So there's a survey making the rounds
Jun. 5th, 2019 10:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
conulywherein people were asked if kids should be taught Arabic numerals (also known as the numbers we use in our day-to-day lives) and they said no.
This definitely proves a degree of mathematical ignorance among American adults. It doesn't, however, prove that mathematical ignorance correlates with Islamophobia, xenophobia, or any related condition. Many of those same individuals would probably have also said that children shouldn't be taught base 10 numerals or positional notation either - "Just teach the kids plain math like I learned!" - and, in fact, many of those folks do rail against the teaching of place value, not understanding that YES they were taught this in school and NO you cannot understand basic arithmetic using our number system without it. (It would be interesting, as a control, to see what the answers were if asked if children should be taught Roman numerals. Then again, those of us who know what they are might say no, don't bother!)
Note: I'm not saying that this particular ignorance does NOT correlate with that particular bigotry, just that the question, bare like that, doesn't prove it.
This definitely proves a degree of mathematical ignorance among American adults. It doesn't, however, prove that mathematical ignorance correlates with Islamophobia, xenophobia, or any related condition. Many of those same individuals would probably have also said that children shouldn't be taught base 10 numerals or positional notation either - "Just teach the kids plain math like I learned!" - and, in fact, many of those folks do rail against the teaching of place value, not understanding that YES they were taught this in school and NO you cannot understand basic arithmetic using our number system without it. (It would be interesting, as a control, to see what the answers were if asked if children should be taught Roman numerals. Then again, those of us who know what they are might say no, don't bother!)
Note: I'm not saying that this particular ignorance does NOT correlate with that particular bigotry, just that the question, bare like that, doesn't prove it.
no subject
Date: 2019-06-05 08:22 am (UTC)You walk up to someone and ask if they'd like a five-dollar bill. When they said yes, you hand them a piece of paper that says "You owe me $5"