Thursday, May 02, 2013
Who Actually Uses Math at Work?
gizmodo.com: Let's admit it together. We all kind of suck at math. It's okay! Numbers are evil. And back in high school when you were forced to struggle through Algebra and Geometry and Algebra again and if you were especially unlucky, Calculus, you probably thought to yourself when in the hell would you ever use all those stupid theories, equations and computational silliness in real life. And the truth is you won't use them! Who needs math!
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3 comments:
That point about the only places to excel in school being math and science? God, I wish that weren't true. If you didn't go to an arts high school, then being a great actress or painter or singer didn't mean shit because there wasn't an honor society for that. There was one faculty award at the end of the year for the entire arts department - and my school had a big arts program (for a non arts-centered school). I took such advanced math that when I got to senior year they didn't offer a higher level class. And I was good at it! But why the FUCK did I spend so much time and energy on it? I don't remember even 10% of it. I slaved away for some pointless faculty recognition in a subject I didn't really care about and has zero relevance to my chosen career or life in general. Oy vey.
I mean for that matter who needs to write a 10 page literary analysis paper at work? Sure most people need to write to some degree in their careers, but literary analysis? No one needs to do that. And writing a persuasive essay is often very different than writing a good english paper (at many schools). Who uses any history in their daily work lives? The thing about school and the way it's evolved in America is that we slowly narrow our focus, getting more and more focused as we think we know what we want to do. I remember some kind of statistic that said, you will never use 94% of what you learned in school at work. But see, I know what a percentage is. That's something. How many people need math to file their taxes, work their bills. Maybe not calculus, but I'd honestly be curious as to what percentage of those people who they questioned even took calculus. While true, many people do not use this, it's important to understanding the greater make up of the world. It's part of being an informed citizen. Plus, if you never learned it, how can you be sure you didn't like it?
I agree with chris. The wide spread education in high school and elementary school is designed to expose every students to the basics of various subjects. So if they do have a passion for the particular subject, they have enough of a foundation of knowledge to pursue a career that is related. In addition, even though there is little practical use of the higher level maths they are teaching in schools, it does teach you a new way at looking at the world. It changes you're perspective and teaches you to look through a lens that is based more in logic. Learning to see the world through other frameworks, whether "historic, mathematic, artistic, etc", allows us to be more sensitive and in touch with the world. But if you are looking at education as only means to get a job, you might as well learn to flip burgers instead of to write.
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