The Dangerous Math That Florida Doesn’t Want Its Children To Learn

Nicely, that is curious. The state of Florida has rejected a bunch of math textbooks as a result of they comprise forbidden topics, including things like “Critical Race Theory” and “Social Emotional Learning.” What on earth, one wonders, may very well be so offensive in a math textbook for kids? The Florida Training Division did not present any particular examples.

By the best way, many of the rejected books are for elementary faculty youngsters.

Thankfully, I’ve dug deeper and found what the offending math ideas are, in order that I might share them with you, pricey reader. Right here, then, are the six math subjects that apparently drove the Florida Training Division to concern its ban:

1. The offending math texts name π an “irrational” quantity. As everybody is aware of, pi (π) describes the ratio between the circumference of a circle and its radius, a price that’s roughly 3.1416.

Florida’s authorities is aware of that math can’t be irrational! This appears to be an try to insert Social Emotional Studying into math.

By the way, Florida is in good firm right here: back in 1897, the Indiana State House passed a bill that declared that π equals 3.2. (It doesn’t.) Fortunately, when the invoice reached the Indiana Senate, a Purdue College professor was within the viewers, and he helped the senators understand they should not cross it. They did not.

2. Most of the textbooks confer with “binary” numbers. In fact, if there are binary numbers, there should be non-binary numbers. Are these arithmetic textbooks attempting to sneak in references to intercourse and gender? Florida’s Training Division cannot permit that!

3. A number of the texts describe “magic squares.” Magic, after all, is the work of the satan. Florida correctly determined to maintain such offensive phrases out of its math curriculum.

(Apart: a magic sq. is a sq. stuffed with numbers from 1 to N, the place the numbers are organized so that each row, column, and diagonal sums to the identical worth. These will be enjoyable puzzles for kids and adults.)

4. Quite a few texts introduce the thought of the “golden ratio” and “golden rectangles.” Clearly this can be a reference to worshipping the golden calf, from the Outdated Testomony, which everybody is aware of is a false god. What are these math textbooks attempting to do right here?

Making issues worse, the golden ratio is one other irrational quantity! See my dialogue of π above.

(Apart: two portions a and b are within the golden ratio if their ratio is similar because the ratio of their sum to the bigger of the 2 portions; in different phrases, if (a+b)/a = a/b.)

5. A lot of the offending math texts use the expression “larger energy” to confer with exponents quite than to a deity. Clearly this can’t be permitted.

6. Let’s not neglect the Pythagorean theorem. All the mathematics texts describe this creation of a pagan mathematician from ancient Greece, whose philosophy resembled trendy socialism. Why are math books selling pagan ideology?

The precise-wing governor of Florida (and presidential wannabe) Ron DeSantis enthusiastically endorsed the rejection of those textbooks, saying in a press release, “I’m grateful that Commissioner Corcoran and his group on the Division have performed such an intensive vetting of those textbooks.”

Sure, the governor of Florida is deeply involved about defending the kids of his state. (That is why he is been such an ardent opponent of vaccines.)

Now if solely these math textbook publishers can simply make π a pleasant, rational quantity, and eliminate any references to binary numbers, I am positive Florida will forgive them.