Curriculum Column

Mathematics has gotten a bad rap. It may be one of the most misunderstood of all academic disciplines, says Gene Klotz, the director of the Math Forum, an on-line discussion group sponsored by the math department at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pa.

"The public thinks we contemplate ancient proofs made by people in togas, and doesn't realize that if the stock market grew as fast as new mathematics, we'd all be rich," he wrote in a recent on-line essay about public understanding of the subject. "It's important that the public understand us and the importance of what we do in this time of shrinking academic dollars and bulging overproduction of academics."

With that in mind, dozens of colleges and other organizations participate in Mathematics Awareness Week each April, hosting math-related workshops,...