re: #418 brownbagj

I do not think this is an adequate analogy. Cato has not forgotten math. He can add, subtract and basically do what is necessary for his life.

Really? There is no way he could make even the most basic home finance calculations without it.

WHat you are doing via making algebra a standard would be like Cato exclaiming that to be able to vote, you would need to not be only able to read, but read the particular book that HE deems adequate to prove your intelligence.

Not at all! What do you think algebra is? This is absolutely elementary math. To make a book analogy I am saying that they need to be able to read on the level of See Spot Run.

There is a progression of knowledge. Algebra is an early step. It is a key step to real knowledge. I am just shocked at how many ere think it is some big deal. What is wrong with you?

What makes you think that basic algebra isn’t something that well educated children the world over, don’t routinely master? Are you suggesting that Americans are just inherently more stupid than Chinese or Canadians?

So, you may read, but if you do not read the books HE deems appropriate, you would be called ignorant.

Right, in much the same way that if you have never read a complex sentence, you are ignorant.

Look, algebra would probably stump me for a few minutes simply because I don’t deal with it and haven’t for some time. I am sure there are things in my line of work that I could put forward as basic for me that others have learned in the past. But since they do not deal it daily, they have forgotten. Since I do deal with it daily, I have kept up with it. I could therefore state that you must be ignorant and proud of it for not keeping your skills up.

Right I get that.

But that doesn’t mean you couldn’t do it, or that you haven’t learned it. If you had to pass a test on it, you could study for it and do just fine.

Not many people take time out weekly to do a few algebra problems just to claim intelligence.

That is equivalent to saying that not many people take time out weekly to practice tying their shoes just to claim intelligence. This is a basic skill!

So, pushing the line that Cato is ignorant and proud of it because his algebra skills are not polished seems elitist at best.

No hardly. People who are actually good at math look down on people who don’t know what a Riemann Sphere is or how to handle a modular form. That is elitism. Mathematically, not knowing algebra is like not knowing what the period at the end of a sentence is.

Standards in this country have gotten so abysmal that people actually think knowing Algebra is an accomplishment. This is pathetic.