Needed: Critical foxes

Abstract

Beyond issues of the research we need are issues arising from the research we already have. Research in mathematics education lacks critical friends, but that phrase implies someone who is on the outside. We in the community especially need insiders who can help us see our work whole. These insiders should have a synoptic view. Isaiah Berlin once drew an important distinction between the hedgehog (who knows one big thing) and the fox (who knows many things). Drawing primarily on my own experience in the field, I argue that more of us in mathematics education ought to become critical foxes.