>>everybody [on HN] has a pre-formed opinion and does >>not seem to want to risk having to modify it Jim, this is seems like a crazy generalization. I assume

>>everybody [on HN] has a pre-formed opinion and does >>not seem to want to risk having to modify it Jim, this is seems like a crazy generalization. I assume you haven't tried to quantify this and it's just anecdotal opinion right? No problem, let's continue: 1). All my beliefs are falsifiable. Since your claim includes "everybody", I guess this counterexample alone proves your conjecture false. 2). If the most open minded community on the Internet scores 100, what score would you give HN? Can you name a single one that's better? I'd like to check it out. 3). How often does a response here randomly adopt the retort "Its Obama's fault" or an ad hominem attack? When it does happen it's almost immediately killed or downvoted off. On a separate note, the article plays up how bad Americans are at math. Is this data controlled for household income and education level of parents? The factors are so significant it's hard to accept the data without them. Lastly, my personal experience mostly matches the article. So many math classes were rote, boring, and uninspiring. I first learned it didn't have to be this way during discrete math because it required less algorithms, more creativity in proofs, and pulled back the curtain on what really made things tick.