Plus ça change (plus c'est la même chose): language and The Math Wars
Jackson Turner Main In recent posts (see both) at math-teach@mathforum.org, veteran "math warrior" Wayne Bishop has complained about "so-called Constructivists" and other alleged abuses of "jargon" by what I imagine he thinks of as "so-called progressive educators," and the like. He's very incensed about such language, all the while representing groups like Mathematically Correct and Honest Open Logical Debate (HOLD) whose very names are fascinating examples of propaganda and dissembling, and whose major tactic in the "Math Wars" is to find new epithets for the educators, programs, practices, and ideas they want to destroy. These are folks who have been tormenting the English language into pretzel-like bits of obfuscation, perhaps the most outlandish being Bishop & Friends' attempt to paint those who support progressive mathematics