Re:Learning algebra in my 60s
by joshuaissac on Monday August 08, 2022 @04:28PM
(#32390592)
> It also has a downside
What exactly is the downside and for whom?
> The British Empire depended on robust trigonometrical education [...] and they needed a steady supply of ship's masters
The British Empire was already collapsing rapidly when the Open University was founded in 1969. I doubt that ensuring a supply of ship masters was a motivation in choosing to include trigonometry in the syllabus.
Sure, if you want to believe that Open University invented a brand new pedagogy rather than continuing a traditional style of teaching trigonometry that had been honed over the course of 150 years of naval power projection.
It also has a downside... The British Empire depended on robust trigonometrical education. In those days, you couldn't efficiently navigate the world's oceans without it and they needed a steady supply of ship's masters for the thousands of ships that made the empire work. Earth is the unit circle.