At Mind Matters News: No, civilization has NOT won the war on math. Not yet anyway…

The war on math is now coming down to the race — not the ideas — of mathematicians:

Legal scholar Jonathan Turley muses on the latest assault on math teaching in schools:

“[T]he question of whether we have allowed Western mathematicians to dominate in our discipline is no less relevant than whether we have allowed western authors to dominate the field of literature. It may even be more important, if only because mathematics is rather more central to the advancement of science than is literature.”

Some professors have objected to being asked to consider the race or gender of mathematicians rather than their underlying theories or formulas.

In the Telegraph article, Exeter University Social Science Professor Doug Stokes is quoted as saying that “[t]he idea behind decolonising maths is that because everyone should be regarded as equal, the status of their beliefs must also be equal.” He denounces that view as “judgmental relativism is an inversion of science that is based on what is real rather than making everybody feel included.”

Jonathan Turley, ““Decolonising Math”: Durham University Asks Professors to Consider the Race of Mathematicians Before Relying on their Work” at JonathanTurley.org (April 11, 2022)

Takehome: Maybe it comes down to how much accurate ideas actually matter, as opposed to politics some people can force other people to pay for.

You may also wish to read:

Yes, there really is a war on math in our schools. Pundits differ as to the causes but here are some facts parents should know.

and

Further dispatches from the war on math. Discussions of social policy where math is relevant can be useful. But a student who does not understand how an equation works will fail at both math AND social policy. Increasingly, the United States depends on foreign talent in math and science. It seems an odd time for a nation to be sponsoring a war on math.

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