A while back, I complained about a math problem put forth by Mensa that should be easy for sixth graders to answer, and how a local DJ couldn’t understand the very simple solution. A reader from Panama wrote in to say that by 12th grade, everyone in his country was required to pass calculus. No wonder that China and India now have more students trying to get engineering degrees than the United States does.
Here’s a recent example of mathematical illiteracy — Rachael Ray, upon finding a shoe store that offers shoes at 70% off, tell us: “For those of you that are not good at math, that means I can buy 70% more shoes.” Rachael, that means that you are not good at math. In fact, I’d say you were mathematically illiterate for making a comment like that.
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