The Underworked American Child

Re:The Underworked American Child by noonespecial on Saturday June 13, 2009 @10:07PM (#656716)

Even if you don't "use math" per se in your daily life, it still provides a rich source of metaphors for understanding the world; Everything from the way flu spreads to your chances of winning the lottery. You may not stop to actually calculate these things, but "a feeling for math" will give you a great deal more insight than someone who didn't "need to learn useless concepts".

I can't unequivocally say that innumeracy = poverty, but my hunch is its damn close.

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Re:The Underworked American Child by ori_b on Saturday June 13, 2009 @10:45PM (#656746)

I agree. For even the most basic understanding of the world, a feel for mathematics is absolutely necessary.

While I wouldn't quite go as far as Heinlein does, his opinion on the matter seems to be:

Anyone who cannot cope with mathematics is not fully human. At best he is a tolerable subhuman who has learned to wear shoes, bathe and not make messes in the house.

		-- Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love"

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Re:The Underworked American Child by sketerpot on Sunday June 14, 2009 @03:58PM (#657484)

If nothing else, people should learn statistics. Statistical thinking is absolutely essential to understand most social, economic, and political issues in the world, and people who just don't get it are mentally crippled. I see this all the time.

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