Homosexual activists understand the power of words.
Please visit my channel to watch a one-minute video clip in which popular atheist author Richard Dawkins admits that homosexual activists "hijacked the word 'gay'".
The word "homosexual" is more appropriate and accurate because it, unlike the word "gay", actually describes the behavior/attraction/relationship being discussed.
The word "gay" helps homosexual activists push their agenda.
Statistics does need to be emphasized. However in order to understand later topics at least Calculus II is needed. There would also need to be an earlier introduction to discrete mathematics in high school if not middle school. Majors like economics, psychology, education, and business should have better math requirements. Often they just need one calculus course and/or one statistics course. This is insufficient if you want to produce graduates with any kind of competency in statistics.
Shame on him. In the quest to appear "cool," and "with the times," here we have yet another pedantic argument to "change the curriculum." Statistics without calculus is absolutely useless because statistics is meaningless unless you consider the change in variables of interests, and the rates of change in those variables. And I promise you that it is not statistics, but calculus, that lies at the heart of major developments in technology, from the space shuttle to the iphone.
if you want to know practical use for calculus you can just read the "word problems", also there are definitely applications in the book. When you get further you will see a huge increase of dependence between calculus and physics.
Secondly, you will understand both calculus and stats better if you take them together. Integration and series is what probability distributions are based on.
Much of stats were discovered not until 1900s with calculus equations.
How exactly would anyone understand probability and statistics without calculus? Let's set aside for now that in order to properly understand statistics (distribution of distributions, etc) some functional analysis is necessary.
So much truth to this, as an engineering student, I respect and understand the study of calculus, it is necessary. However, when it comes to standard, day-to-day task and work, its often not present, and when needed you always have references to aid you on your specific need. Statistics is much more practical.
The problem with continuous math is that it's contradictory in a very fundamental way. Real math is discrete math. But calculus is not necessarily continuous! Math helps us derive causal-realist theories (a useful way of thinking), but we shouldn't confuse the map with the territory. Hartry Field's Fictionalism comes to mind. Physics suffers from this misunderstanding.
Your impression of statistics is common, yet not accurate. The study of graphs, charts, decimals (known as graphical descriptive statistics) is only a tiny part of what applied statistics is about. It's Inferential statistics, along with probability, its companion topic, that is the heart of meaningful statistics to the general student public. Inferential statistics includes testing hypotheses, estimating parameters, computing margins of error and regression modeling.
You can have use for both calculus and statistics in everyday life and in dealing with practical scenarios. The key is to have the analytical capacity to go with the knowledge so you know how to phrase the problems you encounter in a way you can apply math to them.
I'd agree with him that basic statistics should take priority over calculus at highschool level, and that basic algebra is enough for "most people".
I hate statistics, I love calculus but still...... I know statistics are used every day but calculus and probability are much more useful and entertaining.
Understanding statistics *REQUIRES* the understand of integrals ... this has to be the stupidest thing I have heard in a long time. The topic of probability is a *precursor* to "STATISTICS". Statistics should probably also be preceded by short course in philosophy. While his raw goal might have merit, I would in no way endorse the removal of deferral of calculus for statistics.
It is amazing that my comment got so many thumbs down. So many people who have no idea what is going on, but derive confidence that they are right because they are on the side of some dude off TED TV. I am sure many mathematicians would disagree with him.
All you people saying you don't need calculus, you are not thinking of statistics, you are thinking of probability.
Please calculate the probability of being Pi standard deviations from the mean of a normal distribution without using calculus
I agree with you, you can only take probability and statistics so far without calculus.
While it may be true that most people won't use calculus, most people won't ever read Shakespeare or need to know what iambic pentameter is, doesn't mean we shouldn't teach it.
Anyone who enjoys school-level statistics has to re learn it all at university using set theory and calculus anyway (its over simplified early on).
The other problem is that students are not told or given practical uses for calculus and these other branches of mathematics than students would be more interested and maybe a more hands on approach on applying calculus students would be interested in leaning mathematics.
Discrete mathematics would definitely be more fruitful to learn than continuous mathematics. As far as high school goes, statistics doesn't require any prior knowledge of calculus to understand.
Dealing with data sets is more useful every day than calculus, for sure.
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No way. This guy is an actor. You can't have statistics without calculus. You need to at least know how to integrate. This guy doesn't sound like a prof at all.
What are you talking about this guy is no actor, he can do lighting calculations in his head, by that I mean squaring a 5 digit number in his head. Plus you do not need to know Calculus to take Statistics, because Statistics is all algebra II based, what are you talking about?
Who cares if he can do arithmetic in his head. He can't beat my calculator. There is no way to do statistics without being able to integrate, unless you are doing something really simple.
Beating calculators is pointless. AB will surely agree with this. In my opinion people who have not studied both statistics and calculus are missing a huge part of life, but most people are not lucky enough to have the chance to learn either. The concept of a function is necessary to understand the world. Calculus is the first class that allows people to play with this concept. By passing calculus to go straight into statistics requires the student to be very gifted.(like AB)
calculus shows trends and patterns with respect to time, Without it there would be no statistics. while statistics depicts systems well, calculus implies the course of that information.
Humans could be persuaded easily if they don't explore the root before the tree!
Ted does make a lot of sense. If you want to prove laws you need calculus and to prove theories you need statistics. In social sciences we only have have theories. any thing other than pure science has to rely on statistics for its emperical ratification (validity)
I think the solution as to what to teach is more complex. If you are teaching a student for science work then Statistics Algebra and Calculus are required. If your teaching a music student then the Computational Trigonometry might make a good starting spot as an extra course. If your teaching a Book writer then he or she will need a good grasp of stats and Mental Arithmetic to get by in life.
What's wrong is trying to make all learn one general topic with maths.
Oh and when I say a numerical system based twin Bifurcation I mean the use of two bifurcation Piecewise equations as to make a complete numerical system based on two numbers where by each set of two numbers is unique relative to the initial x input.
So anyway year what's the maths behind how to perform linear arithmetic with this type of numerical system. I'm betting 99.8 percent that I work it out myself before I get the answer. Application of such a thing use Computational reduction.
god the american education system is complicated, here we learn stats and algebra and calculus upto 2nd to last year, fairly basic stuff, in our last year is when you decide to take stats or calculus or both,
I have a Mechanical Engineering degree which calculus is used in all of my core classes and I would have to agree with this video. I'm not saying calculus should be eliminated, but few Engineers ever totally understand it and try to avoid it at all costs when solving problems. Calculus is really just used to understand why equations are they way they are, but it its algebra that's used to execute them.
i agree. statistics was the only math i felt i could truly apply to my life. and he's right: it CAN be fun!
though i've never taken a calculus course, i did have a professor give me a brief lesson on it once because i was curious about it, and it was fascinating!
as a student who moved from China to here and got bored by the math education here, I would agree with him to a very large extend. But I think the general direction of change should be putting more applied problems into math books. It is really easy to get bored of simplifying a bunch of equations and stuff while not being able to see its application until several years later when the student is learning something deeper. But most don't even get to that level.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
my high school math teacher smelled like salami. its her fault i failed math, because the whole classroom smelled like her and i find that odor distracting.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
the only course i have failed in higher education was stats ... eventhough i've always been brilliant in calculus wich develops logic looking back at it now that am engineer i beleive that stistics is the language of liars they can make anybody beleive anything with nums ... i am not a liar therefore i faild stats. lol
Probabilistic events are not those which will happen, but those which an observer would be surprised to discover didn't. Subjective interpretations like that really separate probability from other branches in terms of rigor and purity.
If we used calculus daily we might say, "No, I won't give you a ride because I don't want to integrate your weight over distance in gasoline."
People often think they are using statistics correctly but are not. Our built-in probability estimator has evolved to make quick correlations. When B follows A it is considered likely (even if it is not) that A caused B. Evolution has endowed us with the ability to misunderestimate.
Everyone should know the difference between "average" and "median."
I disagree. You're saying calculus develops your mind in ways that statistics doesn't? The implication being that statistics is some sort of soft maths? I'd say calculus is a lot easier to understand, and a lot easier to perform by rote even if you don't understand it. Having done both up to degree level, calculus you can do just by memorising a text book. Statistics, on the other hand, is a mind-fuck. The "learning how to use your mind" argument works equally well for each.
It is about developing your ability to think for yourself.
Learning calculus builds your mental powers in ways that are totally unrelated to calculus.
It's like professional athletes lifting weights in the off-season. They do this in spite of the fact that they never lift weights during a game. But lifting weights makes them stronger. Same with calculus. It makes your brain more capable and that power is used in many different ways each day.
I agree with freesk8 because of the following observation:
It's 5 years since I was last in any form of institution with their own curriculum, not only consisting of things I find interesting.
But now I've noticed difficulties I didn't have before, and it's age related at 27. It's because school teaches us to take in new information and keep our minds in shape.
If you don't practice your mind and step up your game towards calculus, you'll eventually find yourself unprepared for challenges.
This was about the mostly useless talk I can remember too.
Perhaps its because this fellow is not really describing some work of his own, but instead the standard consensus statement of the professional association of teacher's of mathematics.
Not in every province. In Ontario, calculus and vectors is at the top of this pyramid of math education with data and stats left largely as an optional course.
Calculus is simply more valuable to more subjects (science, engineering, commerce, economics). This is why it is and should be favoured over stats.
'we' (meaning YOU and the other morons) wouldn't be in this economic crisis if we understood fundamentally the existing despotic institutions effects on economic calculation!
I am not agree with this. "Moving from analog to discrete mathematics" - I haven't heard more stupid thing ever. And this man claims to be professor of mathematics ...
How many complex calculations do you need compared to the number of randoms or statistics? Not many, they're so far away from most ppls lifes (exept for students of who most don't understand the topic anyway).
There is no such thing : "Analog mathematics". And there is no relation between statistics and discrete mathematics. You can call by discrete mathematics combinatorics, graph theory, numbers theory, groups theory and my be some more areas but not statistics.
I was thinking bout this the other day actually. I have pretty much forgotten everything i learnt in my maths class in high school cuz i don't use it and need it anymore. I was in the top 10% of my maths class but now i barely remember anything from calculus cuz in medschool you don't need it.
But next year i have to study statistics and probability in med school, which it would have had helped me a lot if my maths class would have thought me more of statistics than calculus!
Stats in general are more interesting than calculus. But the problem is that statistics is very easy to pick up whereas calculus is not. So you should have more foundations to do calculus problems otherwise who is going to be the engineer / economist / scientist?
Why would you want to suggest evading a difficult subject and replace it instead with a simpler one and in the process give up on calculus that is so crucial for so many different jobs.
Statistics and probability? I agree, that's one of the concepts the human mind has problems grasping, and it will have applications in everyday life. Also, I believe the basic math people would have to learn would be the math behind finance and money matters.
Calculus is one path, statistics is another. I use the fruits of calculus on a daily basis. I also studied statistics, and this is useful in another set of circumstances. One should not be taught over the other. It is like saying that literature should be the path of language arts and not technical writing.
I am a structural and material engineer for building envelope design. The glass/aluminum/precast high rises you see in cities has a team of designers and regulators that design the skins of the buildings that we work and play in. Structural engineering relies heavily on beam/column theory which utilizes differential equations (calculus). Materials such as Glass are non-ductile and are limited by statistical studies of breakage based on sizes and design pressures (statistics). Etc...
Some people like math, others dont like math. The educational system based on rewarding preset 'exact' answers prevent clever use of what is being learned. Logic is nice, but pushing something on a kid to put him in a box is not.
this speech is way too short for that person to make a point. The day statistics can tell that school is obsolete is the day the world will move forward.
vorcil! Your comment which included "what are you a Art or english major" proved to me how shallow and off base you are, not to mention that you most likely did not excel in either of those subjects. By the way, art is EVERYWHERE.
A person who knows calculus have already been exposed to stastics. The same is not true for a person who knows Statistics.
America still have the most elite mathematicians and engineers because we strive for the Best. Settling for statistics to be the 'new top' is a downgrade to the current expectations.
He is proposing a shortcut as oppose to finding a solution.
it doesn't sound like a shortcut. what he is saying is that from evreyone that learns calculus, very few people actually use it. it makes more sense to teach statistics because that is something that could and like he said should be used in daily life. it would benefit more people to learn statistics than it would learning calculus.
I think his point was for education of people in general. Of course for engineers and mathetmaticians we'll have to know calculus. But for other fields they are better off learning probability and risk. It's hardly a shortcut considering most Americans don't learn Calculus anyways.
He's right, in my country, where i used to live, math there like something that Im never gonna to use it in my life ... seriously.
But by the way, anything that we learn, is something that we will use somehow in our life. And u have a choice to learn Caculus or Statistics. Depend on your major later on.
Not only do we need to change the summit, but also the foundation. Elementary math education needs to be reformed so that kids who excel never get bored and kids who aren't as quick don't get left behind.
Maybe it's the fact that my school sucked, but when I was taking math in high-school there seemed to be two very distinct types of students. 1) Those who thought AP Caculus was too easy and were taking university math classes their senior years and 2) Those who just barely pass geometry and never take another math class. To whoever answers (I'm curious that's all) what is the minimum math requirement for HS in your state, and does the majority of the student body find it easy or hard to achieve?
Our school doesn't have a class required, but rather bases whether or not you can graduate on a standardized test that asses all math up to calculus. More than 75% of Junior students who took it fell short. I did pass it myself with just my knowledge of Trig, but it seems a bit ridiculous when, thanks to a large number of required credits, most students (myself included) can't take even pre-calculus until their senior year, regardless of intelligence level.
in my state you are only required to take 2 years of math. the second year being geometry. but to get into a good college you need to have at least three. but you can take four if you like. by the way i live in California. what state are you from?
Alaska, more specifically Juneau (southeast). Up here you only have to take geometry and pass the high school qualifying exam sophmore(?) year and that's all you need for the math requirement. Without delving into anything political or racial, the standard CAN'T be any higher, and so no university in Alaska will deny a prospective student based on math ability. Hell, I got accepted to UAF and there was no math qualification...or required essay (needed the ACT scores and transcripts though).
That being said, the school DOES offer up to AP calculus for the smart kids, and I think the local university will allow the particularly gifted to take credited classes while still in high-school.
It's ironic because advanced statistics needs a more advanced version of Calculus (measure theory).
It would probably be better if we built up to statistics instead of Calculus, tough, but only because it's more useful to normal folk. I don't, however, believe that going about things in that direction will make student more successful. US students aren't doing leaning math because 1) math is taught poorly and 2) we have an anti-math culture.
We have an anti-math culture because we learn shit we don't need and wont use (mostly because most citizens are will never, or very rarely, have to use Calculus other than for school work or to help children wit hschoolwork). If we were taught something that is useful to us, in a way that doesn't make it seem like a chore (like math teachers make it seem now "I know you will probably never need to use this, but we are required to teach it to you, so you must endure it and try.").
I don't think that's completely true. For instance, Asian countries teaches the same sort of math topics we do, but they score a lot better than the US on standardized tests.
I would also like to comment that, if that's true, Americans are quite shallow (like the other guy was saying). What happened to the quest for knowledge?
It's probably more like an anti-well-rounded culture. We just want to learn what we need to learn to make a "decent" living rather than also learning to improve ourselves, how we understand the world, and understanding others who live in it. Man still has a very animalistic objective.
Statistics are often used to create an unrealistic bias for a desired goal. People look for stats to prove their point, not search for a real unique solution. Governments use statistics to create fear. I think I saw a TED talk by a guy who said stats in courtrooms can lead to innocent people being jailed.
"We do these things because they are hard, not because they are easy" JFK speech on going to the Moon
Your comment is entirely sound when only considering knowledge in its purest form. Unfortunately, not only must we question knowledge for knowledge's sake, we must also be aware that, as a member of humanity, we are at the mercy of the "truths" others will impose on us. At that, we must also consider that, for the sake of efficiency, we must just assume some information unquestionably, otherwise we'll just be halting the acquisition of a deeper, although less justified, understanding.
I don't believe I'm at error. I meant to imply that "we" refers to the general population. I, myself, wouldn't allow others to control my thoughts. I can't, however, control how others are persuaded, and there's always a high probability one those who have been misled will interfere with me. For example, if I asked for a loan to market a new product for cleaning floors, promising that it'll be successful, the banker may believe I won't make a dime, and will likely not grant me the loan.
I do understand, however, that there's quite a large difference between existence wise information and business statistics, but my point still stands. There are always going to be others who are too "stupid" to comprehend that they've been lied to. At this point, one could argue that you'd just need to prove to them you are correct. The problem is you may not be able to obtain the means to create the proof thanks to the "incompetence" of those you need to acquire the resources from.
Additionally WatcherofTrends, I will respectfully dissagree with your contention. There is a direct link between existence based information and ALL sciences. One has only to follow the clues left by the likes of Tesla, Oppenheimer...and those far older than either.
The 'proof' lies in applying any theorem to reality and achieving desired (or greater than desired) results. One does not necessarilly have to go through the current lettered 'high priests of science'.
It's impossible to get any but the most shallow educations in probability/statistics without knowing basic calculus. Try explaining the Central Limit Theorem, arguably the most important result in statistics (basically, the explanation for why the normal distribution a.k.a. "bell curve" pops up everywhere), without reference to limits (which you learn in a high school calculus class): not possible.
Yeah but stat blows
shib340 1 week ago in playlist Liked videos
Homosexual activists understand the power of words.
Please visit my channel to watch a one-minute video clip in which popular atheist author Richard Dawkins admits that homosexual activists "hijacked the word 'gay'".
The word "homosexual" is more appropriate and accurate because it, unlike the word "gay", actually describes the behavior/attraction/relationship being discussed.
The word "gay" helps homosexual activists push their agenda.
lightandbeautiful 1 week ago
Why are our superintendents not listening to this?
comeonewtf 1 month ago
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Gotta love studying for a bachelor, come major in statistics and probability!
atbmxrider 1 month ago
Gotta love studying for a bachelor, come major in statistics and probability!
atbmxrider 1 month ago
Statistics does need to be emphasized. However in order to understand later topics at least Calculus II is needed. There would also need to be an earlier introduction to discrete mathematics in high school if not middle school. Majors like economics, psychology, education, and business should have better math requirements. Often they just need one calculus course and/or one statistics course. This is insufficient if you want to produce graduates with any kind of competency in statistics.
mcvem 4 months ago
I always thought of that man!
SpicyHam 4 months ago
Shame on him. In the quest to appear "cool," and "with the times," here we have yet another pedantic argument to "change the curriculum." Statistics without calculus is absolutely useless because statistics is meaningless unless you consider the change in variables of interests, and the rates of change in those variables. And I promise you that it is not statistics, but calculus, that lies at the heart of major developments in technology, from the space shuttle to the iphone.
ManifestMiasma 5 months ago
I feel like a calculus vs physics debate would be more funny....
MrBigEnchilada 6 months ago
@MrBigEnchilada physics is dependent on calculus. calculus makes physics easier to understand.
The3nlightened0ne 6 months ago
if you want to know practical use for calculus you can just read the "word problems", also there are definitely applications in the book. When you get further you will see a huge increase of dependence between calculus and physics.
Secondly, you will understand both calculus and stats better if you take them together. Integration and series is what probability distributions are based on.
Much of stats were discovered not until 1900s with calculus equations.
MrBigEnchilada 6 months ago
How exactly would anyone understand probability and statistics without calculus? Let's set aside for now that in order to properly understand statistics (distribution of distributions, etc) some functional analysis is necessary.
danieladaniela1972 7 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
this guy is a freaking homo FAG THAT LIKES TO TAKE IT UP THE BUTT
ghostofwar565 10 months ago
My AP Stats teacher showed us this video at the beginning of the year. Ironically, he was emailed the link by the Calculus teacher.
2010JEProductions 11 months ago 5
So much truth to this, as an engineering student, I respect and understand the study of calculus, it is necessary. However, when it comes to standard, day-to-day task and work, its often not present, and when needed you always have references to aid you on your specific need. Statistics is much more practical.
alphalink 11 months ago 3
great point!
shib340 11 months ago
so what does 2 standard deviations from the mean mean?
ser132 1 year ago
@ser132 ±2 standard deviations from the mean explains about 95 percent of the data.
harish400 1 year ago
@ser132 it means about 95% of the data is in plus minus 2 standard deviations from the mean.
TheManGuyDude 3 months ago
The problem with continuous math is that it's contradictory in a very fundamental way. Real math is discrete math. But calculus is not necessarily continuous! Math helps us derive causal-realist theories (a useful way of thinking), but we shouldn't confuse the map with the territory. Hartry Field's Fictionalism comes to mind. Physics suffers from this misunderstanding.
mateo3470 1 year ago 2
Love it! Please share with the math professors who educate math teachers! Good going.
ecpscience 1 year ago
Love it! Please share with the math professors who educate math teachers! Good going.
ecpscience 1 year ago
he makes a very good point...i think ill show this to my teacher
uMadProductions32 1 year ago
He makes a point but seriously I'm a math lover but I totally hate stats. Graphs, charts, decimals.. ewww.
TheKhaiXiang 1 year ago
@TheKhaiXiang
Your impression of statistics is common, yet not accurate. The study of graphs, charts, decimals (known as graphical descriptive statistics) is only a tiny part of what applied statistics is about. It's Inferential statistics, along with probability, its companion topic, that is the heart of meaningful statistics to the general student public. Inferential statistics includes testing hypotheses, estimating parameters, computing margins of error and regression modeling.
bigdprof 1 year ago
he totally makes a relevant point.
who integrates anything everyday??
who differentiates anything?
analysis is more relevant in our daily lives stats is absolutely.... probably..... relevant to our day to day lives!
oyster1992 1 year ago
stats sucks... calculus all the way!
planeshaperman 1 year ago
You can have use for both calculus and statistics in everyday life and in dealing with practical scenarios. The key is to have the analytical capacity to go with the knowledge so you know how to phrase the problems you encounter in a way you can apply math to them.
I'd agree with him that basic statistics should take priority over calculus at highschool level, and that basic algebra is enough for "most people".
gulllars 1 year ago
I hate statistics, I love calculus but still...... I know statistics are used every day but calculus and probability are much more useful and entertaining.
J0RGEgaspar 1 year ago
his voice is all nasally.
talk2malawyer 1 year ago
Allah make math easy to understand for me and the one for whom it comes hard, Ameen
kentau123 1 year ago
Understanding statistics *REQUIRES* the understand of integrals ... this has to be the stupidest thing I have heard in a long time. The topic of probability is a *precursor* to "STATISTICS". Statistics should probably also be preceded by short course in philosophy. While his raw goal might have merit, I would in no way endorse the removal of deferral of calculus for statistics.
websnarf 1 year ago 2
@websnarf i agree and i actually think you need to study measure theory to understand probability. I wonder if this guy even knows what that is :/
rutturu 1 year ago
but,... statistic requires calculus...
for me, algebra is more capable in the summit.
darknecromancer34 1 year ago 2
OMG I am genious!!!!
I figured this out myself months ago!!! I am not mathematician just amateur and little of scientest.
J0EH3AD 1 year ago
what two standard deviations from the MEAN MEANs and I MEAN it. way to end it on a joke my sweater-vested friend
ndaunt 1 year ago
I would be able to learn as much as this guy... but god invented the calculator
Mveliz3556 1 year ago
I was wondering whether i should take Advanced Calculus or Probability&Statistics for my last semester at college...
mitochondrie126 1 year ago
@mitochondrie126 definitely the probability and statistics. Direct usage is tremendous. I myslef enjoy it.
J0EH3AD 1 year ago
newton owned
BrezHurley 1 year ago
um, pretty sure most kids dont even make it to calculus.. let alone past algebra.
Sovieto 1 year ago
dude, you would so beat me at the 100 math facts!
Eliminator0323 1 year ago
You wouldn't be in the economic disaster in the first place if fractional reserve banking, along with interest, would be abolished.
It's the true cancer of societies.
Apart from that, I agree that as it is, statistics is a far better subject to teach as the pinnacle.
JewTubeUsername 1 year ago
I agree, and probability is just as important later on as calculus is.
pirskwayrd 1 year ago
I agree with his proposal - statistics is far more useful for the average layman than calculus.
Kingzoid 2 years ago 3
This guy is so cool! He's really inspiring and I'm taking more math classes in school because of his talks and books.
prospectnyc 2 years ago 29
@prospectnyc I know you're comment was posted long ago, but I just wanted to say that he's my math teacher! :)
xXisabella23Xx 1 day ago
@xXisabella23Xx That's awesome! Hope you enjoy his class. :)
prospectnyc 1 day ago
It is amazing that my comment got so many thumbs down. So many people who have no idea what is going on, but derive confidence that they are right because they are on the side of some dude off TED TV. I am sure many mathematicians would disagree with him.
All you people saying you don't need calculus, you are not thinking of statistics, you are thinking of probability.
Please calculate the probability of being Pi standard deviations from the mean of a normal distribution without using calculus
VVlaskin 2 years ago
I agree with you, you can only take probability and statistics so far without calculus.
While it may be true that most people won't use calculus, most people won't ever read Shakespeare or need to know what iambic pentameter is, doesn't mean we shouldn't teach it.
Anyone who enjoys school-level statistics has to re learn it all at university using set theory and calculus anyway (its over simplified early on).
Pwnagemerchant 2 years ago
The other problem is that students are not told or given practical uses for calculus and these other branches of mathematics than students would be more interested and maybe a more hands on approach on applying calculus students would be interested in leaning mathematics.
2Baiforev 2 years ago 20
I agree. 100%
piernic75 2 years ago
a genius doesnt need calculus...but many of us are not of a genius mind. This dude couldn't be more right.
The09Martian 2 years ago
Discrete mathematics would definitely be more fruitful to learn than continuous mathematics. As far as high school goes, statistics doesn't require any prior knowledge of calculus to understand.
Dealing with data sets is more useful every day than calculus, for sure.
hehsaan 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
No way. This guy is an actor. You can't have statistics without calculus. You need to at least know how to integrate. This guy doesn't sound like a prof at all.
VVlaskin 2 years ago
What are you talking about this guy is no actor, he can do lighting calculations in his head, by that I mean squaring a 5 digit number in his head. Plus you do not need to know Calculus to take Statistics, because Statistics is all algebra II based, what are you talking about?
longhornwinners 2 years ago
Who cares if he can do arithmetic in his head. He can't beat my calculator. There is no way to do statistics without being able to integrate, unless you are doing something really simple.
VVlaskin 2 years ago
Actually, he CAN beat your calculator.
theblackpages 2 years ago
I have to agree that he can, but my calculator can also beat him.
VVlaskin 2 years ago
@VVlaskin Actually he beats calculators for a living...
HKragh 2 years ago
Beating calculators is pointless. AB will surely agree with this. In my opinion people who have not studied both statistics and calculus are missing a huge part of life, but most people are not lucky enough to have the chance to learn either. The concept of a function is necessary to understand the world. Calculus is the first class that allows people to play with this concept. By passing calculus to go straight into statistics requires the student to be very gifted.(like AB)
else frustration
VVlaskin 2 years ago
SHAMWOW guy?
okachobee 2 years ago
calculus shows trends and patterns with respect to time, Without it there would be no statistics. while statistics depicts systems well, calculus implies the course of that information.
Humans could be persuaded easily if they don't explore the root before the tree!
saltonsea2 2 years ago
@saltonsea2 I am pretty sure this professor was referring to rudimentary statistics.
Owner46 1 year ago
@saltonsea2 I cant agree. If I compute probability getting a cancer from smoking 10per day, I really dont need any calculus.
I myself discovered this fact he is talking about months ago and I am shocked this expert guy is as good as I am :-D
J0EH3AD 1 year ago
is there more then calculus and statistics?
cofeaddict 2 years ago
Well said Dr. Benjamin.
DrQuijano 2 years ago
Ted does make a lot of sense. If you want to prove laws you need calculus and to prove theories you need statistics. In social sciences we only have have theories. any thing other than pure science has to rely on statistics for its emperical ratification (validity)
abhilashponnam 2 years ago
I think the solution as to what to teach is more complex. If you are teaching a student for science work then Statistics Algebra and Calculus are required. If your teaching a music student then the Computational Trigonometry might make a good starting spot as an extra course. If your teaching a Book writer then he or she will need a good grasp of stats and Mental Arithmetic to get by in life.
What's wrong is trying to make all learn one general topic with maths.
wildchildplasma 2 years ago
Does anyone know how Linear arithmetic works when working with numerical systems based on twin Bifurcation's.
What's the probability anyone on planet earth does.
More than that what the probability anyone will answer my question properly.
wildchildplasma 2 years ago
Oh and when I say a numerical system based twin Bifurcation I mean the use of two bifurcation Piecewise equations as to make a complete numerical system based on two numbers where by each set of two numbers is unique relative to the initial x input.
So anyway year what's the maths behind how to perform linear arithmetic with this type of numerical system. I'm betting 99.8 percent that I work it out myself before I get the answer. Application of such a thing use Computational reduction.
wildchildplasma 2 years ago
god the american education system is complicated, here we learn stats and algebra and calculus upto 2nd to last year, fairly basic stuff, in our last year is when you decide to take stats or calculus or both,
if you wanna be engineer take calc
want just math? take stats
like math in general? take both
SousukePanic 2 years ago
I have a Mechanical Engineering degree which calculus is used in all of my core classes and I would have to agree with this video. I'm not saying calculus should be eliminated, but few Engineers ever totally understand it and try to avoid it at all costs when solving problems. Calculus is really just used to understand why equations are they way they are, but it its algebra that's used to execute them.
complexmincl 2 years ago
i agree. statistics was the only math i felt i could truly apply to my life. and he's right: it CAN be fun!
though i've never taken a calculus course, i did have a professor give me a brief lesson on it once because i was curious about it, and it was fascinating!
KennilworthyWhisp 2 years ago 3
as a student who moved from China to here and got bored by the math education here, I would agree with him to a very large extend. But I think the general direction of change should be putting more applied problems into math books. It is really easy to get bored of simplifying a bunch of equations and stuff while not being able to see its application until several years later when the student is learning something deeper. But most don't even get to that level.
powerovergamec 2 years ago
i totally agree. stat was math that i felt i could really use and apply in my life!
KennilworthyWhisp 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
my high school math teacher smelled like salami. its her fault i failed math, because the whole classroom smelled like her and i find that odor distracting.
idunnoification 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
the only course i have failed in higher education was stats ... eventhough i've always been brilliant in calculus wich develops logic looking back at it now that am engineer i beleive that stistics is the language of liars they can make anybody beleive anything with nums ... i am not a liar therefore i faild stats. lol
kamal2202 2 years ago
Probabilistic events are not those which will happen, but those which an observer would be surprised to discover didn't. Subjective interpretations like that really separate probability from other branches in terms of rigor and purity.
bluesrunthegame 2 years ago
If we used calculus daily we might say, "No, I won't give you a ride because I don't want to integrate your weight over distance in gasoline."
People often think they are using statistics correctly but are not. Our built-in probability estimator has evolved to make quick correlations. When B follows A it is considered likely (even if it is not) that A caused B. Evolution has endowed us with the ability to misunderestimate.
Everyone should know the difference between "average" and "median."
George4943 2 years ago 2
i would love it if all high school grads got a dose of each, but seeing as thats unlikely to happen... he may be on to something.
mattfoley59 2 years ago
Why not teach Statistics and Calculus. We covered both in school; it doesn't have to be one or the other.
mick4711 2 years ago
I disagree. You're saying calculus develops your mind in ways that statistics doesn't? The implication being that statistics is some sort of soft maths? I'd say calculus is a lot easier to understand, and a lot easier to perform by rote even if you don't understand it. Having done both up to degree level, calculus you can do just by memorising a text book. Statistics, on the other hand, is a mind-fuck. The "learning how to use your mind" argument works equally well for each.
jasonisme84 2 years ago 2
Education is not about utility.
It is about developing your ability to think for yourself.
Learning calculus builds your mental powers in ways that are totally unrelated to calculus.
It's like professional athletes lifting weights in the off-season. They do this in spite of the fact that they never lift weights during a game. But lifting weights makes them stronger. Same with calculus. It makes your brain more capable and that power is used in many different ways each day.
freesk8 2 years ago
I agree with freesk8 because of the following observation:
It's 5 years since I was last in any form of institution with their own curriculum, not only consisting of things I find interesting.
But now I've noticed difficulties I didn't have before, and it's age related at 27. It's because school teaches us to take in new information and keep our minds in shape.
If you don't practice your mind and step up your game towards calculus, you'll eventually find yourself unprepared for challenges.
Dextline 2 years ago
So true!
I really hope that Obama does pay attention and that Australia takes it onboard too!
penivos 2 years ago
Why should it be either-or? In Japan my host sister during a junior year abroad was learning integral calculus in her Junior year in highschool.
On the flip side, realistically, we're having trouble getting our students out of highschool in NYC with the ability to divide.
givebirthathome 2 years ago
I wish I had been taught statistics oriented math at school. I learnt so many concepts I couldn't understand that I have forgotten the useful things.
sonotthepoint 2 years ago
Good idea. This should be implemented right away!
WistfulGeek 2 years ago
I think he's right. It makes sense to have more than one math track.
brownerthanu 2 years ago
I usually like TED talks, but this just came across as a rant.
ArjeeBhajee 2 years ago
This was about the mostly useless talk I can remember too.
Perhaps its because this fellow is not really describing some work of his own, but instead the standard consensus statement of the professional association of teacher's of mathematics.
givebirthathome 2 years ago
Not in every province. In Ontario, calculus and vectors is at the top of this pyramid of math education with data and stats left largely as an optional course.
Calculus is simply more valuable to more subjects (science, engineering, commerce, economics). This is why it is and should be favoured over stats.
hondoLS 2 years ago
thats awesome
nachoboy4 2 years ago
Ha!
I'm not! The zeitgeist 'resource based economy' is even worse in that respect.
FreiheitKampfer 2 years ago
What is "Significant" to some, is useless to others.
I think your oblivious to the "significance" of culture. Which gives a meaningless existence meaning.
EveryHumanBeing 2 years ago
psh..
'we' (meaning YOU and the other morons) wouldn't be in this economic crisis if we understood fundamentally the existing despotic institutions effects on economic calculation!
FreiheitKampfer 2 years ago
i think that was less than a formula and more of a rant
himynameississy 2 years ago 3
I am not agree with this. "Moving from analog to discrete mathematics" - I haven't heard more stupid thing ever. And this man claims to be professor of mathematics ...
mkostya 2 years ago
How many complex calculations do you need compared to the number of randoms or statistics? Not many, they're so far away from most ppls lifes (exept for students of who most don't understand the topic anyway).
T33K3SS3LCH3N 2 years ago
agreed
cirkelrak 2 years ago
what a clever and insightful argument you make. really thought provoking
anoutsideobserver 2 years ago
This is just my opinion.
There is no such thing : "Analog mathematics". And there is no relation between statistics and discrete mathematics. You can call by discrete mathematics combinatorics, graph theory, numbers theory, groups theory and my be some more areas but not statistics.
mkostya 2 years ago
Makes sense.
I was thinking bout this the other day actually. I have pretty much forgotten everything i learnt in my maths class in high school cuz i don't use it and need it anymore. I was in the top 10% of my maths class but now i barely remember anything from calculus cuz in medschool you don't need it.
But next year i have to study statistics and probability in med school, which it would have had helped me a lot if my maths class would have thought me more of statistics than calculus!
afthefragile 2 years ago
Stats in general are more interesting than calculus. But the problem is that statistics is very easy to pick up whereas calculus is not. So you should have more foundations to do calculus problems otherwise who is going to be the engineer / economist / scientist?
Why would you want to suggest evading a difficult subject and replace it instead with a simpler one and in the process give up on calculus that is so crucial for so many different jobs.
spiritsA 2 years ago
I completely agree that statistics is the most rewarding mathematical material... It's the most used but not given enough nurturing...
NoOne0308 2 years ago
Bravo. I would suggest adding two other key mathematical components to Mr. Benjamin's pyramid:
A: sound, practical instruction in the positive & negative power of compound interest and
B: the ability to critically examine numerical information when used to promote an agenda, as in advertising & politics.
paulmercy 2 years ago
Statistics and probability? I agree, that's one of the concepts the human mind has problems grasping, and it will have applications in everyday life. Also, I believe the basic math people would have to learn would be the math behind finance and money matters.
civver3 2 years ago
Calculus is one path, statistics is another. I use the fruits of calculus on a daily basis. I also studied statistics, and this is useful in another set of circumstances. One should not be taught over the other. It is like saying that literature should be the path of language arts and not technical writing.
CHAS1422 2 years ago
what do you do with your fruits
crankthetoto 2 years ago
I am a structural and material engineer for building envelope design. The glass/aluminum/precast high rises you see in cities has a team of designers and regulators that design the skins of the buildings that we work and play in. Structural engineering relies heavily on beam/column theory which utilizes differential equations (calculus). Materials such as Glass are non-ductile and are limited by statistical studies of breakage based on sizes and design pressures (statistics). Etc...
CHAS1422 2 years ago
If you're going into engineering, phyisics, economics and such maths oriented subjects, then you need more knowledge of calculus than statistics.
If you're going into business, medicine, law, politics, social studies etc, then you need a lot more knowledge of statistics than calculus.
Guess there should be an extra special maths class for students who wanna do engineering, physics, economics etc, to teach them more calculus.
But most others would never use calculus in their life!
afthefragile 2 years ago
MIT requires Calculus. I'm taking calculus.
pyrocyon 2 years ago
great great great point there. he's got something there.
Animalll2003lll 2 years ago
Stats sucks, but he's quite right, it would be a better endgame for maths, at least up to 16.
JmkLcAeJsm 2 years ago
Totally agree.
cricketmsv 2 years ago
What a wonderful and inspiring talk. He's a good speaker, I mean, he can easily persuade you, I think. Anyway, I agree with him.
11ninafan11 2 years ago
Some people like math, others dont like math. The educational system based on rewarding preset 'exact' answers prevent clever use of what is being learned. Logic is nice, but pushing something on a kid to put him in a box is not.
this speech is way too short for that person to make a point. The day statistics can tell that school is obsolete is the day the world will move forward.
Machforr 2 years ago
i hate stats lol
princeofexcess 2 years ago
but its so fun
danthehunter224 2 years ago
Other math is more fun
princeofexcess 2 years ago
Dr. Benjamin is a very good speaker. I simply love the way he expresses himself.
DivineEffulgence 2 years ago 2
vorcil! Your comment which included "what are you a Art or english major" proved to me how shallow and off base you are, not to mention that you most likely did not excel in either of those subjects. By the way, art is EVERYWHERE.
dorotwhy 2 years ago
Statistics!!! Egad! I surely would have TOTALLY flunked...
dorotwhy 2 years ago
Hear hear!
Love.
Celtic1433 2 years ago
Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics.
Interesting the push for soft rather than hard sciences dovetailing so well with the removal of personal freedoms world wide...
abbesieyes 2 years ago
Hereby I pronounce you the Zar of Mathematics, Sir...
BounceToTheJiggy 2 years ago
"Czar"
Lacross2569 2 years ago
"Zar"
TheAtheistKat 2 years ago
"Czar"
leejae 2 years ago
Yes, sorry its true, in english is Czar or Tzar. In spanish is Zar. I was thinking in spanish.
bye
TheAtheistKat 2 years ago
his point is to make the statistics as a required course in every major in the country.
joanindo 2 years ago
He does have a point
HecKaTorN 2 years ago
Wow. In Freshman year? We learn calculus at school in Australia.
gadzometer 2 years ago
A person who knows calculus have already been exposed to stastics. The same is not true for a person who knows Statistics.
America still have the most elite mathematicians and engineers because we strive for the Best. Settling for statistics to be the 'new top' is a downgrade to the current expectations.
He is proposing a shortcut as oppose to finding a solution.
richter85 2 years ago
it doesn't sound like a shortcut. what he is saying is that from evreyone that learns calculus, very few people actually use it. it makes more sense to teach statistics because that is something that could and like he said should be used in daily life. it would benefit more people to learn statistics than it would learning calculus.
gokuangus 2 years ago
I think his point was for education of people in general. Of course for engineers and mathetmaticians we'll have to know calculus. But for other fields they are better off learning probability and risk. It's hardly a shortcut considering most Americans don't learn Calculus anyways.
gregormech 2 years ago
You are so full of shit.
noxteryn 2 years ago
He's right, in my country, where i used to live, math there like something that Im never gonna to use it in my life ... seriously.
But by the way, anything that we learn, is something that we will use somehow in our life. And u have a choice to learn Caculus or Statistics. Depend on your major later on.
kai2112 2 years ago
Not only do we need to change the summit, but also the foundation. Elementary math education needs to be reformed so that kids who excel never get bored and kids who aren't as quick don't get left behind.
TUSCNSCIEN 2 years ago
Obama has quadrupled the deficit! Thanks for voting for Obama you naive morons!
utubefavorsdems 2 years ago
well...i am a calculus fan...i understand what two standard deviations from the mean means as well...he made a good point...swayed me ...LOL
i love folks that are passionate about math
VoiceOfReasonQQ 2 years ago
Maybe it's the fact that my school sucked, but when I was taking math in high-school there seemed to be two very distinct types of students. 1) Those who thought AP Caculus was too easy and were taking university math classes their senior years and 2) Those who just barely pass geometry and never take another math class. To whoever answers (I'm curious that's all) what is the minimum math requirement for HS in your state, and does the majority of the student body find it easy or hard to achieve?
Boognish64 2 years ago
Our school doesn't have a class required, but rather bases whether or not you can graduate on a standardized test that asses all math up to calculus. More than 75% of Junior students who took it fell short. I did pass it myself with just my knowledge of Trig, but it seems a bit ridiculous when, thanks to a large number of required credits, most students (myself included) can't take even pre-calculus until their senior year, regardless of intelligence level.
WatcherofTrends 2 years ago
in my state you are only required to take 2 years of math. the second year being geometry. but to get into a good college you need to have at least three. but you can take four if you like. by the way i live in California. what state are you from?
gokuangus 2 years ago
Alaska, more specifically Juneau (southeast). Up here you only have to take geometry and pass the high school qualifying exam sophmore(?) year and that's all you need for the math requirement. Without delving into anything political or racial, the standard CAN'T be any higher, and so no university in Alaska will deny a prospective student based on math ability. Hell, I got accepted to UAF and there was no math qualification...or required essay (needed the ACT scores and transcripts though).
Boognish64 2 years ago
That being said, the school DOES offer up to AP calculus for the smart kids, and I think the local university will allow the particularly gifted to take credited classes while still in high-school.
Boognish64 2 years ago
oh. well we also need to pass the exit exam. after that you just have to pass your a-g requirements and your done with high school.
gokuangus 2 years ago
Hmmm. Although I do not agree with him completely, I will admit that he is an excellent dominant bottom.
MisoJapanese 2 years ago
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HallOfFame41 2 years ago
hm,
RTard48JRod 2 years ago
don't let the casino's know about this idea.
planetoperator 2 years ago
I would rather learn about calculus... because I'm a physics/astronomy dork :)
eatingfatty 2 years ago
Not everyone is though. Most of us (like me) will never use Calculus.
apocaRUFF 2 years ago
It's ironic because advanced statistics needs a more advanced version of Calculus (measure theory).
It would probably be better if we built up to statistics instead of Calculus, tough, but only because it's more useful to normal folk. I don't, however, believe that going about things in that direction will make student more successful. US students aren't doing leaning math because 1) math is taught poorly and 2) we have an anti-math culture.
crambo0349 2 years ago
We have an anti-math culture because we learn shit we don't need and wont use (mostly because most citizens are will never, or very rarely, have to use Calculus other than for school work or to help children wit hschoolwork). If we were taught something that is useful to us, in a way that doesn't make it seem like a chore (like math teachers make it seem now "I know you will probably never need to use this, but we are required to teach it to you, so you must endure it and try.").
apocaRUFF 2 years ago 2
I don't think that's completely true. For instance, Asian countries teaches the same sort of math topics we do, but they score a lot better than the US on standardized tests.
I would also like to comment that, if that's true, Americans are quite shallow (like the other guy was saying). What happened to the quest for knowledge?
crambo0349 2 years ago
It's probably more like an anti-well-rounded culture. We just want to learn what we need to learn to make a "decent" living rather than also learning to improve ourselves, how we understand the world, and understanding others who live in it. Man still has a very animalistic objective.
InfiniteCollective 2 years ago 2
Statistics are often used to create an unrealistic bias for a desired goal. People look for stats to prove their point, not search for a real unique solution. Governments use statistics to create fear. I think I saw a TED talk by a guy who said stats in courtrooms can lead to innocent people being jailed.
"We do these things because they are hard, not because they are easy" JFK speech on going to the Moon
EveryHumanBeing 2 years ago
But that's not always true, and if students learned statistics in school it would be harder to fool them later on in life.
crambo0349 2 years ago 3
man, he's so right. There have been many times that I wished I had been made to take stats in high school instead of calculus, which I never use.
infinitum17 2 years ago
he's right, maybe. I've been thinking about this too.
spektrum1983 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Statistics? What utter twaddle.
Start with the eastern conception of maths rather than the western, and you get kids playing with number rather than dreading it.
They also make the connection between number and geometry far sooner...and thence on to the supposedly 'higher' maths.
But....Rome does not wish your children smarter than their opponents.
The vast majority of 'ideas' on TED - utter crap. One would do better opening a book published prior to the 1920's, and I'm not joking.
abbesieyes 2 years ago
I can safely say you're a retard trying to pretend you're a genius.
apocaRUFF 2 years ago
Lol. The lie of the IQ. Those with a high IQ have a different form of thinking...not a better one.
One notes all those errant geniuses who gleefully worked for Hitler and his goons.
Best just to question everything you've come to know, from the first moment you could know it.
Judging by your favorites...your process has not even begun.
abbesieyes 2 years ago
Thank you for doing my work for me.
apocaRUFF 2 years ago
Sorry kid. Anyone with a decent education knows what I've said is quite valid.
Past your bedtime, isn't it?
abbesieyes 2 years ago
And you're still helping me! Aren't you a good little boy?! :] I can play the "I'm-older-and-smarter-thank-you" game too.
apocaRUFF 2 years ago
Your comment is entirely sound when only considering knowledge in its purest form. Unfortunately, not only must we question knowledge for knowledge's sake, we must also be aware that, as a member of humanity, we are at the mercy of the "truths" others will impose on us. At that, we must also consider that, for the sake of efficiency, we must just assume some information unquestionably, otherwise we'll just be halting the acquisition of a deeper, although less justified, understanding.
WatcherofTrends 2 years ago
Sadly WatcherofTrends, you are slightly in error. We are only at the mercy of others to the extent we allow it.
It was the lack of questioning assumption that prevented flight - until the Wrights questioned the lift computations and found glaring error.
The only way to deeper (valid) understanding - questioning all. 'Crucifying the Earth'.
abbesieyes 2 years ago
I don't believe I'm at error. I meant to imply that "we" refers to the general population. I, myself, wouldn't allow others to control my thoughts. I can't, however, control how others are persuaded, and there's always a high probability one those who have been misled will interfere with me. For example, if I asked for a loan to market a new product for cleaning floors, promising that it'll be successful, the banker may believe I won't make a dime, and will likely not grant me the loan.
WatcherofTrends 2 years ago
Yes, I see your point now. However, we are not talking about bankers...or are we?
If we are, are we discussing the form reflected by Hermann Abs, or a friendlier sort? This of course is key.
And I agree entirely that the mass will likely interfere, as they are blindly led by those who 'lead mass'.
abbesieyes 2 years ago
I do understand, however, that there's quite a large difference between existence wise information and business statistics, but my point still stands. There are always going to be others who are too "stupid" to comprehend that they've been lied to. At this point, one could argue that you'd just need to prove to them you are correct. The problem is you may not be able to obtain the means to create the proof thanks to the "incompetence" of those you need to acquire the resources from.
WatcherofTrends 2 years ago
Additionally WatcherofTrends, I will respectfully dissagree with your contention. There is a direct link between existence based information and ALL sciences. One has only to follow the clues left by the likes of Tesla, Oppenheimer...and those far older than either.
The 'proof' lies in applying any theorem to reality and achieving desired (or greater than desired) results. One does not necessarilly have to go through the current lettered 'high priests of science'.
abbesieyes 2 years ago
It's impossible to get any but the most shallow educations in probability/statistics without knowing basic calculus. Try explaining the Central Limit Theorem, arguably the most important result in statistics (basically, the explanation for why the normal distribution a.k.a. "bell curve" pops up everywhere), without reference to limits (which you learn in a high school calculus class): not possible.
DavidWardeFarley 2 years ago