"but math is hard..."

[acroyear]

Uncertain Principles: The Innumeracy of Intellectuals:

I'm not exaggerating when I say that I think the lack of respect for math and science is one of the largest unacknowledged problems in today's society. And it starts in the academy-- somehow, we have moved to a place where people can consider themselves educated while remaining ignorant of remarkably basic facts of math and science. If I admit an ignorance of art or music, I get sideways looks, but if I argue for taking a stronger line on math and science requirements, I'm being unreasonable. The arts are essential, but Math Is Hard, and I just need to accept that not everybody can handle it.

This has real consequences for society, and not just in the usual "without math, we won't be able to maintain our technical edge, and the Chinese will crush us in a few years" sense. You don't need to look past the front section of the paper-- our economy is teetering because people can't hack the math needed to understand how big a loan they can afford. We're not talking about vector calculus or analytical geometry here-- we're mired in an economic crisis because millions of our citizens can't do arithmetic. And that state of affairs has come about in no small part because the people running the academy these days have no personal appreciation of math, and thus no qualms about coddling innumeracy.

[...]

... It simply should not be acceptable for people who are ignorant of math and science to consider themselves Intellectuals. Somehow, we need to move away from where we are and toward a place where confusing Darwin with Dirac carries the same intellectual stigma as confusing Bach with Beethoven or Rembrandt with Reubens.

Comments

[ladyaelfwynn.livejournal.com]

It's not just math and science that's being overlooked, it's pretty much anything academic any more. Intellectuals and academics no longer seem to have the respect of the masses.

Advanced degrees are looked as ways to further a career not to gain useful knowledge. Too many don't care who Bach, Beethoven, Rembrandt, or Reubens even are let alone being able to confuse them. The days of being a Renaissance Man, knowing a decent amount about a lot, in order to have intelligent conversation, are gone.

We have allowed loud-mouthed anti-intellectuals who spout whatever nonsense
they desire to rule the discourse on too many topics. These days it really is the loudest person is right, no matter if they are blithering hypocritical idiots, who really know nothing of what they speak.

And there are far too many people out to make a buck and not really caring who they hurt or what they do in the process.

[stori-lundi.livejournal.com]

So true!! Thanks to No Child Left Behind, endless tests are being taught, not actual material. It's only rote learning to spit out a bunch of trivia.