Andrew Hacker: Is Algebra Necessary? (PUUUUUUUUKE)

[CRK7376]

59. Lots of good points in all

the discussions here, but as Jimmy Buffet so eloquently sings, "Math Sucks!" I just don't like the stuff, struggled with it for years. Have used it for years, but still don't like the stuff. I never had a teacher that showed me why and how to use the nasty stuff beyond the basics. All I can say is that I was thrilled that Algebra I and Geometry were the only maths I had to pass in the middle '70s to get into college. Fortunately my college allowed me to take 3 semesters of science or math. I chose science and still had to do math and that's why my gpa was so low.

Yes I understand and do mostly basic math every day, but I don't enjoy it, with a few exceptions. I'm a pretty good jumpmaster, I put my paratroopers on target when and where they are supposed land. I can calculate the wind drift as it applys to the size of drop zone I use, to the number of jumpers I can put out of an aircraft over a specific distance and time required to land them safely. Once I get my troops on the ground we can walk for hours on a compass heading and we hit the right target, time and distance...simple math right, but math I have to work really hard to get right. Then dealing with things that go bang! Lots of us are true believers in the explosives world of "more is better." But in reality it is often "less is more." Then there is the cooking and baking and fractions I have to do when following recipes. I don't like it, but I do it and Math Still Sucks! Thank you mathematicians, I'm glad it's you and not me.