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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.

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