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>Has any child ever gotten better at something they don't have to do? Nope, and it's compounded by the fact the vast majority of academical math is irrelevant

>Has any child ever gotten better at something they don't have to do? Nope, and it's compounded by the fact the vast majority of academical math is irrelevant to life unless and until you make your way into a path of life that requires some of it. Math education is fundamentally flawed because it attempts to teach irrelevant factoids in a manner that explicitly avoids teaching the hows and whys. No wonder most people end up hating the subject.

thaumasiotes 4y ago
>> Has any child ever gotten better at something they don't have to do? > Nope It happens all the time. You think people are born being great at Mario Kart?
- Dalewyn 4y ago
  Are you implying playing Mario Kart isn't a must-do for a child? I would argue that as far as they are concerned, it is: It's fun. Must-dos fall under those dictated by our surroundings (eg: life, work, etc.) and those dictated by ourselves (eg: it's fun, it's for a greater purpose, etc.). Math education falls under neither.
  - chii 4y ago
    > I would argue that as far as they are concerned, it is: It's fun. and it's fun _because_ it's evolutionarily important to learn new things, and thus natural selection for humans have made learning (and mastery) "fun". Mastering mario cart takes lots of learning. Maths isn't fun only because the kids aren't learning in class, and isn't gaining mastery. It's taught poorly - maths can certainly be fun.
    - Dalewyn 4y ago
      I wouldn't argue Mario Kart or games in general are "evolutionarily important", but we both agree it's fun. >It's taught poorly - maths can certainly be fun. My point exactly. Math is fun and valuable, but academical math is terrible; it teaches nothing of importance and most people end up hating math because of how irrelevant and worthless the way it is taught is.
  - thaumasiotes 4y ago
    In your model of the world, is it possible for anyone to actually do anything that they didn't have to do?

thaumasiotes 4y ago

>> Has any child ever gotten better at something they don't have to do? > Nope It happens all the time. You think people are born being great at Mario Kart?

Dalewyn 4y ago
Are you implying playing Mario Kart isn't a must-do for a child? I would argue that as far as they are concerned, it is: It's fun. Must-dos fall under those dictated by our surroundings (eg: life, work, etc.) and those dictated by ourselves (eg: it's fun, it's for a greater purpose, etc.). Math education falls under neither.
- chii 4y ago
  > I would argue that as far as they are concerned, it is: It's fun. and it's fun _because_ it's evolutionarily important to learn new things, and thus natural selection for humans have made learning (and mastery) "fun". Mastering mario cart takes lots of learning. Maths isn't fun only because the kids aren't learning in class, and isn't gaining mastery. It's taught poorly - maths can certainly be fun.
  - Dalewyn 4y ago
    I wouldn't argue Mario Kart or games in general are "evolutionarily important", but we both agree it's fun. >It's taught poorly - maths can certainly be fun. My point exactly. Math is fun and valuable, but academical math is terrible; it teaches nothing of importance and most people end up hating math because of how irrelevant and worthless the way it is taught is.
- thaumasiotes 4y ago
  In your model of the world, is it possible for anyone to actually do anything that they didn't have to do?