Invisible <voi### [at] devnull> wrote:
> Well, I suppose you could argue that, in the real world, if you want to 
> do a nontrivial calculation and you actually need an exact answer, 
> you'll use some sort of computation device.

  But that's not the point. "Just use a calculator" is not didactic, it
doesn't teach anything, and will only make people lazy. This will bite
back in the future, when people won't become programmers because they
lack the proper education and way of thinking.

> >   The same is true for other mathematical operations, such as division
> > and square root.

> Out of curiosity... how the hell *do* you actually calculate the square 
> root of something? I've always wondered.

  Your lack of google skills don't surprise me. Slightly more surprising is
that someone of your age hasn't been taught that at school.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methods_of_computing_square_roots#Digit_by_digit_calculation

> >   They are missing the point. By teaching lazy rules of thumb, they are
> > failing to teach a higher concept: Algorithmical thinking. You can't
> > program a computer with just "rules of thumb".

> Well, most people won't ever need to be computer programmers. It _is_ a 
> minority occupation. Indeed, most professions don't really involve 
> higher mathematics in any way.

  Then you wonder why some countries are more proficient than others.
It's probably a common trait in the more proficient countries that the
schooling system is *not* driven by a "only very few people will ever
need these skills, thus we'll just skip teaching them" ideology.

-- 
                                                          - Warp

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