ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL

One of the most important questions of our time is whether we will act on the
evidence uncovered by cognitive scientists in the last decade about the mechanisms
of learning.
John Mighton has spent the last decade proving his system of learning which he
developed in JUMP (Junior Undiscovered Math Prodigies), a charitable organization
that works to educate students in mathematics. Now he is sharing not only his compelling personal story of his unique
and varied career in which he became a mathematician in his 30s and a critically acclaimed and award winning playwright;
but also the successes of JUMP. In anecdotes backed up with the supporting cognitive science Mighton explores how we
can apply these methods in our larger world.
ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL takes the position that wide-spread social and economic disparities are caused less by
deficiencies in our social and political systems and more by our ignorance about human potential—that our belief in
natural academic hierarchies is far more instrumental in causing differences between children in subjects like math and
the sciences than any inborn or natural abilities.
Because all classrooms and most careers are hierarchical, intellectual poverty cuts across all social classes, so every
parent, educator and policy-maker should be interested in learning about how this kind of poverty can be eradicated. ALL
THINGS BEING EQUAL argues that economies can't function properly if people don't have the necessary logical or
conceptual abilities or understanding of the natural world to calculate the real cost or value of the goods they produce
and the risk involved in producing those goods.
JOHN MIGHTON is the founder of JUMP (Junior Undiscovered Math Prodigies), a charitable organization that works to educate
students in mathematics. He is the author of The Myth of Ability (2003) and The End of Ignorance (2007). Mighton has also received
two Governor General's Literary Awards for his plays, and the prestigious Siminovitch Prize in Theatre. Mighton also advised on the
script for Good Will Hunting, and was an actor in the film. His one major line is a reference to his main idea in The Myth of Ability: that
most people never get a chance because a teacher does not take the time to show them how to learn. Mighton completed a PhD in
mathematics at the University of Toronto and is currently a Fellow of the Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences. In
2004, Mighton was elected as a Fellow of Ashoka in recognition for his work founding JUMP. In 2010, he was appointed an Officer of
the Order of Canada.