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Raising Public Awareness of Mathematics pp 387–396Cite as

Keeping Mathematical Awareness Alive

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Abstract

Caring for the development of abstract mathematics is not at first sight useful and in modern society the applications of mathematics are more sophisticated and more difficult to grasp than in earlier times. This may easily lead to a decline in the emphasis on mathematical knowledge and thought in society, in particular in the educational system. The increasing pressure from governments for more focus on immediate applications of mathematics in education and in mathematical research at universities makes it a huge task to inform the public about the usefulness and necessity of understanding the abstract mathematical thinking required to develop fundamental new applications of mathematics. How can we handle it?

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Technical University of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Vagn Lundsgaard Hansen

Authors
  1. Vagn Lundsgaard Hansen
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Correspondence to Vagn Lundsgaard Hansen .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Fachbereich Mathematik und Informatik, Freie Universität Berlin, Arnimallee 6, Berlin, 14195, Berlin, Germany

    Ehrhard Behrends

  2. Inst. Superior de Economia e Gestão, Depto. Matemática, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Rua Miguel Lupi 20, Lisboa, 1200, Portugal

    Nuno Crato

  3. CMAF, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto 2, Lisboa, 1649-003, Portugal

    José Francisco Rodrigues

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© 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Hansen, V.L. (2012). Keeping Mathematical Awareness Alive. In: Behrends, E., Crato, N., Rodrigues, J. (eds) Raising Public Awareness of Mathematics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-25710-0_27

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