Things that make you go, "hmmmm"

[Okla-homey]

with a shout out to Arsenio hall for inventing the schtick.

But seriously folks.

Why is it considered socially acceptable for folks to admit they're dumb, or even very dumb, at math, while its considered the height of ignorance and worthy of scorn to be illiterate or a bad reader?

Aren't math skillz as important as reading and writing? How can a person call him or herself educated if they can't do long division with a pencil and paper?

How is it a person can graduate from a college in the United States and not have even a basic understanding of calculus?

Hello. Is this thing on?

[SoonerStormchaser]

How is it a person can graduate from a college in the United States and not have even a basic understanding of calculus?



You're looking at him. Took me two times to get through Calc 1, two times to get through Calc 4, and FOUR times to get through Differential Equations...all at OU. And I don't remember **** from em!

[Rogue]

I literally NEVER have the occasion to need to do long division with a pen and paper. Mind you, I can, I just don't ever need to. That's why it's acceptable.

I do have occasion to read every friggin day.

[LilSooner]

I have never taken a calculus course. One it wasn't offered at my HS, and two it wasn't required to get a political science degree.

[sooneron]

Let's see, I need to read to get pretty much anywhere or do anything. Last time I used Calc?

Uh, nevar.

Math is important in a lot of ways. MATH. For better or for worse, computers now do our work for us, yes that even can apply to spell check. I'm willing to bet that most literate people have the ability to balance a checkbook.
Comparing not being calculus proficient to not being able to read is pretty goofy.

[LilSooner]

Oh and three it's not required to sale medical devices.

[Flagstaffsooner]

I have to use calc to figure out Olevets boiling temps/codensation rates. Dont tell me its worthless!:D

[King Crimson]

if you say you are "bad at math" the implication is that you are very poetic and sort of a unalienable "free spirit" who isn't crushed by the tyranny of reason or the rigidity of numerical systems. so, it's cunning false self-depreciation. that's generally how people use it. we have machines that do math. the excess of "humanity" that's implied by being "bad at math" is an affirmation of one's inherent unpredictability and creative surplus (the opposite of the machine).

[Scott D]

math is just a bored philosopher's way of holding you down!

[King Crimson]

hot dang, 19,000 posts. i remember going over 1,000 on one of the older sf boards making fun of golfer Kenny Perry's 8 part swing and his goofy shirts.

i couldn't believe i had wasted that much time. this just 19 x that.

Boomer Sooner, people.

[Flagstaffsooner]

hot dang, 19,000 posts. i remember going over 1,000 on one of the older sf boards making fun of golfer Kenny Perry's 8 part swing and his goofy shirts.

i couldn't believe i had wasted that much time. this just 19 x that.

Boomer Sooner, people.So whats the first derivative of that?

[King Crimson]

So whats the first derivative of that?

huh?

[Newbomb Turk]

I like Kenny Perry's golf swing.

[yermom]

ok, Calculus might be a bit far reaching to use as a "math literacy" measuring stick, but i get his point

i think Americans' tendency to just not give a crap about math and science is the reason we are losing (if not lost) our technical edge

[bri]

Oh and three it's not required to sale medical devices.

Whereas reading comprehension is vital to knowing when to use "sale" and when to use "sell". :D

[King Crimson]

ok, Calculus might be a bit far reaching to use as a "math literacy" measuring stick, but i get his point

i think Americans' tendency to just not give a crap about math and science is the reason we are losing (if not lost) our technical edge

damn Starbuck's liberals. if we continue to underfund public education which is a hotbed of marxist-leninist thinking, we'll be the best!

[lefty]

For some interesting discussions on this issue check out

http://www.innumeracy.com/

[King Crimson]

I like Kenny Perry's golf swing and the Texas Longhorns.

http://usagolfandtravel.com/images/brora%20gc.JPG

[olevetonahill]

KC is that an aggie looking for A hole In one ?

[King Crimson]

KC is that an aggie looking for A hole In one ?

naw, it's Newbomb Turk in heaven.

[Flagstaffsooner]

KC is that an aggie looking for A hole In one ?Now that's just damn funny.

[Soonrboy]

Have you ever heard about 70% of the population speak out loud? They use English everyday and can't get it right. Why is it socially acceptable to speak grammatically incorrect? Then, if you try to correct them, you're the ***? We all had the same English courses in school. All of us.

[GottaHavePride]

ok, Calculus might be a bit far reaching to use as a "math literacy" measuring stick, but i get his point

All high school students are expected to be familiar with Hamlet, right? Hamlet was written in 1600. Isaac Newton's Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, containing his Laws of Motion, Law of Universal Gravitation, and his derivations of Kepler's laws of planetary motion - ALL of which were calculus-based - was published in 1687. Why shouldn't people over three hundred years later be able to understand calculus just as well as Shakespeare?

[yermom]

oh, i said "might"

the main reason is that you have to be able to read and write to get by reasonably, you can go your whole life without knowing Calculus

of course, if i was making the high school graduation requirements you'd be expected to take Physics and Calculus to graduate. as well as Chemistry and probably a programming course of some kind

[Viking Kitten]

... Why is it socially acceptable to speak grammatically incorrect? Then, if you try to correct them, you're the ***? We all had the same English courses in school. All of us.

Did you miss the day when they taught that it's best to avoid the awkward construction of two adverbs in a row?:D

I'M AN A**!!!

(Just kidding, sort of. It's not a hard and fast rule. It's just better to rewrite sentences like that. Yup. I sucked at math.)

"Why is it socially acceptable to use incorrect grammar?"

http://mfrost.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/05/29/the_more_you_know2.jpg

[SoonerInKCMO]

What's an adverb? :confused:

[Viking Kitten]

What's an adverb? :confused:

Exactly. And you probably make a lot more money than me. Or I. Or whatever.:D

[GottaHavePride]

Have you ever heard about 70% of the population speak out loud? They use English everyday and can't get it right. Why is it socially acceptable to speak grammatically incorrect? Then, if you try to correct them, you're the ***? We all had the same English courses in school. All of us.


What's an adverb? :confused:
Part of speech that modifies a verb or adjective. In your original sentence, both "grammatically" and "incorrectly" are modifying the verb "to speak". So you have two adverbs in a row. Changing it to "to use incorrect grammar" changes grammar to a noun, and then you only have one adverb.

;)

[Flagstaffsooner]

Where I live nobody speaks English at all.

[Soonrboy]

Learn something new everyday! I've never heard that grammar rule.

[Harry Beanbag]

Where I live nobody speaks English at all.


I was gonna say, 70% of the population does not speak English here, proper or not. :)

[Harry Beanbag]

Learn something new everyday! I've never heard that grammar rule.


Then apparently we didn't all have the same English courses in school. :P

[Frozen Sooner]

Learn something new everyday! I've never heard that grammar rule.

It's not a rule-as in, your sentence was technically correct.

It's just a very awkward construction.

[Frozen Sooner]

with a shout out to Arsenio hall for inventing the schtick.

But seriously folks.

Why is it considered socially acceptable for folks to admit they're dumb, or even very dumb, at math, while its considered the height of ignorance and worthy of scorn to be illiterate or a bad reader?

Aren't math skillz as important as reading and writing? How can a person call him or herself educated if they can't do long division with a pencil and paper?

How is it a person can graduate from a college in the United States and not have even a basic understanding of calculus?

Hello. Is this thing on?

I agree with you up to the point where I think it's pretty much socially acceptable to actually suck at reading and writing, so long as you don't talk about it.

Ignorance in toto doesn't seem to be shameful at all in our society anymore, whether it be how to properly conjugate verbs, how calculate the area of a conic section, or how to change the oil on your car.

Heinlein wrote a list of things that a fully-educated human should know how to do. I don't remember all of them, but here's a sampling:

Recite something from Shakespeare from memory.
Solve a quadratic equation in their head.
Trap and skin a rabbit.
Shoot a firearm straight.
Build a fire using nothing but sticks.
Cook a tasty meal from scratch.
Reduce a fracture.
Write a poem.

There's a few other things missing out of there.

I can do the ones listed (though the rabbit one I can't do right now-no rabbits in AK, only hares :-and if someone has a fractured arm and there's no competent medical help around, you're going to be REALLY lucky if I set it correctly.), and I'm pretty sure everyone here can do most of them as well-but it's frightening to think how few people can even fake it convincingly when confronted with a situation a little out of their comfort zone.

[Soonrboy]

By the way, I hate all of you truly, deeply.

[yermom]

I agree with you up to the point where I think it's pretty much socially acceptable to actually suck at reading and writing, so long as you don't talk about it.

Ignorance in toto doesn't seem to be shameful at all in our society anymore, whether it be how to properly conjugate verbs, how calculate the area of a conic section, or how to change the oil on your car.

Heinlein wrote a list of things that a fully-educated human should know how to do. I don't remember all of them, but here's a sampling:

Recite something from Shakespeare from memory.
Solve a quadratic equation in their head.
Trap and skin a rabbit.
Shoot a firearm straight.
Build a fire using nothing but sticks.
Cook a tasty meal from scratch.
Reduce a fracture.
Write a poem.

There's a few other things missing out of there.

I can do the ones listed (though the rabbit one I can't do right now-no rabbits in AK, only hares :-and if someone has a fractured arm and there's no competent medical help around, you're going to be REALLY lucky if I set it correctly.), and I'm pretty sure everyone here can do most of them as well-but it's frightening to think how few people can even fake it convincingly when confronted with a situation a little out of their comfort zone.

that's an interesting list. i'd imagine it's much worse now than it was when he made that list, at least in this country

[Flagstaffsooner]

Write a poem.
There once was a man fron Nantucket....

[Tiptonsooner]

If everyone was good at math, then who the hell would play the lottery??

[bri]

Oh, I still would. I'd just probably stick to prime numbers or some nerdy math sh*t like that.

[Jerk]

I never could figure out what a dangling participial was.

[King Crimson]

gerunds, man.

[Jerk]

I didn't know the difference between their and there until I was a freshman in college.

When I use good and well, I still have to think about it. 'Well' is the adverb and 'good' is the adjective, right? That's about all I know of teh Engrish. Runs well, looks good.

[yermom]

I never could figure out what a dangling participial was.

“One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got into my pajamas I'll never know.”

[Okla-homey]

Part of speech that modifies a verb or adjective. In your original sentence, both "grammatically" and "incorrectly" are modifying the verb "to speak". So you have two adverbs in a row. Changing it to "to use incorrect grammar" changes grammar to a noun, and then you only have one adverb.

;)

I never heard of that rule either.

okay smarty pants. How about this. "Bob is in the Kashmir engaged in extremely dangerous mountclimbing."

In that context, doesn't the use of extremely and dangerous constitute two adverbs in a row? ;)

[SteelClip49]

I walked in May and just have to finish one credit- college algebra. I don't care what anyone says....any math is bulls**t if you are not going to pursue a major that requires any further math. The stuff I am learning serves no merit in anything that I will pursue. Math is a waste of time, imo....that is if you are not going to pursue a career that requires a lot of math.

[tommieharris91]

I never heard of that rule either.

okay smarty pants. How about this. "Bob is in the Kashmir engaged in extremely dangerous mountclimbing."

In that context, doesn't the use of extremely and dangerous constitute two adverbs in a row? ;)

Nope, because in this case, dangerous is an adjective. In this sentence, mounclimbing is an object of the preposition "in", and thus, a noun. The word dangerous modifies mountclimbing. Also, if you had wrote the sentence "...dangerous mountain climbing," the same would apply.

[GottaHavePride]

I never heard of that rule either.

okay smarty pants. How about this. "Bob is in the Kashmir engaged in extremely dangerous mountclimbing."

In that context, doesn't the use of extremely and dangerous constitute two adverbs in a row? ;)

I think it be more an actual "guideline". Yarrrrrr.

And I was just attempting to explain what VK had said. ;)

[Viking Kitten]

I never heard of that rule either.

okay smarty pants. How about this. "Bob is in the Kashmir engaged in extremely dangerous mountclimbing."

In that context, doesn't the use of extremely and dangerous constitute two adverbs in a row? ;)


Nope, because in this case, dangerous is an adjective. In this sentence, mounclimbing is an object of the preposition "in", and thus, a noun. The word dangerous modifies mountclimbing. Also, if you had wrote the sentence "...dangerous mountain climbing," the same would apply.

TH is correct. "Engaged" is the verb in Homey's sentence, not "mountainclimbing."

Note "extremely" is not used as an adverb in this sentence either. When an adjective modifies another adjective, you often add "-ly", making it look like an adverb when it's not.

[tommieharris91]

TH is correct. "Engaged" is the verb in Homey's sentence, not "mountainclimbing."

Note "extremely" is not used as an adverb in this sentence either. When an adjective modifies another adjective, you often add "-ly", making it look like an adverb when it's not.

Actually it is. "Extremely" modifies "dangerous" (an adjective), not "mountclimbing" (a noun). Since "extremely" modifies an adjective, the word extremely is an adverb.

[Viking Kitten]

And as GHP noted again, these are guidelines for better writing and speaking. Adverbs of any kind are really considered anathema to good writing. Active, descriptive verbs are what you want.

"He misspoke" is better that "He spoke incorrectly."

"Bob hazarded his way up K2."

That sort of thing.

[Viking Kitten]

Actually it is. "Extremely" modifies "dangerous" (an adjective), not "mountclimbing" (a noun). Since "extremely" modifies an adjective, the word extremely is an adverb.

Yes, you're right.

[Viking Kitten]

...if you had wrote the sentence...

Now, what's wrong with this sentence???

:pop::D;)

[GottaHavePride]

"Bob hazarded his way up K2."

That sort of thing.


VERBING NOUNS WEIRDS THE LANGUAGE! :mad:


;) :D

[tommieharris91]

Now, what's wrong with this sentence???

:pop::D;)

I speak in the hick, Oklahoma dialect of Engrish. I write the same way also.

[Viking Kitten]

VERBING NOUNS WEIRDS THE LANGUAGE! :mad:


;) :D

GHP horns up the orchestra.

[tommieharris91]

GHB horns up the orchestra.

Err...:texan:

[GottaHavePride]

GHP horns up the orchestra.


http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0efh0vKaypalq/610x.jpg

Guilty as charged.

[bri]

F*ck teh King's English.

[mdklatt]

It's "cool" to be ignorant of science and math, because that's just for nerds. Idiocracy, man.

[tommieharris91]

Nahh, nowadays you need math to invest. After all, if you wanna make the big skrilla, you gotta get your hustle on in the business world. Even Jay-Z and Diddy know that. ;)

[Frozen Sooner]

Now, what's wrong with this sentence???

:pop::D;)

Ooo ooo ooo!

Passive voice!

[Viking Kitten]

Ooo ooo ooo!

Passive voice!

Passive voice is frowned upon, but since he used it, he should have used the past participle of "write," which is "written." Either "he wrote" or "he had written" would have been acceptable.

[SoonerInKCMO]

Dorks.

Just for the record, I do know what an adverb is. And yes, I do know I ended the previous sentence with a preposition.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to reading stuff that looks like this:
private void inputCheckedListBox_ItemCheck(object sender, ItemCheckEventArgs e )
{
string item = inputCheckedListBox.SelectedItem.ToString();

if ( e.NewValue == CheckState.Checked )
displayListBox.Items.Add( item );
else
displayListBox.Items.Remove( item );
}

[Okla-homey]

FWIW, while I am completely incapable of articulating the rules for the use of the pronouns who and whom, I am usually accurate in my choice between them. I give the credit to Mrs. Foster, my third grade teacher at Northwest Elementary in Ardmore. May she RIP.

For example: To whom do you think you're speaking fella?

NOT "to who do you think you're speaking fella?"

Mrs. Foster got really exorcised when us hillbilly chilluns misspoke. BTW, she was hell on kids who "brung their lunch," while she was cool with kids who "brought their lunch.";)

[SoonerInKCMO]

I think I'm accurate with the "who" and "whom" stuff too. I also have no idea what the rule is for choosing one or the other; it just kinda happens. :confused:

[Viking Kitten]

"Who" is a subject, "whom" is an object. Yes, KCMO. I am a dork. :P

[Chuck Bao]

I am definitely a math-brained person and not a language person. How many Americans can fluently speak a second language? I can't and I've lived in Thailand for 20 years.

Can I write a poem? Yes. A good poem? No.

And if any of you dorks say your second language is a computer program language, wouldn't that be more like a math formula instead of a language? I don't know. I'm just asking.

I once took a graduate course in advanced English grammar for literary majors. What is advanced English grammar? It is standard English for people who need some remedial help and still get some graduate credit. The "no one left behind" has been part of our educational system for a long time.

The really weird thing is that English is my worst subject in the university and I write for a living. I should have taken a journalism course.

[mdklatt]

And if any of you dorks say your second language is a computer program language, wouldn't that be more like a math formula instead of a language? I don't know. I'm just asking.


There is art and style to computer programming that goes beyond the basic algorithms, but I don't know if I'd equate it to human language. I don't think very many Americans are fluent in a second language at all, computer or otherwise.

[tommieharris91]

Hell, the rest of the world knows English. Why do we need to know their language? :texan:

[Soonrboy]

Howard Gardner proposes that there are 8 intellect areas. It's called the theory of multiple intelligences. We all have a dominant area and a few supporting ones. Some may be dominant in 2, but very rarely are people equally dominant in more than 2.

Schools, for the most part, live and die in only two or three areas: linguistic, logical, and spatial. In fact, that is all the psychometric tests measure. So if your intelligence strength is one of these, school was probably easier for you than others. It's why some people are really good in math, or why some are really good at languages. We tend to foster the intelligence that makes things easiest for us. This is also why art and music classes are very necessary in the schools.

The other areas are: kinesthetic, musical, naturalist, intrapersonal, and interpersonal. If your intelligence falls in one of these areas, then you might not like a traditional school so much, because it is not meeting one of your strong points. For example, athletes who fail in school because their intelligence lies in the kinesthic realm instead of the three that schools foster. Same with people who talk to much, their interpersonal intelligence isn't being used in a traditional setting.