PJM.
“Nope the idea of 2+2 equaling 4 is cultural and because of western imperialism/colonization, we think of it as the only way of knowing,” wrote Marshall (HT: Disrn). Never mind that the Arabic numeral system we use is not, you know, “Western.”
Marshall goes by the pronouns “she/her” and describes herself on Twitter as a “teacher, scholar, social justice change agent, Chicagoan, PhD student, architecture enthusiast, wannabe math person, BLM always…”
2 + 2 ≠ 4 is alright if you don’t mind buildings and bridges falling down, and machines not working right, and engineers not held liable in court for calculations with errors. As to the second comment, “Never mind that the Arabic numeral system we use is not, you know, “Western,” that’s as ridiculous as the idiotic twitter post she cites.
Numbers aren’t Arabic, or Chinese, or Western, or anything other than logic. Mathematics is a reflection of the mind of God. It’s the way the world works because it was made by Him and it’s how man thinks because we are made in His image. 2 + 2 = 4, sin(θ), cos(θ) and pi() are all what they are, and dN/dt = P -λN solves in closed form to (P/λ)(1 – exp(-λt)) not because someone says so, but because God says so, and thus it will always be, never to change, not even in eternity, because God is immutable.
Mathematics allows man to take dominion over the world, as ordered by a Holy God, for the glory of His son. It allows man to create, to construct, to repair, to ameliorate, and to make life better.
So I assume that it’s okay with Brittany Marshall if she and other blacks are rolling over a bridge the moment it collapses, the bridge being designed by black engineers who do not believe in mathematics or physics.
