Why don't we use the math we learn in school?

> Many students are only taught math as symbol manipulation. Less instruction is focused on identifying situations where it might be useful. We need to give students more training in noticing and converting everyday situations into the math problems they know how to solve.

No, please don't do this. When I was learning math as a kid I found word problems incredibly irritating and stupid. It's just a way to waste a few seconds of my time when I just want to solve the problem and get to the next one. Word problems are just disrespectful

I'm working on a reference guide here for exactly that: https://github.com/EternityForest/AnyoneCanDoIt/blob/master/...

It's basically "Here's some cool stuff math can do, and interesting historical anecdotes, and how to make a computer do it without actually understanding any of it, and here's what you could do if you actually understood it"

There may be errors because... I don't actually understand it and can't derive it myself, so I'm relying entirely on sources.

But I think there's value in a text on math by someone with no talent for it, since most books even for beginners assume people have a certain level of ability and treat things i would call very hard as obvious.

I don't have any excercises or material on how to actually DO the math, just how to use a CAS solver, I leave the actual teaching of math to those who understand it and focus on showing how it's relevant at all to those of us who don't want to go back and study for two years.

> Math is incredibly useful

For what? It isn't useful for teenagers who are trying to get laid and be cool, at all. It also isn't useful for what 99% of humans end up doing, unless by math you mean basic arithmetic, enough to add and subtract on your 'smart' phone.

Math isn't useful. People who are amazing at math and are interested in it - they can be useful, but mostly not.

What they don't teach in school is how the real world works, because it is fucking outrageous. What they teach is how to go be a cog in a machine, run by idiots.

They don't teach it by telling you, they teach it by making you sit still, listen and do arbitrary, idiotic tasks for 12 years.

Sure they teach you a thing or two along the way, but anyone would learn more from doing anything else they were interested in for 12 years.

That's the dirty little secret. If you let people do what they are interested in, they'll learn math, programming, exercise, health, whatever, because it'll be necessary to achieve their goals. But you can't make people who've had a taste of achieving their goals slave away their whole life to help some idiot achieve theirs. Plus most parents are fearful idiots who never treat children like human beings, they treat them like their personal pet project whose goal is to line up with society's idea of success. Pathetic. Oh well, that's people for you :)

Why don't we use the [History|English Lit.|Chemistry|etc.] that we learn in school?

As a generality, isn't the math taught to most teens in public schools aimed pretty squarely at preparing them to take the standard calculus courses in their first couple years of college? If so, hardly surprising that most ex-students don't notice much use for that stuff in the real world.

And since the social function of that is usually to demonstrate that you're determined / focused / upper-class enough to successfully slog your way through it - gee, what would be the point to remembering or using it after getting your "made it through" bragging rights?