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> Don't think algebra or exponential growth matter? I think these concepts are critical to basic citizenship. Real understanding of exponential growth helps you

> Don't think algebra or exponential growth matter? I think these concepts are critical to basic citizenship. Real understanding of exponential growth helps you understand viscerally why, for instance, you should nip a viral outbreak in the bud, and reducing the spreadrate even slightly (R0) can make a huge impact later on, even if spread isn't totally stopped. This is all just gibberish if not learned in high school. Indeed. I remember talking to a doctor who worked in the ER when the first wave of COVID (brutal in my country) was brewing. She said that it wouldn't be a big deal, they had like 50% of beds vacant (or something like that) so they would be able to handle it just fine. I said that by looking at the data, I thought they would run out of beds next week. Her expression was dismissive, like "this guy doesn't work in healthcare, hasn't set foot in an ER, what does he know?" The next week, ERs were overloaded, of course. It was in plain sight from the straight line in log-scale graphs. But for most people (including most doctors) the interpretation was (and still is) "wow, this virus is rough, it comes in sudden waves out of nowhere!". Just because they don't understand exponential growth.

phpthrowaway99 4y ago
Do you really think doctors don't understand, or never learned, exponential growth? I knew a bioengineering student at Cal that was pretty smart and barely made it into med school. They had to go to a DO school instead of MD. So unless the bar for doctors used to be much lower than it is today, every doctor 'knows' what exponential growth is. Whether they apply it to the real world is another thing. I know people that don't think raising the minimum wage basically just causes inflation. They're just wondering why apartments in undesirable areas became 3x more expensive when minimum wage went from $5 to $15.
- Al-Khwarizmi 4y ago
  In my country most definitely don't. They take a little calculus in high school, but practically zero at university, unless they take an epidemiology elective or something like that. I know this well because my wife is also a doctor. It probably varies a lot by country, like many things.
  - imperfect_blue 4y ago
    You certainly don't need calculus to understand exponential growth; you'd get a good sense of it from just looking at a chart. The ability to apply learned theory to real life in cross-domain ways is not common and not so easily taught by rote. Teaching calculus to everyone won't solve this.
- rand49an 4y ago
  > I know people that don't think raising the minimum wage basically just causes inflation. They're just wondering why apartments in undesirable areas became 3x more expensive when minimum wage went from $5 to $15. That's a pretty poor example though as there are many factors that contribute to property prices and there isn't just a mechanical link between wages and house prices.
  - amanaplanacanal 4y ago
    Low interest rates probably have a much greater effect, given that most people aren’t buying houses with cash.
- mannykannot 4y ago
  > Whether they apply it to the real world is another thing. 'Knowing' it but not applying it (and in what is literally a textbook circumstance, no less) is itself a failure of understanding.

phpthrowaway99 4y ago

Do you really think doctors don't understand, or never learned, exponential growth? I knew a bioengineering student at Cal that was pretty smart and barely made it into med school. They had to go to a DO school instead of MD. So unless the bar for doctors used to be much lower than it is today, every doctor 'knows' what exponential growth is. Whether they apply it to the real world is another thing. I know people that don't think raising the minimum wage basically just causes inflation. They're just wondering why apartments in undesirable areas became 3x more expensive when minimum wage went from $5 to $15.

Al-Khwarizmi 4y ago
In my country most definitely don't. They take a little calculus in high school, but practically zero at university, unless they take an epidemiology elective or something like that. I know this well because my wife is also a doctor. It probably varies a lot by country, like many things.
- imperfect_blue 4y ago
  You certainly don't need calculus to understand exponential growth; you'd get a good sense of it from just looking at a chart. The ability to apply learned theory to real life in cross-domain ways is not common and not so easily taught by rote. Teaching calculus to everyone won't solve this.
rand49an 4y ago
> I know people that don't think raising the minimum wage basically just causes inflation. They're just wondering why apartments in undesirable areas became 3x more expensive when minimum wage went from $5 to $15. That's a pretty poor example though as there are many factors that contribute to property prices and there isn't just a mechanical link between wages and house prices.
- amanaplanacanal 4y ago
  Low interest rates probably have a much greater effect, given that most people aren’t buying houses with cash.
mannykannot 4y ago
> Whether they apply it to the real world is another thing. 'Knowing' it but not applying it (and in what is literally a textbook circumstance, no less) is itself a failure of understanding.