Math is Uniquely Terrible at Preparing Students for the Real World

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[RoscoesRiffs]

At 70 and retired, I'm pretty sure studying math, solving 20 problems of ever-increasing complexity daily, helps my brain practice learning, accustoms it to the process, and develops in it a hunger for more to learn. I think it makes me smarter. 😎🖖

[TheFartoholic]

The rebuttal I would offer is that mathematics in school very often FAILS to teach you how to think. Often, there's a focus on memorising formulas or applying heuristics, and a lot less on instilling intuitions and reasoning skills. To a lot of students, high school maths is just a course on arbitrary facts and theorems that they're just expected to accept to be true.

I think this is where the anti-maths sentiment comes from. These people think that maths doesn't prepare you for life because, for them, it didn't.

[nlpuckett]

Very well said. “Math teaches you how to think”

I was a math major and am now in medical school. I always credit my math background for giving me the problem solving skills that got me through organic chemistry and biochemistry.

[hamzasehavdic]

There is something deeply wrong about teaching students only contemporary skills

Finance, for example, yes we can teach our students to apply skills to the current world

But this world is not static, and we know this especially with the great technologic advances we see before us

So, what does Mathematics offer? The ability to think of problems at their essence, to deconstruct and to reassemble information into solution

Mathematics does not depend on the world as we know it; so, flip all the variables and if you return a new world; Mathematics will be our most fundamental tool at pushing us back to understanding

[georios]

I see math as a meta skill. Pair this with some decent soft skills and you'll find success in almost any field.

[AceOfHearts]

Well the thing is math is the foundation of so many fields.... engineering, physics, astronomy and countless other areas....when you learn math, you are preparing for something else.

[yourunemployedfriendatpm]

I think the actual argument is that the way math is taught in schools does not help students correlate those ideas with real world problems. And thats what people mean when they say "Math doesn't prepare students for the real world". Kids are shown how to find the slope of a line in middle school but they dont tell them how they can apply it for other things.

[ottoomen]

You can't participate in a lot of "real-world application classes" without learning math. For example, physics, engineering, and computer programming.

[camicus-]

People often say things like "when will I ever need the quadratic formula", or "when will I ever need the pythagorean theorem".
Even if you ignore the fact that understanding and appreciating the logic behind them is the real important part, I probably come across quadratic equations a few times a week in completely unrelated scenarios. Pythagorean theorem even more often. And not too uncommen - both.
People seem to forget that the entire broad field of STEM subjects lean *heavily* on that last M.

[GarryBurgess]

I'd go as far as to say that nothing prepares you for the real world. In the long run at least, it always turns out quite a bit different than expected. And the surprises never stop.

[leotimtom]

Soviet Union was excellent in maths. Yet couldn`t engineer a single decent car, Tv set, radio or washing machine.

[suhrrog]

In school, many years ago, I found that math was important. What I didn't understand was why they made it such a drudgery. I can't tell you how many tests and quizzes I was asked to complete that were supposed to show me that I didn't understand what I apparently was supposed to learn and they never really showed me how I could learn to see what my teachers saw in these math problems they gave us to solve. Today I use math without thinking about those problems I was asked to solve in the past and I definitely don't remember how to find the square root of a number manually, even though they drilled that so much into us.

[mindcache]

Spot on. Life is hard and full of obstacles, surprises and problems. The key is to find all possible solutions and options . Math helps with mental health too because it teaches how to think logically. In my humble opinion, Pure Math, Physics, Chemistry and Ancient Greek language learning are probably the hardest subjects to master. If you can excel at these, then you will be on the right thinking path.

[aaronolivo]

I support your opinion that learning maths makes you thinks better.
I'm from Mexico and actually they are a lot of memes that make fun of the reason of learn maths, they are like "day 3423 and I'm not use the general formula to buy something in the store", "day 23432 and I´m still figure out why I don't use a cuadratic ecuation to my personal life", or like "all this I have archive with knowing the general formula" and the we watch a video of a rich person in x3 speed.
psdt: Sorry from my bad english but that mas something I wath to share and I don't know if that is only in the spanish groups or is also in the english groups.
psdt: You're making a great content, you're my favorite math youtuber, I really like your recomendations books and the motivation videos, I'm currently in the first semeter of the university study math(I fail 2 subjects but, thats okay, I'm not desmotivated by that) and I'm thinking in taught by my self discreth math, because in this semeter I've sets and numbers, but the books I´ve for the course was very bad and the teacher was okay, but the thinks that she teach in the course was dissapointed, so I started searching discreth math courses in youtube and I found one that I liked and I'm trying to at least watch one video to learn more, wish me luck guys.

[photographedemode]

Unfortunately all the math teachers I had except one helped students enjoy math. All through High School we worked in abstractions with teachers who obviously had severe communication problems. I didn't start enjoying math till University.

[ProjSHiNKiROU]

I’m glad you are questioning the term “real world” like a philosopher, other terms that deserve same questioning include “normies” and “moderates”.

[rolandtours]

Fifty years after high school and college, I frequently use algebra to balance my checkbook. I use statistics and probability to critically evaluate the public debate about different social issues. How can one be a citizen, let alone member of the town council, in today's world without high school math? How can one be a STEM professional or just understand modern physics without a year of calculus? How can one understand compound interest and household finance (budgets, investments, mortgages, car finance) without algebra?

[miguelalfonsofidelino]

It irks me that the term "Math does not prepare you for the real world" did have an affect on my relationship with mathematics. When you're so much younger and a lot more impressionable, ignorant one liners like these are incredibly damaging. It built up my resentment towards it, and slowly, I cared less and less for it. Pride and ignorance generally are a dangerous cocktail, and I had plenty of it back then. Math humiliated my pride because I didn't get it, and my ignorance kept me from wanting to understand it. Math, to me, is a lesson in humility.

To your question: Being taught "life skills" has a very large range. If it were taught, it would be nice to have one singular, half semester course nearing your senior years in high school to get a better guage on where your decisions after high school can take you. Just a bit of exposure can help in the long run.

[benhill]

I could not have said this any better myself. This is why I'm pursuing a math degree: to expand my mind, to expand myself. Matters like career prospects with a math degree are secondary. As "the deepest, richest subject on Earth, " mathematics should *never* be cast aside but be alongside other valuable subjects. Very eloquently spoken, Math Sorcerer!

[bcnubynby]

Learning resources are SO much better today! I'm retaking Calc 1-3 now (retired and have the time) and I think I am learning so much more than back in the day (in my case 1967-71) because of all of the resources available such as online utilities like Symbolab, YouTube etc. To me, these things bring the subject to life and create so much more appreciation for the subject because you can put your finger on a question and actually find the answer. BTW, I saw your video on the Leithold calculus book...it's the very book I had in college. I appreciate the newer books so much more.