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Re:Latin as she is spoke: How classicists tricked themselves... by FredPret on Saturday January 29, 2022 @11:38AM (#30127694)
I’m an engineer, so I went through university mathematics. I haven’t used it since… but the problem-solving ability I learned has literally transformed the way my brain works.

The content of high school math is important only in the sense that it must interest the kids and might be vaguely useful later on. The real prize is systematic problem-solving skills and confidence.

Re:Latin as she is spoke: How classicists tricked themselves... by hiptobecubic on Saturday January 29, 2022 @12:05PM (#30127984)
But it doesn't generally do either. You don't learn any "problem solving maturity" in highschool and most of what I remember was that students who weren't good at number crunching got discouraged and gave up on math entirely, labeling themselves as "not a math person."
Re:Latin as she is spoke: How classicists tricked themselves... by boppo1 on Saturday January 29, 2022 @03:02PM (#30129825)
> the problem-solving ability I learned has literally transformed the way my brain works

Can you elaborate on this?

Re:Latin as she is spoke: How classicists tricked themselves... by FredPret on Tuesday February 01, 2022 @07:51PM (#30172054)
I'd say I'm far more disciplined and systematic now. I'm also more confident in tackling messy, complicated problems; I think this is 90% of the battle to be honest.