Re:Can progressives be convinced that genetics matters?
by syops on Monday September 06, 2021 @08:35PM
(#28439598)
What is theorized to be impossible is learning a language as an adult if you did not learn a language as a child. That is, if at age 20 you know 0 languages then you’ll never be able really learn a language. For obvious reasons experiments in this regard are few.
My conclusion is that some people simply can’t learn algebra. Be it genetic, environmental, lack of intellectual fortitude, lack of “intelligence”, or any combination thereof it is simply the case that some people can’t learn algebra.
Re:Can progressives be convinced that genetics matters?
by wintermutestwin on Tuesday September 07, 2021 @02:05AM
(#28441443)
I wonder if you are equating "can't" and "lack of intellectual fortitude" with "aren't truly motivated to do so."
Considering that a small percentage of careers require more than basic algebra/geometry/statistics, it's not hard to see that math has a "why should I learn this?" problem more than a "am I able to learn this?" problem.
Re:Can progressives be convinced that genetics matters?
by bawolff on Tuesday September 07, 2021 @02:04AM
(#28441437)
Environmental covers a lot. A mal-nourished homeless person probably cannot learn algebra - they would have much more immediate concerns to deal with.
However that feels really different from saying a not insignificant portion of the population, inherently cannot.
Though I don't know of any studies about algebra in particular, kids show greater neuroplasticity in general than adults. So learning anything as an adult tends to be more difficult.
But I live with an American who reasonably fluent in Norwegian after 2 years of study in their 30s. It's certainly not impossible.
I have no doubt that math, like virtually everything, is more difficult for adults to pick up from scratch.