Skip to main content

Why do I have to study math when I don't need it in real-life?

 Why should I learn math when I won't use it in "real life?" Half of all parents are asked this question.

You should learn math. Here are a few points to consider. These are all points I’ve made to students over the years who don’t see math class as relevant to their future life.

·        Learning math problems is good training for problem-solving, tasks on which you will spend your entire life. It helps with critical thinking in a simple environment. It forces you to think within a set of rules, and to be realistic rather than emotional

·        Most of the problems in real life are far more complex than the easy ones in math class. You have to learn the easy stuff before the complicated stuff. (That is, you have to learn to walk before you can run.)

·        Math is becoming more and more important in almost every area from science to business. Even bricklayers need to know quite a bit of math in planning a job. Try and schedule airlines to optimize profit and convenience without knowing math. You can’t.

·        “I’ll learn it if I need to use or know it.” We answer this with “How do you know you’ll need it if you don’t know it’s there? Problems don’t come to you with a roadmap of how to solve them.

·        In applying for a job, it’s more than appearance on which you are hired. Those with the best knowledge base are always preferred. Show them you have had lots of math and (secretly) you know Excel* very well, then you be competitive. You don’t want to compete with an AI program, do you? No math and you could lose this face-off.

·        You could ask the same question about taking history. Who uses history on the job in real life? But knowing history is indirectly important in understanding human nature and international relations. Want to skip that, too?

 

*More important than you might think. knowing Excel implies a knowledge of basic math. Want a quick graph of data? Know Excel. Want to sort information? Know Excel. Want to find a trendline? Know Excel.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Please Comment.

Popular posts from this blog

Behavioral Science and Problem-Solving

I.                                       I.                 Introduction.                Concerning our general behavior, it’s high about time we all had some understanding of how we operate on ourselves, and it is just as important how we are operated on by others. This is the wheelhouse of behavioral sciences. It is a vast subject. It touches our lives constantly. It’s influence is pervasive and can be so subtle we never notice it. Behavioral sciences profoundly affect our ability and success at problem-solving, from the elementary level to highly complex wicked problems. This is discussed in Section IV. We begin with the basics of behavioral sciences, Section II, and then through the lens of multiple categories and examples, Section III. II.     ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Where is AI (Artificial Intelligence) Going?

  How to view Artificial Intelligence (AI).  Imagine you go to the store to buy a TV, but all they have are 1950s models, black and white, circular screens, picture rolls, and picture imperfect, no remote. You’d say no thanks. Back in the day, they sold wildly. The TV was a must-have for everyone with $250 to spend* (about $3000 today). Compared to where AI is today, this is more or less where TVs were 70 years ago. In only a few decades AI will be advanced beyond comprehension, just like TVs today are from the 50s viewpoint. Just like we could not imagine where the video concept was going back then, we cannot really imagine where AI is going. Buckle up. But it will be spectacular.    *Back then minimum wage was $0.75/hr. Thus, a TV cost more than eight weeks' wages. ------------------------- 
Post a Comment
Read more

Fake News

If you've been following the news the last couple of days, you will note the flurry of copy devoted to fake news.  Both sides are blaming whatever has befallen them the consequence of fake news.  Let's look at this phenomenon a bit.    When I was a student years ago, a friend climbed some mountain in Peru.   A article was written in the local newspaper about the event.   In only three column inches, the newspaper made about six errors.   An easy article to write you say?   Just interview and reproduce.   Yet so many errors?   The question is this: was this fake news or bad reporting?   The idea here is that fake news comes in various flavors. Bad reporting – errors made by the author or editor Opinion presented as news     Deliberate creation of falsehoods to favor a point of view       The reporting of selected truths to favor a particular point of view Now we have the big social media ...
Post a Comment
Read more