The things that matter in life.

The things that matter in life.
The things that matter in life.

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

Some “math is racist” bullshit, Canadian style.

MY COMMENT: “This sort of thing actually goes back decades. Back in the 1980s and 1990s, there was a movement called “Ebonics.” In essence, it was Black English. The idea was for Black students to get a foreign language credit in school because they could speak it as well as standard English. 

“A companion movement to this was a “black mathematics.” It was characterized by the use of African imagery – like butterflies, for some reason – in teaching young kids to count. The whole point of it was that African mathematics doesn’t emphasize precision. Therefore, Western mathematics is “racist” because it does. The movement didn’t catch on, but it was there.

“Perhaps it explains the lack of precision in traditional African culture in terms of time. Black African students coming to study in White/Western countries, or studying under professors from the West in their homelands have been known to experience problems showing up for class on time. They claim in their defense that in their countries, to have an 8 AM appointment, for example, means that 8 AM is when you start to get around for the appointment. (Maybe that explains the prevalence of shithole countries in that part of the world.)

“So, to say that 2+2 precisely equals four is the imposition of precision on Black math students.”





Remember this graphic?