my daughter is in advanced algebra II as a freshman. She is not naturally good at algebra. What this means is that she simply needs to work harder. The school e

my daughter is in advanced algebra II as a freshman. She is not naturally good at algebra. What this means is that she simply needs to work harder. The school estimates 3-4 hours/work a week for advanced algebra. My daughter does 10-15 hours a week and still only has around an 85. What she has learned is that things that can seem impossible can sometimes be broken apart into small pieces and conquered with hard work. The author probably had certain subjects come easy to her. When it got hard she probably didnt know how to do the repetitions required to become good. Instead of becoming good, she is trying to tell us in STEM disciplines that the subject simply isnt necessary. Algebra is fundamental to all other math I dont see how you can do statistics (as the author mentions) without algebra. In fact probability is much harder than algebra and probability problems often times require algebra. Further the work habits you learn to master algebra are used for other abstract subjects. As you get into the sciences and advanced statistics, you might need calculus. As you get into engineering you surely need calculus. There are often times versions of the subjects that allow you to memorize the equations and the author probably doesnt realize the difference between memorizing the statistical equations to be able to execute them and deeply understanding how they were derived. It is the difference between an electrician and an electrical engineer. As a biology student you might not need much math, but as a scientist in general you do need physics and chemistry. Without algebra, how can you do even basic newtonian physics? I have an electrical engineering and a microbiology degree. The biological sciences require little to no abstract problem solving, they are essentially all memorization. It is easy to get by without having to do a certain kind of thinking that exists within algebra. That kind of thinking though exists in virtually every engineering class, physics, and even a little bit in chemistry. The author is essentially implying that animal sciences is stem and animal sciences dont need math, therefore STEM doesnt really need math.