Perhaps I should take a step back here. I write for a living. Up until now, I've been something of a hack, writing brochures, newsletters, educational pieces, stuff like that. In this capacity, I'm generally surrounded by "creative" people, ranging from the actually creative (such as graphic artists) to the hangers-on (such as the people who deal with--ugh-- "concepting" ... *shudder*). I have found that an emormous number of these people have no clue about anything having to do with math. I don't mind it at all in those who have a real creative gift--hell, why should they care anyway?--but I am of the firm opinion that the latter are the tip of a large iceberg, a large class in America who couldn't do long division to save their lives.
I was once asked by a colleague if I could design an Excel spreadsheet that calculated percentages, like how much something grew over a year. I said, "What??" It turned out, of course, that she had no idea how to calculate a percentage change at all; had she had a clue, she could have spent 5 seconds with a basic calculator and gone on to bigger and better things. This enshrined her, in my opinion, in the Hall of Stupid People. This esteemed bunch also includes every cashier who has to check the machine twice in order to give you (sometimes) the correct change.
Math is one of those skills that I believe shows basic intelligence. All things being equal, I would rather hire a person with good, solid math skills (not a mathematician, mind you, but someone who can add) than one without. Can you succeed without math? Sure. Does math help? Yes. I like understanding what it means to be able to find the slope of a curve at any given point. I like understanding the significance of the difference between absolute and relative measurements. And I sure as hell like knowing that I could deliver change faster than the idiot behind the store counter.
For those of you wondering, yes, I'm gifted at math and enjoy it. But I have literally seen people who cannot add 2 and 4. I tutor students in math at my high school to earn my state-required service hours (20 over the course of four years; met long ago) and International Baccalaureate-required CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service)hours. Most of them understand the basic operations, and, if we're lucky, all the courses up to, but not including, their current one.
Every once in a while, we get a student or three who cannot do the basic operations, and in many cases, cannot tell the difference between them. I doubt they'd get very far without at least some understanding of math. What's really sad though is that most of them, even the worst of them, understand the concepts quickly when they're explained (or they're really good at feigning understanding). Their only real problem was that they never tried. There are of course a few who have deeper problems with math, such as trying to learn precalculus without knowing much algebra. That one took a few weeks.
Also, why is it that it is perfectly acceptable (at least in the US) to be terrible at math, but not acceptable to be terrible at language arts? If I'm a math and computer geek, am I really going to need to know exactly what Shakespeare meant in Hamlet's (infamous) soliloquoy ("To be or not to be...")? I plan on going into engineering, where the most I'd use those arcane language arts skills is in reports, proposals, presentations, etc. At my high school, it is possible to graduate without passing algebra 1. There are literally over 20 different math tracks there. But everyone is required to take 4 years of English, which, regardless of level, is basically four years of literary analysis. End rant.
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