Is maths evil

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Is maths, by it's very nature, evil?
Discussion will last min. 48 hours, then we'll vote

No, it isn't, it is a force of good.

maths is evil because if we couldn't count money then it wouldn't have any value and the world wouldn't have been corrupt with greed

Rastari wins so far
Round 2:
Is the study of maths a waste of youth?

It depends on your definition of waste.

Usually to understand the concept of waste we have to be able to understand and manipulate statistics and we'd be unable to without studying maths.

The brain develops most when a person is young and studying mathematics develops almost all branches of learning. One cannot have a successful life in modern world without having a firm grasp of mathematics.

Being able to think logically and critically is never for bad. The younger you start doing math, the better.

avec wrote:The brain develops most when a person is young and studying mathematics develops almost all branches of learning. One cannot have a successful life in modern world without having a firm grasp of mathematics.

Being able to think logically and critically is never for bad. The younger you start doing math, the better.

define successful, and i don't know how maths develops all branches, it helps with science and engineering but certainly not all branches and i think that the studying of maths is a waste of the youth because people should have full freedom of choice and should be able to do what they want without societies pressure. There are lots of jobs which don't need an extensive knowledge of maths and if we lived in a simpler society where objects had purely quantitative value then there would be less need for complicated sums and the like so i suppose it depends on how much study we are talking about because mental arithmetic is useful but that is as far as it goes for me.

Actually, I've thought about it a bit more and I'm saying no.

I would'nt have thought anything (within reason) could be a waste of youth as we learn from experience, no matter what field the experience is in.

Therefore, if you were to spend time doing anything it would be good for you, whether psychologically or physically. Particularly in youth as it is the stage of life that "tunes" you to adulthood.

So in my opinion the question is irrelevant because mathematics could be replaced with anything and the same answers would exist, provided they were on a correct basis.

I'm both a psychologist and Biologist (Well, neuroscientist). 3:

Naturally, I'm pleased to see Sociology at the bottom.

i'm actually going to have to agree with digbe on this one nothing is a waste of time if you enjoy it and almost everything can have positive effects

Math is everywhere and in everything. Just about anything can be explained in math.

Or at least thats what the TV show says.

rastari wrote:define successful, and i don't know how maths develops all branches, it helps with science and engineering but certainly not all branches and i think that the studying of maths is a waste of the youth because people should have full freedom of choice and should be able to do what they want without societies pressure. There are lots of jobs which don't need an extensive knowledge of maths and if we lived in a simpler society where objects had purely quantitative value then there would be less need for complicated sums and the like so i suppose it depends on how much study we are talking about because mental arithmetic is useful but that is as far as it goes for me.

Indeed it does not develop ALL branches, but still most of them. Logical and critical thinking are important in all aspects of life and you most certainly cannot have a successful life if you cannot think quantitatively. Saying that studying maths is a waste of the youth is just plain ignorance; you are arguing that one should not do anything in youth. I might argue that studying languages/literature/art/you-name-it/ is a waste of youth and the arguments you gave would still apply.

As for 'there are lots of jobs which don't require extensive study of maths', well, I don't know how many of you had a job as a kid. Studying math in youth gives a firm ground from where to continue. I did study a lot of things in youth for which a have no use today, still I think that they were all for good. I can tell you that math is needed everywhere, everybody just don't know it because someone else does the calculations for them.

As for the argument 'if we lived in a simpler society...' well we don't. Conversely if we lived in a way more math-oriented society you would not even question the need to study mathematics.

I curse you all if you hate maths.

EJPayne94 wrote:I curse you all if you hate maths.

*attempts to ward off curse*