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.

Miami Herald:

A discussion among students at Oberlin High School in Oberlin, La., about a mathematical symbol led to a police investigation and a search of one of the student’s homes, according to the Allen Parish Sheriff’s Office.

On the afternoon of Feb. 20, detectives investigated a report of terroristic threats at the school, where they learned that a student had been completing a math problem that required drawing the square-root sign.

Students in the group began commenting that the symbol, which represents a number that when multiplied by itself equals another number, looked like a gun.

After several students made comments along those lines, another student said something the sheriff’s office said could have sounded like a threat out of context.

Police searched the student’s home, where they found no guns or any evidence that he had any access to guns. Authorities also wrote there was no evidence the student had any intent to commit harm.

“The student used extremely poor judgment in making the comment, but in light of the actual circumstances, there was clearly no evidence to support criminal charges,” the department wrote, adding that the school board had been contacted to determine any disciplinary action for the student.

The square root sign.  The thing I showed above without the radicand.  That’s what looks like a gun to someone.  And that’s what evoked the call to the cops.  And that’s why the cops wasted their time investigating something and someone that didn’t need to be investigated.

The best part is this: “Students in the group began commenting that the symbol, which represents a number that when multiplied by itself equals another number, looked like a gun.”

This is awesome, and is exemplary when it comes to an explanation as to why American schools suck so badly and why we’re lagging the rest of the civilized world when it comes to STEM.  We’re apparently grooming students to think a radical looks like a gun instead of, you know, a radical.  Maybe they’re not doing enough mathematics, huh?

If I was the math teacher at the school I’d make them do radicals until they turned blue and rotted.  And if I was the principal of the school I’d support that teacher and ensure that whomever said that a radical looked like a gun was held back a year and taught remedial mathematics.

But they won’t.  The students will be sent on to the next grade to be idiots there too.  This is one reason I homeschooled (at least some of my children).  I’ve told you about my horrible experience with the nuclear engineering project with my High Schooler, yes?