2014 — Cultural Development of Mathematical Ideas, Oksapmin, Photo Gallery, Geoffrey Saxe, OLPC — Culture and Cognition: Cultural Development of Mathematical Ideas

After completing my 2012 book, Cultural Development of Mathematical Ideas, I returned to Oksapmin with my elder son, Josh, and Kenton de Kirby, one of my PhD students. Our purpose was to explore whether the body system was still used in Oksapmin communities as well as to understand how a One-Laptop-per-Child (OLPC) program was faring in Oksapmin communities. The images on this page include a variety of scenes: The Australian Baptist Mission Station initially constructed in the early 1960s, now in disrepair; the building of a new high school in the Tekin area; a trade store near the mission, Divanap primary school, a Papuan Lorikeet killed with a slingshot, the Tekin landing strip, XO laptops funded by the PNGSDP, and other scenes from everyday life in 2014. In addition, images include Kenton’s and my visit to the University of Goroka where we visited the Glen Lean Ethnomathematics Centre, which I had the honor of opening in 2001.

2014. Landing strip near Baptist Mission station in Tekin.

2014. Mission station and landing strip.

2014. Cargo delivered at Tekin landing strip.

2014. Mission station house in which we stayed for part of our visit.

2014. Scene from above.

2014. Landing strip adjacent to Australian Baptist Mission Station.

2014. Baptist mission church fallen into disrepair.

2014. Foundation of Baptist church failing.

2014. Rear of mission church.

2014. Baptist mission church fallen into disrepair.

2014. Simon and Josh working on OLPC project.

2014. Local pastor and caretaker of Baptist church/mission station.

2014. Inside Baptist church with local pastor.

2014. Josh engages pastor with 'angry birds,' a computer game on a mobile phone.

2014. OLPC in temporary high school in Tekin: XOs/solar panels.

2014. XO (OLPC program) in temporary high school in Tekin.

2014. Sugar software displayed on XO (OLPC) laptop.

2014. Josh working on an XO laptop.

2014. Simon, a local Oksapmin man, served as OLPC coordinator.

2014. Simon, Josh, and Kenton.

2014. Simon and Josh working on OLPC project.

2014. Rain.

2014. Primary school in Tomianap.

2014. Purchasing supplies at local Tekin trade store.

2014. Purchasing supplies at local trade store.

2014. Walking with pastor.

2014. Atypical scene in 2014 - man encountered on road with bow.

2014. Rodents' jaws/teeth prepared for carving.

2014. Carving arrowhead with rodent's tooth.

2014. Divanap primary school: Administration building.

2014. Encountered teacher on path who participated in 2001 study.

2014. Arrival of heliocopter at new high school site: Payment of men.

2014. Building under construction at new high school site.

2014. Weather at new Oksapmin high school building site.

2014. A walk from Tekin to Divanap.

2014. Local insect.

2014. Garden.

2014. Marshall Lawrence and family's original house in Divanap.

2014. Inside Marshall's original home, where we stayed for a few days.

2014. Posted at health center in Tekin.

2014. A Papuan Lorikeet killed with a slingshot.

2014. Univ. of Goroka: Glen Lean Ethnomathematics Centre.