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> I can't really use my own experience as a software developer who started off in video games to justify why a normal person needs to understand trigonometry an

> I can't really use my own experience as a software developer who started off in video games to justify why a normal person needs to understand trigonometry and triangle formulas We live in a 3d world, every human has to reason about geometry many times in their lives and trigonometry is the most useful and easiest of geometry math. Same reason we learn about volumes etc, everyone learns cos, sin, tan, its just 3 things it doesn't take a lot to learn that.

ben_w 2y ago
And yet, outside my hobbies of "being a massive nerd", I've not needed the maths of trigonometry for at least a decade. Outside hobbies and having worked as a game developer, I can't recall a single time I've needed them. I suspect most learn them for a test them forget them forever. Now, statistics, percentages, and compound interest, those are things people would do better to know, as those are the tools of advertising and money and are unavoidable in modern life.
- Jensson 2y ago
  > statistics, percentages, and compound interest, those are things people would do better to know They do teach those in middle school before they teach trigonometry, so that is already covered. > And yet, outside my hobbies of "being a massive nerd", I've not needed the maths of trigonometry for at least a decade. Lots of people craft things or work with schematics in some way, not just highly educated people, to them having the basics around angles is often very useful. People like mechanics, carpenters etc, that sort of math is useful to solve so many basic everyday problems in more handy jobs.
  - ben_w 2y ago
    > They do teach those in middle school before they teach trigonometry, so that is already covered. Not well enough, or people wouldn't get fooled so often. > People like mechanics, carpenters etc, that sort of math is useful to solve so many basic everyday problems in more handy jobs. And for 90% of the world, they're not. Put those things into those schools.

ben_w 2y ago

And yet, outside my hobbies of "being a massive nerd", I've not needed the maths of trigonometry for at least a decade. Outside hobbies and having worked as a game developer, I can't recall a single time I've needed them. I suspect most learn them for a test them forget them forever. Now, statistics, percentages, and compound interest, those are things people would do better to know, as those are the tools of advertising and money and are unavoidable in modern life.

Jensson 2y ago
> statistics, percentages, and compound interest, those are things people would do better to know They do teach those in middle school before they teach trigonometry, so that is already covered. > And yet, outside my hobbies of "being a massive nerd", I've not needed the maths of trigonometry for at least a decade. Lots of people craft things or work with schematics in some way, not just highly educated people, to them having the basics around angles is often very useful. People like mechanics, carpenters etc, that sort of math is useful to solve so many basic everyday problems in more handy jobs.
- ben_w 2y ago
  > They do teach those in middle school before they teach trigonometry, so that is already covered. Not well enough, or people wouldn't get fooled so often. > People like mechanics, carpenters etc, that sort of math is useful to solve so many basic everyday problems in more handy jobs. And for 90% of the world, they're not. Put those things into those schools.