The other day, I came across this article which features an insightful quote from Elon Musk:
“You just sort of get dumped into math. Why are you learning that? It seems like, ‘Why am I being asked to do these strange problems?’ Our brain has evolved to discard information that it thinks has irrelevance.”
The article went on to say that Musk suggests that learning be focused around solving a specific problem, (e.g. building a satellite or taking apart an engine). This approach to learning, according to Musk, will encourage students to master subjects such as math and physics all while solving their real-life problem.
What Musk is describing is what can be called having skin in the game with respect to Math education. Skin in the game or SITG is a classic ethical and philosophical principle that states people are more likely to take an endeavor seriously if they have something tangible to gain (or lose) as a result. So with respect to Math education, a student with skin in the game will learn (and retain) information and concepts better if their understanding is attached to something tangible. Granted, one could argue that grades are tangible. My counterargument to that point is that grades are mainly valuable inside the classroom. The means that pursuing high grades—for many students—becomes an end in and of itself and not a “real” thing.
Another example of this point was expressed by one of my favorite writers, Nassim Taleb. Taleb recently said on his Facebook page that:
My knowledge of technical matters, such as risk and probability, did not initially come from books. It did not come from lofty philosophizing and scientific hunger. It did not even come from curiosity. It came from the thrills and hormonal flush one gets while taking risks in the markets. I never thought mathematics was something interesting to me, until, when I was at Wharton, a friend told me about the financial options I described earlier (and their generalization, complex derivatives). I immediately decided to make a career in them.
When there is fire, you will run faster than in any competition. When you ski downhill some movements become effortless. Then I became dumb again when there was no real action. Furthermore, as a trader the mathematics we used was adapted to our problem, like a glove, unlike academics with a theory looking for some application. Applying math to practical problems was another business altogether; it meant a deep understanding of the problem before putting the equations on it.
Taleb further goes on to say:
This is the principal reason I am now fighting the conventional educational system, made by dweebs for dweebs. Many kids would learn to love mathematics if they had some investment in it, and, more crucially, to spot its misapplications.
I can vouch for that point in my own experience. Before I started this company, I worked hard to avoid all Math classes throughout my high school and collegiate academic career. You can learn more about my origins on our About page. It wasn’t until 3 years after my undergraduate years that I took it upon myself to get familiar with Math.
Not surprisingly, my interest in Math stopped with Calculus. Which is just fine for my work with this company, as virtually all of our clients only want us to take Algebra and Statistics for them.
I KNOW that if I’d had to, I would be able to grasp most Math concepts. I just haven’t had much of an impetus outside of a classroom.
Current Math education gives students very little incentive to have skin in the game. Classes are a hodgepodge of disconnected topics that mainly serve the purpose of alienating students from Math. This has been and will continue to be a topic on this website. Our goal is to get more schools to think about their Math requirements and how they go about enforcing and encouraging their students.
If you want to hire a professional who’s got some skin in the game when it comes to acing your online Math class, please contact us today.
