Why do we do math in school? When I asked this question as a kid, my teachers always told me, "You'll use it one day." That's almost always false. Most adults are never going to be in a sticky situation with two binomials, thinking, thank goodness I can FOIL... my way out of this mess. Most of us get by just fine without ever solving for x again. And especially in an Al age, fewer and fewer people will "use math" in the narrow, practical sense. But the origins of math have never been primarily about utility. Math is formative. It trains the mind to love what is true, to recognize what is orderly, and to be drawn toward what is beautiful. It teaches us that the universe is not chaos, but something intelligible, something structured, something that can be known. And you can see that truth made visible in the world's most breathtaking churches and cathedrals: arches, vaults, domes, proportions, symmetry, harmony, light-geometry turned into glory. The mathematics that shapes a cathedral is not cold or sterile. It's the language of wonder, carved into stone. We don't teach math because everyone will use it. We teach math because it forms the kind of person who can see that reality has meaning.show more

I think that’s only half the truth. I think we teach math all wrong. We forgot the reason of their existence. Math is not a subject. Math is a language. A language to understand and communicate our world. Teaching math as a subject is like teaching grammar as a subject but never read a book. We have it all backwards.

Well said!

@DeAngelisCorey I use the theories of algebra everyday when dealing with life.

It's also great for logic and learning to resolve problems that require multiple steps to solve.

@the_culturist_ Mathematics is the invisible architecture of reality. You may not always see the equations, but you are always walking through the structure they built.

My sons’ AP BC Calc teacher told his classes that you could find God in math, because of the order, beauty, etc. His calling was to teach them to know and love God better thru studying math. Absolutely amazing teacher and a wonderful man. He also told everyone that if they didn’t get a 4 or 5 on the AP, he had a 2x4 and a shovel, and knew where they all lived 😂 - which of course boys being boys, they loved.

Beautifully said. We don't learn to write because we'll all become authors. We learn because putting thoughts into structure teaches us that meaning can be made, not just found. Math does the same — it's formation, not just information.

@Sachinettiyil Hmm. I use math everyday. I'm not doing quadratic equations, but with a little brush-up it's likely I could.

You only don’t need if you’ll never be: 1)Computer Science 2) Doctor 3) Pharmacist 4) Programmer 5) Financial Analyst 6) Engineer of any kind. 7) Chemist 8) Scientist 9) Accountant 10) Architect. Basically you don’t need it if you are unskilled, an entertainer or politician. And that explains a lot.

I’ve used geometry to figure out how much wallpaper to buy for a kitchen. I’ve used statistics class at work (how many people for a valid sample?) Also algebra (figuring out percentage of change).

Same goes for Latin.

@DeAngelisCorey JWT is a top 5 follow on X. Easily.

@the_culturist_ Same reason we recognize the importance of physical exercise. In children, intense mental activity literally lays down new neurological pathways, and the ability to build this critical infrastructure begins to decline at an early age.

I've been surprised at how much I use math. Knitting. Quilting. Home improvement projects. Calculating number of square feet of tile needed. When my kids were in school, they called that "everyday mathematics".

@the_culturist_ Parents made me learn trumpet not to become a musician, but to develop your brain

I heard a math teacher talking about the problem being how we teach math. they used an analogy that we teach math as if we had an art class where everyone painted a fence white. Math is intrinsically interesting, because like you said it shows us that we can describe our reality *exactly*. Yet we send so many running for the hills when teaching it

I love this. Math is everywhere in nature. Math does train the brain in logic and reasoning.

Math is the language of the Creator.

as someone with a math degree i can attest that this is bullshit. Math primarily is a thing that sharpens critical thinking and logic skills.

Why go to the gym? Who is ever going to do chest flys at home or work? Mental and physical exercise are both needed.

Math helps consumers not get taken advantage of

Great post about how math trains the mind to see truth and order in life, but I disagree about not using high order math later. I often solve for x without thinking about it in normal daily living. How many days until I need to buy a new bottle of milk if I drink a cup per day?

I tell them they'll use it every day, because math problems teach you to think more than anything else. It's a major training unit for critical thinking.

The universal applicability of Math is great evidence for an intelligent creator. Along with beauty, math is a language of God.

It also teaches humility.

Very well said Jeremy!

Quite simply, mathematics teaches us HOW TO THINK.

Decimals and percentages should be taught every year tho. Too many retail ppl don’t know how to count change, or figure up change, or how much 50% off of $11.99 is

Therefore, what are the current leaders telling us all?

What a bunch of c__p. All you have to do is look at the student debt situation to know that math is essential. Someone should be able to take the basic facts, be able to compute a reasonable estimate of the monthly rate on a loan.

Inability to do math may be an underlying factor in both the trillion dollar student loan debacle and insurmountable credit card debt in this nation…ya think?

Excellent oped style defense of the importance of studying math beyond its utility. In addition, stop and consider that without math the Wright Brothers would not have invented the airplane and taught us how to fly. Our Science, Technology and Engineering all depend on the ability to measure. And Math is fundamental to understanding and applying measurements.

indeed. math trains the mind to think, solve problems, to look for reason+truth in all things w/ discernment.