11 ms·

I think the point of the survey was to gauge prejudice as opposed to determining if people knew the difference between numbers written in Arabic versus Arabic N

by Edmond 7y ago

I think the point of the survey was to gauge prejudice as opposed to determining if people knew the difference between numbers written in Arabic versus Arabic Numerals (Base 10 number system). I suspect the biased responses were of the knee-jerk variety, meaning they didn't even have the curiosity to determine what Arabic numerals actually meant.

linuxftw 7y ago
I think the point of the survey was to write an inflammatory article picking on ignorant Americans. "numbers written in Arabic" is the same as "Arabic Numerals" because that's what "Arabic Numerals" means to Americans without any additional context. We don't have an everyday term for western-style numbers, but you can draw context for "X Numerials" from "Roman Numerals" which clearly indicates a different character set for representing numerical values.
- FullyFunctional 7y ago
  Inflammatory? Nobody forced them to answer "no" even if they ignorantly didn't know that numeric digits are called Arabic numerals. You cannot argue in good faith that the pool didn't expose intolerance. I can't see any argument for denying the teaching of anything outside of falsehoods. Teaching is supposed to be about learning something new, typically outside your comfort zone.
  - linuxftw 7y ago
    What you seem to be missing is the average person does not call them "Arabic numerals." Additionally, it's 100% valid to call numbers written in Arabic characters "Arabic numerals." We can't draw any conclusion from this survey, but despite this, the author decides to make all sorts of inferences. Because this survey appears to be entirely useless on the face of it, I think it was designed especially for some sort of confirmation-bias rather than testing an actual hypothesis. Show me the corresponding survey for "Japanese Numerals" and then we can have an actual discussion. While you're at it, show me the survey for non-Americans asked the same question.
    - FullyFunctional 7y ago
      In my primary education we (me and my other average students) were taught that they are "Arbic numberals". But you are insisting on ignoring the point entirely. Had the question been about "Japanese Numerals" the answer should still have been "YES!"
      - linuxftw 7y ago
        For what? There's no utility for learning Japanese characters for most Americans. I can come up with a very long list of things people should know how to read before I get to foreign-language character sets.

by Edmond 7y ago

linuxftw 7y ago

I think the point of the survey was to write an inflammatory article picking on ignorant Americans. "numbers written in Arabic" is the same as "Arabic Numerals" because that's what "Arabic Numerals" means to Americans without any additional context. We don't have an everyday term for western-style numbers, but you can draw context for "X Numerials" from "Roman Numerals" which clearly indicates a different character set for representing numerical values.

FullyFunctional 7y ago
Inflammatory? Nobody forced them to answer "no" even if they ignorantly didn't know that numeric digits are called Arabic numerals. You cannot argue in good faith that the pool didn't expose intolerance. I can't see any argument for denying the teaching of anything outside of falsehoods. Teaching is supposed to be about learning something new, typically outside your comfort zone.
- linuxftw 7y ago
  What you seem to be missing is the average person does not call them "Arabic numerals." Additionally, it's 100% valid to call numbers written in Arabic characters "Arabic numerals." We can't draw any conclusion from this survey, but despite this, the author decides to make all sorts of inferences. Because this survey appears to be entirely useless on the face of it, I think it was designed especially for some sort of confirmation-bias rather than testing an actual hypothesis. Show me the corresponding survey for "Japanese Numerals" and then we can have an actual discussion. While you're at it, show me the survey for non-Americans asked the same question.
  - FullyFunctional 7y ago
    In my primary education we (me and my other average students) were taught that they are "Arbic numberals". But you are insisting on ignoring the point entirely. Had the question been about "Japanese Numerals" the answer should still have been "YES!"
    - linuxftw 7y ago
      For what? There's no utility for learning Japanese characters for most Americans. I can come up with a very long list of things people should know how to read before I get to foreign-language character sets.