I mean, the algebra article itself doesn’t seem terrible, just somewhat wrong, but with what seems to be a somewhat ok explanation of how equations work
This is what a competent encyclopedic treatment of algebra looks like by comparison. The other algebra article fucks up from the jump, because the goal of an encyclopedic treatment of algebra is not to teach someone the mechanics of solving a handful of elementary algebra problems (you can as a small aid, but making it nearly the entire article is failing the assignment completely).
It’s to cover what algebra is, its various subfields, its history, its applications, its relationships to other parts of math, etc. Covering algebra encyclopedically by offering a mediocre Algebra I tutorial is like covering internal combustion engines encyclopedically by making the entire article a short guide on how to change the oil in your car; it’s asinine.
First_Thunder@lemmy.zip 9 hours ago
“Wait, why is the second one bad, just another Wikipedia article on algebra. Sure funny joke oh wait that’s not Wikipedia”
TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 9 hours ago
If you can believe it, that’s relatively tame for their coverage of mathematics.
First_Thunder@lemmy.zip 9 hours ago
The article on zero is just nuts hahaha
First_Thunder@lemmy.zip 9 hours ago
I mean, the algebra article itself doesn’t seem terrible, just somewhat wrong, but with what seems to be a somewhat ok explanation of how equations work
TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 9 hours ago
This is what a competent encyclopedic treatment of algebra looks like by comparison. The other algebra article fucks up from the jump, because the goal of an encyclopedic treatment of algebra is not to teach someone the mechanics of solving a handful of elementary algebra problems (you can as a small aid, but making it nearly the entire article is failing the assignment completely).
It’s to cover what algebra is, its various subfields, its history, its applications, its relationships to other parts of math, etc. Covering algebra encyclopedically by offering a mediocre Algebra I tutorial is like covering internal combustion engines encyclopedically by making the entire article a short guide on how to change the oil in your car; it’s asinine.