January 30, 2008
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Fractions
An award-winning professor of mathematics believes that fractions should be scrapped.
He said, “Fractions have had their day, being useful for by-hand calculation. But in this digital age, they’re as obsolete as Roman numerals are.” Here is the link: Link
Do you think there is any value in learning fractions in this day and age?
Comments (108)
oh absolutely….its good for the brain!
There is tremendous value in it!
That guy is on pot.
I think so… I use fractions all the time when I bake and cook or sew.
Yes, absolutely. I agree with Faerie, that guy is smoking something.
@seedsower - I was going to say I don’t use them, but you are right, those are things where we use fractions.
Duh, of course. Mental calculations keep your grey brain cells from dying too fast.
@la_faerie_joyeuse -
I take exception to that comment. I love fractions ever more when I’m on pot.
Learning fractions as a child was incredibly fun for me. I think whatever it is that makes it fun and interest to engage the children and to facilitate learning is excellent and ought to be utilized.
if you want to know probability and odds they’re pretty useful
I don’t know. It seems odd. Maybe he knows something we don’t?… but fractions are indispensable for Trig, aren’t they?…
interesting*
Well, we had to learn Roman Numerals too, ya know. But I do see the man’s point. Most expressions of fractions are done in decimals these days.
Ahh, fractions, that takes me back. Gosh, I hated school. lol
Wow, I love that guy. I hate fractions… I’m 19 years old and I still don’t know how to do them.
One word: conversions.
I hate math…can’t we just dispose of all of it?
Roman numerals are classy! What else would we put on grandfather clocks?
I wish we didn’t need them…. but If you’re going to cook or mix things(chemicals, cement, stuff like that), you really need to know fractions.
Yes, so useful.
If you plan on reading recipes… oh, but they have measuring tools so that you don’t need to know what a fraction is… just match numbers.
I think imaginary numbers should be scrapped, too. And I don’t mean variables, I mean the letter i being used to represent -1.
Haha.
AND THE TRIG. CIRCLE. Radians. Raaaadians, should be destroyed.
Heck, Pre-calc is a heckofalot easier with fractions! lol
I don’t understand your comment. What do you mean it’s the best time to join the military? Do you mean the opposite?
@hum__hallelujah - Sometimes I cut a batch in half or double it,then I do need to figure it out .
WTF? Any engineer benifits from back-of-envelope calculations. It’s much easier to work with clean round fractions rather than their messy decimal bretherans. 1/3 rather than 0.333333333333333333333333333 or 1/8 rather than 0.125.
Fractions represents ratios. With 2/5 could mean that 2 out of every 5 Yankee fans are stupid. With 0.4, that idea isn’t as well encapsulated.
@bigbrownbaginsideazoo -
Hey, random person I don’t know, you can kiss that sweet computer goodbye. ;-D
@la_faerie_joyeuse - There is tremendous value in it!
That guy is on pot.
That may very well be the case. That, or he voted Huckabee. =P
that we should cut back on your learning ???
heck most kids are so stupid now
they need all the learning they can get
So many math students would disagree, but I think fractions are pretty damn simple. And easier to visualize. Which makes them better. What makes more sense? 5/7 or 0.47238974983? Yeah.
Useful or not, if I had to learn it, everyone has to learn it! Too bad!
” But it could be that the study of fractions should be delayed until it
can be understood, perhaps after a student learns calculus, he said. “
I supposed he is not out to eliminate fractions totally, just that he felt that the touch-and-go kind of understanding of fraction then as a young child is unnecessary. But i don’t quite catch where he is coming from, for fractions is to me is quite important a segment in elementary maths. It seems almost too hard to teach decimals without fractions.
Go ahead, have 0.25 of the pizza!
We really don’t need fractions.
And for the people saying baking and junk, why could the system not be changed to 0.25 cups instead of 1/4 cut? Decimals are the way of the future.
Of course. I still do a lot of my on by hand or in my head, and fractions make such calculations much easier. Moreover, kids should learn to do math on paper before they can use calculators, it follows that they should learn fractions.
The most famous fraction is the tithe. One tenth of your earnings goes to God. I’m sure atheists want to ban fractions because of that rule….
Just go metric, no fractions and always whole number in most cases. Very easy to convert too!
Good grief. Fractions are here to stay.
@gratefulxgrapefruit - And for the people saying baking and junk, why could the system not be changed to 0.25 cups instead of 1/4 cut? Decimals are the way of the future.
Represent 1/9 for me in decimals– exactly.
1/2 of me says yes… 1/2 of me says no.
fractions a a bit inconvenient but they help people understand the concept of decimals
Probably.
He doesn’t look like the type to make brownies, sew a curtain, or swing a hammer. He personally has no use for fractions. But some of the rest of us do!
GET RID OF FRACTIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
unless you’re doing everyhting by calculator/computer, then they’re absolutely useful.
But hopefully I won’t need to know any more math than what it takes to balance my checkbook after I finish school.
Fractions have value…what about cooking?
Fractions are WAY better than decimals. That’s for sure!
You need fractions for trig and stuff. And physics, like stress=F/A. It’s actually simpler than having to say stress=FdividedbyA.
Fractions make solving a bunch of equations easier than decimals would. Also, they are simpler than decimals imho.
Learning and acquiring new knowledge is always beneficial.
Of course not. Fractions are just another notation for a division problem, which is correct. His comparison to Roman Numerals is incorrect since they aren’t used in mathematics, while fractions are.
YEAH. that guy’s a friggin idiot. unfortunately, unlike him apparently, the rest of us need fractions because we can’t handle repeating decimals in our head and we prefer exact answers. as a person with a math degree, i think this makes me waaaaaay more angry than it should…
ah now wait:
“DeTurck does not want to abolish the teaching of fractions and long division altogether. He believes fractions are important for high-level mathematics and scientific research. But it could be that the study of fractions should be delayed until it can be understood, perhaps after a student learns calculus, he said. Long division has its uses, too, but maybe it doesn’t need to be taught as intensely.”
that might have been good to know… should have read that link before my rant. okay, i still don’t agree with him, i think fractions are very important to teach, but thank God he’s not denying the use of fractions in higher math or i was going to have a heartattack.
and while i’m still pissed about this, might i add that education in math is moving toward more and more subcategories of math overlapping. that is to say that they are introducing calculus concepts earlier and earlier in subtle, nonthreatening ways, and teaching units that involve trig, algebra, and number crunching, etc. and the ways all of these branches of math are intertwined and related. which means it’s absolutely ridiculous that he says we should hold off teaching fractions until after calculus. the bottom line is that it doesn’t matter when you teach it, it matters in what context. higher math concepts like that can never be taught in a day – if the person is taught fractions as a kid, it will click later, trust me. you don’t need to hold off teaching them something as valuable as that. and like everyone else has been saying, fractions have huge practical uses, so you’d look like a moron if you never learned what 1/2 represented.
I don’t like fractions and I’d love to get rid of them, however; they are there. I don’t think we can just round up and down and still be considered accurate.
Actually I just realized what I wrote…
Fractions are easier than decimals. I’d rather use them even though I don’t like ‘em both.
I hated fractions, so I wouldn’t mind of they went by the wayside.
Not that I like fractions or anything, but they’re kinda used a LOT, and to get rid of them would be insane.
And for that guy’s information, music majors use roman numerals on a daily basis. I’d like to see someone redo the whole music writing system WITHOUT roman numerals….
A mathematician doesn’t use a calculator for every calculation. He’d go mad.
-David
4 out of 3 people say, yes.
Yup, how are you supposed to do other calculations if you don’t know how to do fractions.
….Besides isn’t that what we don’t want? Total reliance on technology? It’s like deciding to scrap teaching kids how to handwrite because there are keyboards.
I think that dude is a moron.
When I get out my measuring cup to cook, they do not have decimal points on them. I think learning the terms and using them are very beneficial.
Roman numerals are NOT obsolete — as a musician and music teacher, I use them every single day.
And they give me so much info – one glance and I know the chord, the quality of that chord, and how it is related to the notes around it! Just because this guy doesn’t use them in his math world doesn’t mean there aren’t other fields out there that use them regularly. What a small-minded statement.
So, I think it would be cocky to assume fractions are obsolete, too… besides, I think it’s good for the brain to learn them. At the very least, some new thinking skills can be gained through fractions. =)
We should continue teaching and using fractions. That guy is 1/2 nuts!
0.5 cup of sugar looks retarded
In one way, he has a point. In another way, he assumes that computers will be around forever, and that every where you go, you’ll have access to a device that can do the math for you.
This simply isn’t true.
He also neglects the fact that just simply learning stuff that doesn’t seem to have much importance in our world today still does wonders for ones ability to learn.
Yes. Fractions are used as a part of some algebraic calculations. If you don’t understand them to begin with, it will make algebra almost impossible. Algebra is not obsolete and is used in a number of professions.
Ditto recipes.
It isn’t an overly difficult concept. I think this guy has been isolated in his academic ivory tower a little too long and has forgotten how the rest of the world functions. Perhaps in his realm of higher math, decimals are easier to enter into the calculators, but I don’t cook with a calculator in my hand.
Fractions are wonderful. Otherwise, I would have to eat a whole pie. And a guy has to watch his figure.
There are a lot of good uses for fractions. First, they’re just plain good for the brain – like a puzzle. Also, they have a precision that decimals never could because they contain all the digits and aren’t truncated or rounded. Not to mention the “identity element” aspect, and a lot of other stuff.
I would argue that not only is learning fractions important and useful, but so is learning Roman numerals. Furthermore, we ought to find a way to combine the two of them and have a messed-up Roman fractions of some sort. Naturally I’d flunk the course, but it’d certain give some geeks something to do.
It’s the same concept as multiplication tables. Kids still learn those, right? It’s important to know how math works, not just that we can plug numbers in a calculator and get the correct answer.
Huh? Fractions are a part of everyday life. I guess he doesn’t live in the real world. We travel 3.5 miles to the store or I use 3/4 a cup of flour in this recipe or I give 2 1/2 tsps of Benedryl to the kid for allergies. Fractions then, Fractions now, Fractions Tomorrow!
Yeah. Fractions aren’t that hard to use.
It’s also important to know how to multiply/divide/add/subtract them. Especially when you get one of those “No calculator” quizzes.
They’re still useful.
Not only do you use them for sewing and baking, but you also use them in building and taking any kind of linear measurements.
I hate fractions, so I don’t see much use in them…they’re confusing.
I hate math, so I may be a little biased. Fractions suck, but so do decimals. Though I think fractions are easier to work with than decimals, if you’re working it out by hand. Decimals are good if you are able to use a calculater. I don’t know…all math is stupid. Necessary, yes, but stupid.
I had to do fractions at school without always the use of a calacutor some of the time, kids should be taught how to do fractions whether or not it be usefully for them in their future lives
I hate math. Always have, always will. But I do a ton of baking and fractions are the only way to work out recipes. Decimals just aren’t always as efficient. More accurate, yes, but less efficient.
This guy is a professor with awards?? What kind of awards? For being forward in stupidity? FRACTIONS are not only necessary in mathematics and in life, they earn big bucks…for banks and lending institutions. Just another piece of dumbing down. Can you imagine if configuration of a missle or spaceship or aircraft were designed to the whole? They would look like “blocks”….just like that blockhead mathematician!!!
now if they would just get rid of graphs, which, like the weatherman and the tooth fairy, i just dont believe in
Also, look at the use of 1/3 of the whole. Doesn’t that equal .33 1/3%? What does the math professes prepose to do with that fraction of a fraction percentile? Throw it away? Doesn’t that figure into getting the “correct” answer? or are we not concerned with correctness in FACTS anymore, also? Throw this guy out of the education system. He is a nut!
Fractions teach division, not fractions.
Banishing a toolset like fractions is unnecessary. He probably more wants to discourage teachers from relying on them.
frictions have an immense value. definitely should not be scrapped. I cook a lot, and will frequently have to multiply something (in my head–don’t keep a calculator handy) by 5/8 or something bizzare like that. but multiplying it by 5/8 is easier than multiplying it by 0.625. and if you work with unit multipliers a lot, it helps to have a basic knowledge of fractions.
and roman numerals are not obsolete. I use them all the time in my outlines! haha.
Werd to that guy
cause to me Decimals are way easier to calculate
one word: YES.
as a math major, i know it’s imperative that fractions are used. you will never have a decimal that is more accurate than a fraction.
I want to know how the hell he plans on teaching trig and calc without fractions, because they’re both a bitch with decimals. This is just another form of ‘new math’ creeping into our schools and making our children even more stupid.
@JimiRy -
…wait, don’t we know each other?!
Perhaps he was talking about the WORD fractions.
It is necessary to know your fractions, I use them all the time.
I HATE fractions with a passion, but we do use them so I don’t think it’s plausible.
Yes. I’m taking a Pre-calc class and there’s lots of times where you have to use fractions or make things fractions, you can’t keep them in decimal form. If we don’t teach children this, they’re going to get to high school and not understand how to use them and rules about them.
Um…I use them. Especially when I’m baking and such. And heck, I even use Roman numerals still. They’re important in music theory!
fractions are essential.
True, conversions, baking, tons of other stuff use fractions. Also, there are some numbers that can’t be represented without using fractions.
Having taken college Calc I and II, Physics I and II, and Differential Equations, there is quite a bit you cannot do without fractions…
This guy is dumb.
If you want a topic, how about getting rid of pennies? Are they even worth it?
I’m a math major, and although most of the time we don’t like to work with fractions, they are a very valuable tool. It is much easier to work with fractions than with decimals especially in higher level math classes.
Absolutely. Just because something can be done by computer doesn’t mean that understanding by hand isn’t useful. It’s like saying, we have keyboards. Let’s stop teaching people how to write which sadly is happening by attrition anyway.
I understand his logic (Doesn’t want them abolished, wants them to not be taught until Calculus). But really, they are fine as they are right now. I use them extensively in Geometry, and I won’t take Calculus until Senior year (I’m a Freshman). I could not imagining completing Geometry or even Algebra 1 (Last years course) without fractions. Things are good where they are.
I’d hate to try cooking without them!
oh, I don’t know. I personally hate fractions, because they’re the only thing I never quite got the hang of, but I guess saying 1/3 is better than saying 0.33333333333…
*sigh*. I guess even fractions have their place, even when it is a torturous one.
and roman numerals ARE not obsolete. they’re almost an art form, and they’re still being used today. in fact, I’d rather count in roman numerals.
umm…IDIOT! sorry but when the whole world falls apart we might need to do equations by hand. fractions are useful because they allow for precise & exact answers. i use fractions everyday. and love them. i $#&$ hate decimals to stFu!
Fractions for cooking or drawing up a blueprint, that is fine, but for the rest, leave me alone. Also, I like Roman numerals – makes things interesting.
XLIX
YES! Fractions are a building block of mathematics. I cannot believe a professor of mathematics would say this.
if you plan on being able to cook, then yes.
Two thirds of me agrees, one eigths doesn’t and …. well, now I know why learning fractions is important
fractions are the basis for proportions and cross multiplication. or the long line can be a dign for divisions… either ways… math is fun and i think fractions are basics people have to learn no matter what! it’s very valuable to me so i think it should stay!
from your reader’s responses, I would say this is why the U.S. is still stuck using the old standard vs metric system used everywhere else
people can’t even imagine the possibility of cooking without fractions
um… hello? how do people in other countries cook? or figure out mileage? or follow any kind of directions?
I mean according to this logic we shouldn’t even bother to teach kids how to measure using liters or centimeters because units of measurement based on the size of some guy’s foot is so much better
Yes, math is good for you.