Why do people think it ok to not know math?

[Murkrow]

Still, I don't see it as any worse than being bad at drawing but not practicing,

I practice drawing plenty, I'm just no good at it anyway. :'(

being unfit and refusing excersise

Exactly
/massive hypocrite

or being shy and refusing to go out and meet people

That's part of someone's personality, just 'going out' is a pretty big deal.




For me anyway.

Everyone has things they're not good and and will only become better with time and effort.

Unlike my artwork :(

maths genius might not have time to go out and become an athlete, while a professional runner might not have time to learn geometry and it might be that neither of them have bothered to learn to play an instrument. I don't see why one's more acceptable than the other.

I think it's because when you're in school you don't know what you're going to be when you grow up. They want you to be skilled in a lot of things so that you have a lot of job opportunities.

 

[Phoenixsong]

...I know it's impolite to judge people based on their weight and honestly who cares if you play sports, but it isn't a good thing to be unfit and refuse to exercise. It's not healthy. Similarly, no one is really expected to go teach college calculus, but... denying yourself the mental exercise by just clamming up and saying "I won't need this for my job at the modeling agency" isn't particularly smart.

 

[Negrek]

Still, I don't see it as any worse than being bad at drawing but not practicing, being unfit and refusing excersise or being shy and refusing to go out and meet people.
Everyone has things they're not good and and will only become better with time and effort. A maths genius might not have time to go out and become an athelete, while a professional runner might not have time to learn geometry and it might be that neither of them have bothered to learn to play an instrument. I don't see why one's more acceptable than the other.

Saying that it isn't acceptable for people to not attempt to learn math doesn't mean that we're also saying that people don't need to worry about exercising or pursuing the arts or whatever. To be a well-rounded and complete individual, you've got to pick up at least the basics on pretty much everything, although how far you want to go with it from there is your prerogative.

For example, I doubt most people would say that not exercising is a good idea. That doesn't mean, however, that you have to become a sports star (or even play a team sport at all!). It's important to have an appreciation for the arts and exercise your creativity, but that doesn't mean you need to become a master sculptor/painter/whatever. Same deal here: you don't need to become someone who could compete in math leagues on an international level, but an understanding of the fundamental concepts that underlie mathematics is important--logical reasoning skills, if absolutely nothing else. It's all right to not be "great" at it, maybe not even "good" at it, but what's important is that you develop those skills as best you can, as they can apply to many different areas of your life, not just math.

 

[Arylett Charnoa]

I guess if you carry a calculator with you while stocking shelves...

...and it's a TI-92 so it can do geometry too...

...and it can do spacial reasoning...

...and you know enough math to know how to use it effectively in the first place...


I would think that learning about shapes would be fairly useful on a higher level.


Argh.

What the hell do you know about what knowledge you'll need later in life? Do you really think your job will only require you to know things taught in subjects with the same name as your profession? Are you oblivious to how much lines are blurring between fields as technology progresses and meshes information?

I don't understand how you can flat-out say "I only need to know X for the entire rest of my life".

Knowledge is inherently useful. At the very very least it is exercise for your brain. Beyond that it gives you an increasingly broad base from which to make decisions, solve problems, figure out when and what else to learn, and generally perceive the world. If you're lucky, you'll find ways to apply everything you know to make your life and work far easier and more productive... but you'll never know how to do so if you steadfastly refuse because you think you already know everything you'll "need" for the next 60 years.

What you "need" and what is useful are painfully different concepts, anyway..

I find your tone to be... vaguely condescending... Mmm.

But anyway, I acknowledged it, I acknowledged that I don't know what I'll need to know for the future. Didn't you read the "what do I know?"

...I must be immensely behind then, because I'm learning it in 11th grade.

Also, I find some of what I'm learning in Geometry to be rather pointless for later in life, but eh, what do I know? I'm just saying that I find both Trig and Geometry pointless to learn, which was why I grouped them together. But feel free to disagree with me.

Anyway, what was I saying? Oh yes, I'm not here to argue with you, especially since this isn't the Debating Hall, so yeah. Mmm, I'm a crap debator and I can't argue effectly against your points. So sorry I couldn't be a more worthy opponent.

 

[Eevee]

Eh, I don't think being unable to do maths is a huge sin, just like not having perfect spelling is.

...so not having perfect spelling is a sin?

Why do people think it's okay to be bad at sports?

Probably because sports are an arbitrary recreational activity and only one of a multitude of approaches towards goals of (a) entertainment and (b) exercise.

Why do people think it's okay to be awkward in social situations?

It is?

Nobody's good at everything, and the one thing I think it's not alright to do is to look down on someone because they have a weakness you don't.

Who's looking down on anyone for not knowing math?

I find your tone to be... vaguely condescending... Mmm.

Mission accomplished. 8D

Oh yes, I'm not here to argue with you, especially since this isn't the Debating Hall, so yeah. Mmm, I'm a crap debator and I can't argue effectly against your points. So sorry I couldn't be a more worthy opponent.

I win

trophies for me

 

[Murkrow]

Eevee, you are way too predictable.
As soon as I read that I thought 'he's gonna say 'I win' or 'Mission accomplished''
...
I wasn't expecting both.

 

[Arylett Charnoa]

Mission accomplished. 8D

I win

trophies for me

Why yes, I must say you accomplished your mission with most scalding wit.

And I'm very happy for you, my dear~ :D ;;Gives you seven trophies;; Have fun with them~

 

[ultraviolet]

Egad. I'm so bad at maths to the point that I think I'm dyslexic or something.

 

[Furretsu]

Dyslexic? Nah. You may be thinking of dyscalculia.

 

[Linzys]

Dyslexic? Nah. You may be thinking of dyscalculia.

I have been formally diagnosed.

I didn't want to say anything because I thought that people would get all freaked out over my mentioning a learning disability. :B

On a lot of forums people will often pass off even the mention of a mental illness or learning problem as an attempt at getting attention. D:

 

[Abwayax]

I think it must be the Illuminati, conditioning the youth to become uneducated so they will blindly accept the coming One World Government.

Anyway you know what discipline actually doesn't have any practical use? Philosophy. You can't do crap with a degree in philosophy, mainly because philosophy is sooooooo Ancient Greece and I don't think anyone really has much stock in philosophers anymore. I know a guy who for whatever reason earned a doctorate in philosophy. He ended up teaching calculus at my school.

 

[Linzys]

Sucks that I love philosophy. :B

 

[OrangeAipom]

I forgot what the quadratic formula was. D:

 

[#1 bro]

Anyway you know what discipline actually doesn't have any practical use? Philosophy. You can't do crap with a degree in philosophy, mainly because philosophy is sooooooo Ancient Greece and I don't think anyone really has much stock in philosophers anymore. I know a guy who for whatever reason earned a doctorate in philosophy. He ended up teaching calculus at my school.

um

philosophy tries to teach you the friggin' meaning of life. if that's not useful, I don't know what is.

 

[Music Dragon]

But studying Philosophy in school is pointless. Finding meaning in life is something you have to do yourself. People who read the writings of Thomas of Aquino or Kierkegaard and then apply it to their lives - well, maybe they've managed to make themselves feel better or more purposeful or more aware. But in the end, everyone has to develop their own philosophy.

 

[Cyndaquil]

Woah.... Haven't been in this thread for a while and blast off! I guess math wouldn't be hard to teach. Considering that I would need to ahem *cough*go farther than I do in my advanced math class*cough* which wouldn't be easy because my math teacher doesn't want us to skip ahead but most of it comes to me naturally so..... I guess if someone else open a thread for it but someone else could do it much better than I could(I know you didn't specifically ask me but it was a sort of volenteering.)

 

[FMC_x_ANS]

People are spoiled and thus are annoyed by 'having to learn' stuff. If they lived in an enviroment where they we not given the opportunity, I am sure they would want to.

 

[s k]

I forgot what the quadratic formula was. D:

 

[#1 bro]

Woah.... Haven't been in this thread for a while and blast off!

This sentence does not make grammatical sense, and the H in haven't should not be capitalized. Additionally, an ellipsis should only have three dots.

Considering that I would need to ahem *cough*go farther than I do in my advanced math class*cough* which wouldn't be easy because my math teacher doesn't want us to skip ahead but most of it comes to me naturally so.....

First of all, this is a run-on. Second of all, I don't understand what you are trying to tell me when you say that "you need to ahem". And once again, an ellipsis should only have three dots.

I guess if someone else open a thread for it

This should be "I guess if someone else could open a thread for it".

I guess if someone else open a thread for it but someone else could do it much better than I could(I know you didn't specifically ask me but it was a sort of volenteering.)

The first part of the sentence (the bit that's not in parentheses) does not make sense. Also, you need a space between the word "could" and the opening parenthesis. And finally, you spelled "volunteering" wrong.

Once again, why do people think it ok to not know English?




(and yes, I probably made some tiny little grammatical mistake somewhere in this post, and you're going to go ahead and call me out on it, therefore making me look like a hypocrite. But my point still stands. My English might not be perfect, but when I was twelve I could at least type coherently.)

EDIT: wait, why did I think he was twelve. sorry. anyway, I could type in complete sentences when I was eight, so Cyndaquil still has no excuse. although, I guess I was a bit ahead of the curve, but it's still not much to expect that by the time one is ten, one can write a coherent paragraph. if Cyndaquil is younger than ten, he should not be at this forums, due to most of the content not being appropriate for children of that age.

 

[Abwayax]

meaning of life

http://www.answers.com/life

if that's not useful, I don't know what is.

How exactly would you "use" the meaning of life, may I ask?