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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 lik

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.