads. What’s fun about that is that people watching at home have a real chance of beating us. | I’ve done more than 1200 shows of Countdown, and we never use computers, only our heads. What’s fun about that is that people watching at home have a real chance of beating us. |
Previous version
1
Next version