Mathematicians Are Overselling the Idea That “Math Is Everywhere”

Re:Mathematicians Are Overselling the Idea That “Math Is Eve... by vidarh on Wednesday August 17, 2016 @10:08AM (#12304772)

Large portions of the worlds children grow up with barely primary school level education and an economic reality that requires them to go into work as soon as possible.

When would they have the time and money to set aside to get deep into a subject that most of them do not have the academic background to see the value of?

Yes, everyone could learn mathematics. Just like everyone could get rich and go into space. It's just that for a huge proportion of people the pre-requisites are not there.

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Re:Mathematicians Are Overselling the Idea That “Math Is Eve... by digitalarborist on Wednesday August 17, 2016 @10:19AM (#12304868)

> Yes, everyone could learn mathematics. Just like everyone could get rich and go into space.

Ah the false analogy[1], we meet again. You don't really believe this do you? I mean you could make the same argument about gardening. Literally anyone can learn at least basic math, most people just don't have the inclination.

1) http://onegoodmove.org/fallacy/falsean.htm

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Re:Mathematicians Are Overselling the Idea That “Math Is Eve... by kaitai on Wednesday August 17, 2016 @10:14AM (#12304820)

While not denying that access to academic math is a privilege, we should also notice and be clear that math is used by many people without formal training. People manage their money, for instance, and often learn sophisticated methods for accounting and calculation via apprenticeship. People build physical objects using measurements and geometry and, again, understandings of mechanics gained through apprenticeship. The formal language of math as written down in books is available to only a fraction of the world's population, but many people do use economic and maker math in their everyday lives.

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