4 ms·

"No, you can't. There are a long string of false assumptions and logical flaws in your post." Stated as fact, but you give no reasons why anyone should believe

by mrxd 14y ago

"No, you can't. There are a long string of false assumptions and logical flaws in your post." Stated as fact, but you give no reasons why anyone should believe it. I thought this part was quite striking: "algebra does show us that the student has fallen off the path to education." Isn't this essentially my point? For you, algebra is the defining characteristic. If you don't know algebra, you don't know anything. The claim is not that math is an important part of an education, but a much stronger one: math is the foundation of all other types of knowledge. That's how you're able to conclude that failing at algebra means failing at every other subject. To repeat my earlier point, this is not persuasive. Everyone wants to believe that they're particular skillset is vital and important, because everyone wants to feel vital and important. It seems important to think against the grain of our own biases instead of pandering to them.

jeffdavis 14y ago
"Stated as fact, but you give no reasons why anyone should believe it." I said something fairly simple and you were the one that made the surprising and radical claims (not to mention personal attacks). It's up to you to justify them, and you'll get no help from me. "For you, algebra is the defining characteristic. If you don't know algebra, you don't know anything." You keep repeating this, but I have not said it. A dead canary shows us that the mine is no longer safe. But a live canary is not a defining characteristic of a safe mine.
chris_wot 14y ago
Do you not see the irony in that your own argument above used set theory to prove your point about algebra? You say people rarely fail algebra and succeed at other subjects. To put that another way, let's assume that there are four sets. Set A consists of a group of people who are successful at one or more subjects, and Set B consists of people who are successful at no subjects. Set C consists of people who are good at math, and Set D consists of everyone else. Your statement implies that, for the most part, A = C and B = D.

by mrxd 14y ago

jeffdavis 14y ago

"Stated as fact, but you give no reasons why anyone should believe it." I said something fairly simple and you were the one that made the surprising and radical claims (not to mention personal attacks). It's up to you to justify them, and you'll get no help from me. "For you, algebra is the defining characteristic. If you don't know algebra, you don't know anything." You keep repeating this, but I have not said it. A dead canary shows us that the mine is no longer safe. But a live canary is not a defining characteristic of a safe mine.

chris_wot 14y ago

Do you not see the irony in that your own argument above used set theory to prove your point about algebra? You say people rarely fail algebra and succeed at other subjects. To put that another way, let's assume that there are four sets. Set A consists of a group of people who are successful at one or more subjects, and Set B consists of people who are successful at no subjects. Set C consists of people who are good at math, and Set D consists of everyone else. Your statement implies that, for the most part, A = C and B = D.