Many biologists were turned off by the math, and few mathematicians were interested in the problems of biology.
Eventually, Ms. Sullivan said, math classes might include works of literature dealing with math and biographies of mathematicians.
I asked Professor McKeown about his preference and received this response by e-mail: I like math, and studied with mathematicians for my PhD.
Before finishing her Ph.D. in math at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB), Concha Gómez (pictured left) envisioned her dream job: "I would be in a large research university and teach math and be around mathematicians.
Biologists chose the biology courses and mathematicians chose the math courses, but all of this was done in a context of constant communication between the departments.
The mathematicians insist that their critics don't understand the math, and the biologists insist that the mathematicians don't understand the biology.
Mathematician Paul Erdős famously spent 19 hours a day doing math, and he may be the most prolific mathematician who ever lived.
"I was ashamed by that – as a mathematician I love math and I think math is a tool for good".
But students who do not have a deep conceptual understanding of math, and who cannot think like a mathematician, won't be good at any math.
Stano works alongside chemists, biologists, and mathematicians.
