Sennheiser HD660S Speculation

Disagree 100% Quick! Someone bring back the dislike button!

Sure, it's absolutely true for kids that are going to grow up to be engineers (what percentage of students is that? 1? 2?). But, they aren't being harmed by this process, assuming it's implemented properly. After learning the theory and concepts and value of various procedures, THEN they should be taught efficiency. My daughter right now is doing drill sheets for addition and subtraction. That's fine...as long as it comes on the back end and not the front end.

Otherwise, you end up with a ton of kids in my Calculus class who have no idea what a negative number actually is or how to divide without a calculator. Yeah, they were really efficient at it at some point or they wouldn't have made it to Calculus, but now here they are trying to learn upper level math equipped with a bunch of empty processes and techniques that have faded from memory because there was no meaning attached to them.

Calculus is taught the same way. The first derivative students do is by pulling out giant pieces of graph paper on the floor, getting out some markers and rulers, estimating tangent lines by hand, and then calculating the slope of each tangent line by simple rise/run calculations. How many squares up? How many squares over? Sometimes the results are good and sometimes their sine waves look like lopsided batman signals. That's fine, as long as they understand the problem they are faced with. How do you calculate a slope when you only have a single point?

THEN, we go through the formal definition of the derivative. And, it blows their minds...what a nice and elegant solution to an interesting problem. It's certainly better than graph paper and drawing tangent lines through pure estimation. At this point, they have no idea that it's actually a fairly cumbersome process. Then, and ONLY then, do I teach them the "shortcuts". Power rule, product rule, quotient rule, etc. And, if you've pulled it off correctly, students are amazed at how simple and elegant the process is, and, more importantly, they understand what these processes are accomplishing. It's more than simply a blind procedure that produces "results". Yes, they are able to get results, but they also have an intuitive understanding of what these results mean.

This is what the common core process should accomplish.

Marv says that all kids aren't capable of this. This may be true. A lot of kids weren't capable of doing math the "traditional" way, either. At least this way, students are exposed to a multitude of methods and approaches, which increase the likelihood that one of them will click. And, hopefully, teachers begin to value creative thinking, and reward students when they see it. This is better than the old approach of only looking at the end result, and communicating to students that their interesting or creative solution is worthless because that final line doesn't match up.

 

When there's a worthwhile update, you'll know it.

An actual thread of substance will be created and this one will be sent to the graveyard to die.

 

I think knowing the fundamentals is very important as well. I agree, the efficiency part has to come in after the understanding. I do not agree; however, that the efficiency part can be left out.

 

LOL.

 

...and to force all schools to buy new books. Another great scam.

 

I would never make that claim, so we're on the same page there.

 

This could very well be.

I was about to look around for HD650 vs HD6xx posts but I don't think I need to. Thanks.

 

Sennheiser is starting to ship orders to the German market. At least one German dude on Ad-fi has received them already. A link if you dare: Superficial first impressions of the HD660S from Ad-fi Rando

Unfortunately there haven't been any first impressions worth bringing here. Listening to the 660S out of a Sony DAP, the only meaningful subjective impression he provided was that the bass was "improved." Until we have real frequency response and distortion measurements, I wouldn't put much stock into any of it.

 

Just factor in "new toy syndrome"...

 

He called you a lazy unfriendly cat though Marv, the nerve!

 

Wait so does anyone actually have a pair? I didn't read the last 5+ pages about teaching or whatever.

 

Then locking it for a better thread is almost equal to deleting the whole smear...

 

Yeah, that's basically me. Summer baby, so amongst the youngest in the class. Also moved up a year, so chronologically and socially way younger than the other kids. Reasonably smart so used to coasting with minimal effort. Went to university at 17, was not grown-up enough for it yet. It went a bit weird thereafter..

 

Wait, really? When did it happen? It means I have to not sell my 2006 era HD650?