I agree. The way most people understand what math is and the way we teach math is horrible. The math curriculum is a disservice to everyone that's been exposed

I agree. The way most people understand what math is and the way we teach math is horrible. The math curriculum is a disservice to everyone that's been exposed to it. I think mathematicians and scientists alike are realizing this and beginning the long process of fixing it in schools and eventually the culture. Some of the most creative people in the world today are not musicians or artists but rather mathematicians. (and as a corollary computer scientists, engineers, etc.) I recommend "A Mathematician’s Lament" by Paul Lockhart [1]. He further investigates what math is, how we can better teach it and how it's portrayed in our culture. [1] http://www.maa.org/devlin/LockhartsLament.pdf http://www.maa.org/devlin/LockhartsLament.pdf EDIT: I also posted this in the linked article. But wanted to provide this great paper to the HN crowd too.