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The issue is that the floor on confidence in knowledge is now basically nothing.

Why is it that 8th graders in 1990 could do solid algebra and polynomials on paper and not need help? Nothing about the math has changed.

Slide rules do not do basic math, that’s a poor comparison. People that did higher math on slide rules only used it for part of the problem dealing with logarithms, and that was a shorthand for larger approximation tables in books. That’s necessary help. Solving for 2+2 is not. That’s for little children that count on their fingers. If you’re not in the “WTF?” camp, you’re part of the problem.

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stray@pawb.social ⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Difficulty performing mental arithmetic doesn’t necessarily correlate with poor overall intelligence or inability to grasp higher math concepts. In a world where we all have calculators in our pockets, there is no reason to bar someone from studies or a career involving higher mathematics simply for being neurologically atypical, nor to shame them for whichever coping strategies allow them to perform.

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- hansolo@lemmy.today ⁨11⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  That’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying that the most basic of math should be as basic as reading. Something that anyone can do themselves.
  
  Do you honestly think that for the rest of your life every moment will let a calculator or ChatGPT help you have every interaction you have? People are perfectly capable of basic math.
  
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derek@infosec.pub ⁨13⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
I’m not confident you’re participating in good faith here but, on the off-chance you are; I’m not sure I take your point.

Can you substantiate your initial claim? “The floor on confidence in knowledge is now basically nothing” seems too broad a statement to meaningfully defend.

Even if we assume you’re talking about US 8th graders you’ll have to be more specific. The US has seen degraded academic performance across the board but the degree varies by State (and often again by County).

What’s “necessary help” is up for debate as well. There’s a hint of something I can agree with here though. I do agree that, for certain vocations, it’s important for individuals to have firm graps on the fundamentals. Programmers ought to be able to code without IDEs and Mathematicians work problems without calculators. I don’t agree that the common use of good tools by those professionals results in the brain-drain bogeyman you seem to be shadow boxing.

What am I meant to be alarmed about, exactly?

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- hansolo@lemmy.today ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  No, I’m here in good faith.
  
  Being alarmed, I suppose, would be the subjective assessment that this isn’t too far off from all the cognitive decline correlated to excessive use of AI. It’s an extrapolation, sure, but similar.
  
  It’s lovely to think that a phone will always be right on us all, for the rest of our lives. IRL, shit happens. Sometimes people sometimes just dug a calf out of a pond, theor phone got soaked, and still need to divide 250 lbs of fertilizer by 10 barrels and not be seized by indecision because there’s not a cell phone around.
  
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FelixCress@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

Slide rules do not do basic math, that’s a poor comparison

He doesn’t know that. None of the idiots advocating regressive imbecilism actually understands what they are talking about.

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