logo
Sawyerauthor

W.W. Sawyer

4.40

Average rating

1

Books

Walter Warwick Sawyer was a mathematician and author who contributed significantly to mathematical education. He recently passed away in Canada, aged 97. Sawyer was born in 1911 and won scholarships to Highgate School and St John's College, Cambridge. After becoming head of mathematics at Leicester College of Technology, he became interested in the applications of mathematics to industry. 

He developed a scheme in which apprentices learned mathematics by handling physical objects. In 1943 he published his first and most successful book, Mathematician's Delight, which has been in continuous publication since and has sold about 500,000 copies. In 1948 he became the head of mathematics at the University of Ghana, and from 1951 to 1956, he lectured at Canterbury College, New Zealand. 

During the period 1957 to 1964, Sawyer became a loud voice criticizing many aspects of mathematics education, and in 1965 was appointed Professor jointly to the Departments of Mathematics and Education at the University of Toronto. After retiring in 1976, he wrote his final book, A First Look at Numerical Functional Analysis. Sawyer was very much concerned with the practical applications of mathematics. 

He considered that students taught mathematics without an appreciation of its application would have no more understanding of what they were learning than a machine. His love of mathematics is seen in the title of his first book, Mathematician's Delight, whose aim was to "dispel the fear of mathematics": "Many people regard mathematicians as a race apart, possessed of almost supernatural powers. 

While this is very flattering for successful mathematicians, it is very bad for those who, for one reason or another, are attempting to learn the subject." He considered that teachers should work with students' minds and talents rather than force foreign concepts on them.

Best author’s book

pagesback-cover
4.4

Mathematician's Delight

Paul Graham
Read