As seen in the literature, people’s perception of mathematics affects their
understanding of mathematical thinking. For example, Schoenfeld (1992) articulates that
mathematics as an activity performed in human mind by using abstraction, symbolic
representation, and symbolic manipulation, which he describes as the tools of
mathematics. According to his perspective, mathematical thinking consists of having “a
mathematical point of view –valuing the processes of mathematization and abstraction”
(p. 335). His descriptions of “flexible thinkers with a broad repertoire of techniques and
perspectives for dealing with novel problems and situations” (p. 335) for good
mathematicians and talented students of mathematics suggest that he also values applied
mathematics. Although Schoenfeld provides some connections to applied mathematics in
terms of using mathematics to discover and understand the world, his suggestions for
pedagogical implications of mathematics remind the Platonic approach in a sense
described by Kaput (1979): “Platonism … [is] reflected in … being the stark, atemporal,
formal universe of ideal knowledge” (p. 289).