Why are we so bad at Maths?

[d9f1c7]

http://news.sky.com/h...news/article/16180719
Well what they are talking about is simple Arithmetic really, but why are we such a nation of dingbats when it comes to rithmetic? Is it because of trendy teaching over the last generation negelecting the famous 3'R's?

[woofgang]

i agree. At my school I was streamed into the lowest stream for maths and we had the best teacher, the same one who taught pure and applied maths at A level. I will never be a mathematical genius but i can do sums!

[shaneystar2]

I'm ashamed to say I couldn't work any of those out and I'm of the old generation .
I can add up in my head pretty quickly .Shop and bar work taught me that .I can work out what I'm paying for stuff by weight etc in a supermarket .I can also read timetables. I can measure stuff .I can work out my finances .
I was alright in school in basic maths but once they started drumming algebra and geometry into the equaton I lost interest . A maths teacher once told me that my geometry paper was beautifully drawn but a complete load of rubbish :)
Figures don't interest me .I really don't need to know fractions and the pythagorean theorem in daily life .
You either are good at maths or not .I'm not but I get by :)

[FredPuli43]

We tend to forget what we are taught if we don't have to use it later in life and use it regularly. How much of what you were taught in the various subjects you had at school, do you remember now ? Not just school; I cannot remember the principles of 'renvoi' (private international law) to save my life, and I'm pretty shaky on manumission ( freeing) of slaves (Roman law) too. Passed exams in them, but have never needed either in 40 years. But what I used, I remembered.
So it is with maths for young people. The checkout worker at the till doesn't need to calculate change, unlike the old shop worker. And so it is in the youngsters' lives generally. If it is not that they are not taught, it is that they have little need and little incentive to practise the skills.

[sp1814]

I managed to get all four, but now I'm worried that all this proves is that I'm as intelligent as an 11 year old.

Hated maths at school with a passion, and I now overly rely on the calculator I have on my iPod.

Maybe that's a factor? Fifty years ago you HAD to have a fairly good grasp of maths to get on - now you are surrounded by electronic devices to assist you.

Also - one last think...perhaps the part of the brain which we use to calculate figures is like a muscle - if you don't use it, it gets flabby.

I can add up the price of a small basket of groceries, or a new suit, shirt and tie, or a round of drinks in my head, but to this day, I don't know what a hypotenuse is.

I imagine it's like a hippo...only smaller.

[paddywak]

I learnt my Maths the old way with the times tables etc and even when I was going for my engineers tickets when calculators were just coming in all we could use in exams were Log Tables and Slide Rules. I'll often get the old slip stick out just to keep my hand in and I've taught several of the kids to use one. If you know the basics you can do the job even if the calculator breaks down, the trouble is these days a lot of kids don't get taught the basic.