Do we need Math?

I am strong supporter of maths. Possibly I am bieng prejudiced, as I always loved maths myslef, and am a retired primary school teacher. Everyone needs a good grounding in maths. It doesn't have to be at the level of trigonometry or algebra.Maths is need for the examples you gave above, filing tax being one. In Australia, we have etax, which is free, but if you have poor maths, it would be impossible to do. Projects around the home, calculating the measurements of screws, hose ends, etc.. I see it time and time again, the people who are struggling with maths. A lot of the problem is that it is not taught in schools properly nowadays. Maths is inherintantly a difficult subject, and the belief has spread that we need to make maths fun for kids. whilst, when young, this is true to a certain extent, there is no way around practising tables, nor is ignoring doing a page of sums. Maths requirtes repetition to really remember some skills.

i hate math! period! i don"t even want to mention the word!

Math is a difficult subject. However, it is quite useful. This world can not leave the maths. Even if the computer is based on the math. In the past we had a saying here: If you are good at maths, physics, chemistry, you can go around everywhere. Namely these graduated students would not be worried to find a good job if they were good at one of these subjects. I love China

Not very much to tell the truth. I think for doctors and veterinarians it is too important because they have to calculate all the time the amount of medication to give the patient, but otherwise it's not very vital. I think schools teaches everything and then we mature and know enough areas to choose what work we want to do as grown ups.

My sons school the kids don't learn math very well because they don't teach it they just give the assignments out and before they can learn that kind of math it is time to learn something different.I used to tell myself when I was going to school that I didn't see why I had to learn some maths and I see why now that I'm an adult. Just cooking I do fractions to figure out what kind of measuring cups equals a certain measurement. My husband uses a lot of algebra and geometry on carpentry too.

My answer is very simple. NO , high level math is for engeenirs or scientists. I must say this math question that you broght up is a part of a bigger question : is school really needed for our children ? I read an article made by a bussiness man who wrote school was not needed at all 1) our kids sit listening to theoretic material they don't use in everyday life. They actually forget the most of it. Don't tell me you remember all of it. 2) They SIT many hours doing so , it is not healthy just sitting many hours. 3) What our children really need to start working , they can learn by staying with their father , see how he works and learn it physically , not theoretically. I bet you can let a child stay with his father at work for one month and he will learn how to do his work very good and better than a graduate student who have no experience. 4)Have you ever see a child following rules only after hearing them and not after learning it the hard way ? 5) And what about all the bad things they are exposed to in school many bad examples of behavior , violance. 6) Think about all those years our children spend in school and then come out and has to learn how to get along in this cruel world , complex economy , no one prepares them to handle it. Man , i'm telling you , it can open another big discussion.

Yes, we do need math. I am now the treasurer of my English Honor Society, and I have never used so much Math in all of my life. You do need it for survival. The more math that you know, the more you do benefit from it. Also, if you want to teach, or if you want a nice career, it helps to have a lot of math under your belt. I am not very good at math, but I try as hard as I can to do it. I challenge myself to use it.

Learning math, or any other subject in primary (also called elementary) school is actually quite beneficial. We may not realize what these benefits are till later in life. Math helps you think logically. Once you understand a rule, you can apply it to quite a lot of things. Also, although it is true that not everybody uses the more complicated maths like algebra in their lives, it is still a good idea to learn it when we are young. Why? Because at that young age, we may have not actually found where our interest or skills lie. When you're just 6 or 7 years old, you may think you like art. But maybe later on when you get to lower secondary or middle school, you realise that you're more talented in engineering, for example. If you're going to start studying maths from the basics at the age of 13 or so, then you're probably only going to finish the whole engineering course when you're almost 30 years old.

I think that it is a good idea for young people to review as much of life as is possible in their school experience. How else will they find what their life's calling is? And math of all types is used in life alot more than we may realize. Building, cooking, gardening, music, all have some aspect of math in them.

It is indeed vital for you to study this if you are inclined towards academics. In higher education, this education is taken for granted and used intentionally or unintentionally. And if you go for engineering, then you will understand the importance of trigonometry, and basic geometry. I know it is tough if you don't have good staff, but at the same time it can be really interesting. Good luck

Learning math is vital not only in school but also in our lives. In math you do sums and calculations, as you are taught to do all these , your mind is being trained to be logical and to have a good sense of judgment. It is not the numbers, angles, or calculations per se that is being instilled into your mind but the training.

It depends of what the reason is to go to school and why are you learning something in this life. Ask yourself what the sense of life is. I think education is something that the human being deserves. Maths is a part of education. It's a topic which help us to think and to reason better. And to think is the activity of highest quality that the human being has.

I think Math is important but only to the basic...like addition, multiplication, division and subtraction. Others like algebra or trigonometry are also needed but not that much,,it actually depends on your job....

When at school no one knows what work they will follow, therefore the learning has to be broad spectrum so that when you go off to university you will have the basics of whatever subject you study. In fact if you were to follow an engineering job you will need your geometry and trigonometry. I leave it to you study or not because those that do will succeed.

Math is more than crunching numbers. It is a process of problem solving and most people have to solve problems every day. To do that you go through some very similar steps as you do in Math.

Well, to be honest, I think we all learn math in school because some time or other we might actually find them handy. I am currently working as a pharmacist, I can can attest to the fact that I sometimes use algebra to try and determine certain things like what dose of a medication to give to a patient or what amount of a diluent is used to prepare a solution of a required concentration. I also remember there was once when I had a friend who was studying engineering who asked me a question about engineering that needed to be solved by trigonometry. I guess jobs aside, yeah, there isn't much use for the complicated topics of maths like geometry and trigonometry. But I reckon it's like the same with some other subjects like geography (eg. why do I have to learn about what different countries plant or mine if I'm not going to be involved in any way?) or history (what good does it do to know who all the past prime ministers/presidents were?).......

Math is a subject that sharpens one's brains. It also increases one's patience and also those opting for technical subjects would find Math useful

Actually a lot of grownups do need to remember all this math, geometry, trigonometry and calculus. If for nothing else than teaching our own kids or helping with their homework! OK, we don't use it much but just once in a while it is useful.

I agree that maths like algrebra, geometry and trigonometry have no actual use to us in real life, unless we pursue technical jobs that require us knowledge of such, like engineering, architecture and IT. However these maths improve the logic of people. Math makes us manipulate numbers, which later in life makes us maipulate ideas and thoughts, enhances our logical thinking

The usefulness and importance of math depends to different kinds of people. I do mean here the benefits of math in REAL LIFE. For a normal individual, basic math do counts. For professionals like architects or engineers or other courses, the more complicated math is a must. Above all MATH is beneficial to us, we do use math in everday living even in the simplest form. We need math, math gives us order in home, society or the world.