> It also has a downside What exactly is the downside and for whom? > The British Empire depended on robust trigonometrical education [...] and they needed a

> It also has a downside What exactly is the downside and for whom? > The British Empire depended on robust trigonometrical education [...] and they needed a steady supply of ship's masters The British Empire was already collapsing rapidly when the Open University was founded in 1969. I doubt that ensuring a supply of ship masters was a motivation in choosing to include trigonometry in the syllabus.