Archimedes Lecture 2024- Logical Reasoning in Mathematics Students

Date: 18th December 2024

Location: Swinburne University of Technology, Engineering Building, EN615

Come join us at the Archimedes Lecture 2024 where we popularise interesting mathematical topics for an everyday audience. This in-person event will take place at Swinburne University of Technology, room EN615, in the EN building (Hawthorn Campus). Our speaker from a prestigious UK University will help us explore the intricacies of mathematical reasoning and understand how we learn mathematical concepts. Whether you're a seasoned math enthusiast or just interested in numbers, this lecture promises to be an engaging and enlightening experience. Don't miss out!

Distinguished presenter (keynote speaker):

Prof. Lara Alcock, Loughborough University, UK

In standard mathematical logic, conditionals – sentences of the form ‘if p then q’ – are treated as false if p is true and q is false, and true otherwise. In everyday life, in contrast, conditionals are rarely true or false; they vary in believability, and believability affects evaluation of conditional inferences. Might this mean that conditional inference in mathematics is also influenced by believability? I will present two research studies on this question. Study 1 used comparative judgement to score mathematical conditionals for believability, then showed that mathematics undergraduates accepted more inferences from more believable conditionals. Study 2 demonstrated that mathematics undergraduates evaluated conditional inferences similarly across mathematical, abstract and everyday content, but treated inferences from believable mathematical conditionals more normatively. Studies 1 and 2 both found educationally relevant individual differences, with some participants more likely to accept invalid inferences and more affected by believability. I will consider educational implications for the development of reasoning skills, and the meaning of believability in mathematics.

Prof. Lara Alcock

Professor in Mathematics Education

Loughborough University, UK

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Swinburne University of Technology, Engineering Building, EN615, John Street, Hawthorn, Australia