3 ms·

I used to work at a phone center for Dominos Pizza. There would occasionally be a need to give this basic size approximation: two 10" (diameter) pizzas are abou

I used to work at a phone center for Dominos Pizza. There would occasionally be a need to give this basic size approximation: two 10" (diameter) pizzas are about the same area as one 14". (50/49ths as big as one 14", unless you care about toppings vs. crust, in which case the big pie is a better deal, but I digress...) Some people would balk at this for a second, and usually just throwing the word "math" or "area" into the conversation would quell any doubts (or at least any protests). But occasionally you'd get the "but two tens is twenty!!" people. Those conversations degraded pretty quickly into "ok, math is the devil, let's just... what can I get you?" They wanted their incorrect view of the numbers to be the right one, no matter what the rules of area were. Those people were a drag... ...but the sister in the article, she's not. She wants it to make sense; that's a great starting point. After getting past the "girls are cute and stupid" indoctrination she's been listening to her whole life, there might be a watershed moment where she "sees" it. Hang in there, try not to be pedantic... and read Ittay Weiss' answer, good stuff there.

drzaiusapelord 13y ago
I think its hard and maybe a little disingenuous to sell people on practical everyday math while we shove trig, calculus, etc down their throats. "Okay you like the pizza anecdote, lets talk derivatives." I wonder if all this talk of no one but STEM majors taking advanced math really is a problem. Not sure why someone who wants to get an English Lit degree really needs to worry about anything past a practical level.
- derleth 13y ago
  If you redefine 'practical level' to include basic statistics, which is almost entirely ignored, I might actually agree with you. Basic statistics is essential for the eminently practical purpose of not being ripped off and lied to, and is, in fact, much more useful in that respect than trigonometry, which is mainly useful if you're either going into calculus or becoming an engineer. It's also a great way to introduce the mathematical mindset of breaking problems down and figuring out which rules apply, which also has great practical value but must be taught in context if it is to stick.

drzaiusapelord 13y ago

I think its hard and maybe a little disingenuous to sell people on practical everyday math while we shove trig, calculus, etc down their throats. "Okay you like the pizza anecdote, lets talk derivatives." I wonder if all this talk of no one but STEM majors taking advanced math really is a problem. Not sure why someone who wants to get an English Lit degree really needs to worry about anything past a practical level.

derleth 13y ago
If you redefine 'practical level' to include basic statistics, which is almost entirely ignored, I might actually agree with you. Basic statistics is essential for the eminently practical purpose of not being ripped off and lied to, and is, in fact, much more useful in that respect than trigonometry, which is mainly useful if you're either going into calculus or becoming an engineer. It's also a great way to introduce the mathematical mindset of breaking problems down and figuring out which rules apply, which also has great practical value but must be taught in context if it is to stick.