/sci/ - Science & Math

[Anonymous No.9783070]

I find math to be a pretty shitty example of critical thinking skills and especially spatial reasoning. Unless we're talking about geometry, math has jack shit to do with spatial reasoning, and even that isn't physically applicable. Mathematics is literally nothing but number crunching. There is no ulterior motive to math, you take everything at face value and plug variables into equations.

To me, reading would be a much better example of improving critical thinking skills.

Mathematics beyond the 8th grade is almost completely useless unless you enroll in a mathematics-oriented major, which most people don't. Advanced algebra, calculus, trigonometry, and most of geometry is completely disparate and inapplicable to everyday life.

Mathematics is a fantastic field and critical to our society being so advanced, I'm not arguing that. But if kids could learn a useful, applicable skill skill such as advanced resuscitation abilities or self defense, they'd be served so much fucking better. Especially self defense.

[Anonymous No.9783072]

>>9783070
ok

[Anonymous No.9783078]

>>9783070
Math is mostly language skills trying to translate your native language into autistic scribbles and symbols that mostly died out with Egyptians because of how shitty a writing system like that is. For some reason people still think math needs to written like ancient hieroglyphics and wonder why it is so hard for the average person to understand.

[Anonymous No.9783106]

>>9783070
>you

[sage goes in all fields No.9783233]

>>9783070
>I find math to be a pretty shitty example of critical thinking skills and especially spatial reasoning.
Who the fuck ever said that was the point of math? If anything it should help the student develop logical reasoning, which is far from the same as "critical thinking", the latter being a way more general skill that can't be reduced to a single subject or ability to train but rather, is the product of experience obtained by studying multiple disciplines and developing one's own ideas around them.

You're also completely ignoring the practical benefits of knowing elementary math --that is, arithmetic, algebra, geometry, combinatorics and statistics-- and even some notions of differential calculus, since all of those have undeniable practical applications in daily life. A person that doesn't know these will rely on the opinions of other people to understand statistical facts, and on machines to perform even the most simple calculations.

>There is no ulterior motive to math, you take everything at face value and plug variables into equations.
Clearly you haven't studied a bit of advanced math. If you're interested, read Book of Proof or A Transition to Advanced Mathematics for a primer on what mathematics is actually about: proving general statements, and not as much about the mindless calculations you see in schools and applied majors. Admittedly there's not much reason to see this kind of stuff in high school, yet it goes to show that math is not just taught so you can understand addition and multiplication.

[Anonymous No.9783286]

>>9783078
Do you propose we write out all of our numbers and mathematical symbols?

[Anonymous No.9783385]

>>9783286
All I can say is that there is a reason that sign language and ancient symbol based languages aren't the most developed languages we have today so surely math can be improved somehow.

[Anonymous No.9783388]

>>9783070
Physics > "mathematics"
more application n shit

[Anonymous No.9783400]

>>9783070
>Mathematics is literally nothing but number crunching. There is no ulterior motive to math, you take everything at face value and plug variables into equations.
>t. never done any real math in his life
>>9783078
>>9783385
There is nothing wrong about the way math is written and there is no simpler or better way to represent it.
>>9783388
>Physics > "mathematics"
lmao no