Gatunek: zadanie tekstowe z matematyki
Genre: The Mathematical Word Problem

Summary/Abstract: The mathematical word problem is an applied form that appears in most school exercise books, but it has never been studied by literary scholars. This remarkably conventionalised genre is characterised by a certain duality, combining a short anecdote with a calculating task or an algebraic equation. The relationship between word and number recalls various contexts – linguistic, philosophical, theological, and especially literary. The genre shares characteristics with the syllogism and the riddle (gadka). Its similarity with the enigma suggests an oral genesis and a proximity to folklore, while the text version appears at the same time as the earliest writing (cuneiform). Nawarecki reconstructs the rich history of the form, highlighting the period of the Polish People’s Republic, where the teaching of mathematics was subject to ideologisation. Recalling his own childhood and schooling he adds a few personal considerations.

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