Mathematics SL Flash Cards

Michael Haese

Michael completed a Bachelor of Science at the University of Adelaide, majoring in Infection and Immunity, and Applied Mathematics. He studied laminar heat flow as part of his Honours in Applied Mathematics, and finished a PhD in high speed fluid flows in 2001. He has been the principal editor for Haese Mathematics since 2008.

What motivates you to write mathematics books?

My passion is for education as a whole, rather than just mathematics. In Australia I think it is too easy to take education for granted, because it is seen as a right but with too little appreciation for the responsibility that goes with it. But the more I travel to places where access to education is limited, the more I see children who treat it as a privilege, and the greater the difference it makes in their lives. But as far as mathematics goes, I grew up with mathematics textbooks in pieces on the kitchen table, and so I guess it continues a tradition.

What do you aim to achieve in writing?

I think a few things:

• I want to write to the student directly, so they can learn as much as possible from the text directly. Their book is there even when their teacher isn't.
• I therefore want to write using language which is easy to understand. Sure, mathematics has its big words, and these are important and we always use them. But the words around them should be as simple as possible, so the meaning of the terms can be properly explained to ESL (English as a Second Language) students.
• I want to make the mathematics more alive and real, not by putting it in contrived "real-world" contexts which are actually over-simplified and fake, but rather through its history and its relationship with other subjects.

What interests you outside mathematics?

Lots of things! Horses, show jumping and course design, alpacas, badminton, running, art, history, faith, reading, hiking, photography ....

Ngoc Vo

Ngoc Vo completed a Bachelor of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Adelaide, majoring in Statistics and Applied Mathematics. Her Mathematical interests include regression analysis, Bayesian statistics, and statistical computing. Ngoc has been working at Haese Mathematics as a proof reader and writer since 2016.

What drew you to the field of mathematics?

Originally, I planned to study engineering at university, but after a few weeks I quickly realised that it wasn't for me. So I switched to a mathematics degree at the first available opportunity. I didn't really have a plan to major in statistics, but as I continued my studies I found myself growing more fond of the discipline. The mathematical rigor in proving distributional results and how they link to real-world data -- it all just seemed to click.

What are some interesting things that you get to do at work?

As the resident statistician here at Haese Mathematics, I get the pleasure of writing new statistics chapters and related material. Statistics has always been a challenging subject to both teach and learn, however it doesn't always have to be that way. To bridge that gap, I like to try and include as many historical notes, activities, and investigations as I can to make it as engaging as possible. The reasons why we do things, and the people behind them are often important things we forget to talk about. Statistics, and of course mathematics, doesn't just exist within the pages of your textbook or even the syllabus. There's so much breadth and depth to these disciplines, most of the time we just barely scratch the surface.

What interests you outside mathematics?

In my free time I like studying good typography and brushing up on my TeX skills to become the next TeXpert. On the less technical side of things, I also enjoy scrapbooking, painting, and making the occasional card.