Roman numerals, anyone? Poll suggests bias against Arabic numerals

[PupCamo]

https://triblive.com/news/roman-numerals-anyone-poll-suggests-bias-against-arabic-numerals/

Who knows exactly what a new poll says about mathematics in America, but the reactions to a recent poll on the topic are a little alarming.

When CivicScience, a Pittsburgh-based market research firm, polled more than 3,200 Americans on the issue of mathematics instruction last week, 56% of the respondents said Arabic numerals should not be taught in American schools; 29% said it should be part of the curriculum, while 16% offered no opinion.

Ladies and Gentlemen: The saddest and funniest testament to American bigotry we've ever seen in our data. pic.twitter.com/Bh3FBsl8sR

— John Dick (@jdcivicscience) May 11, 2019

Did they realize we’ve been using Arabic numerals for just about everything under the sun since the founding fathers gave us 10 amendments in the Bill of Rights?

I can't anymore

[Eko]

1. I cant anymore either.

[lagomorph777]

49. The Reptilian Party is COUNTING on voters to be ignorant.

[manor321]

2. Personally I dislike imaginary numbers

I mean, imaginary! That's crazy!

[Xipe Totec]

19. And irrationals. Don't get me started

Who wants crazy berserk numbers?

Nobody, that's who.

Bad enough that we have prime numbers.

What about the rest? Are they somehow inferior?

More peasanty?

[lagomorph777]

47. So... square root of negative pi would be terrible, right?

I like cardinal numbers; they remind me of chess or the middle ages.

[Xipe Totec]

59. Cardinals are too Catholic for my taste. Long live the Ordinals!

[lagomorph777]

61. I also have Cardinals living in my trees - no ordinals yet.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. However, go to most Arab countries, and you'll find their numerals are different from ours

see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Arabic_mathematical_notation . It is possible to say those are "Arabic numerals", and hardly anyone in the west is taught them. Particularly confusing is the symbol for 5, that looks more like a 0. So it can look like this note is literally worthless:

[CrispyQ]

57. Thanks for that!

I wish the US would get over all green bills & go with different colors. Also fewer white men would be nice.

[superpatriotman]

4. Jonah Ryan 2020!

[Yavin4]

14. Laugh all you want, but a Jonah Ryan could be the next Republican nominee.

Easily.

[dsc]

21. as a math teacher I laughed so hard I was about to pee

for that story line.

[Celerity]

50. roflmaooooo

How to Write a Jonah Insult

https://www.vulture.com/2019/05/how-to-write-a-jonah-ryan-insult-on-veep.html

Jonah: I would just like to point out that the official count cannot be trusted.

Furlong: Oh no, Beautiful Mind-fuck, you are not going to desecrate my convention with any more of this Muslim-math nonsense.

Jonah: How do you explain that when I add up my delegates with Christian math—

Buddy: Amen!

[smirkymonkey]

5. It's official.

We are the stupidest nation on the planet.

[cynatnite]

6. If I'm unconscious after banging my head against the wall, someone call an ambulance for me. n/t

[Saviolo]

11. What was the number again?

IX I I?

[cynatnite]

12. ...

[FailureToCommunicate]

15. ...

[Pobeka]

24. How do I punch those up in my phone?

If I convert the letters to the keypad it would be 4-9-4-4 ?



Help me I'm so confused!

[sprinkleeninow]

27. ...

[Midnightwalk]

39. CMXI actually

[Pobeka]

45. LOL! n/t

[NurseJackie]

7. Oh good grief! We're doomed!

and

[defacto7]

8. There are a lot of english words to get rid of then

because they have Arabic origins like
candy, lemon, chemistry, coffee, massage (Turkish to French), tangerine, tariff, zero... there are a lot more....

[AZ8theist]

26. Including 90% of the star and constellation names...

[defacto7]

34. Oh, there aren't really any stars anyway.

Those are little angels beckoning us toward the great sphere of heaven that surrounds us who are the center of the universe.

[AZ8theist]

40. oops, yeah I forgot..

Space is fake.
We never landed on the moon.
The earth is flat.
The sun and moon are only 3000 miles away.
Vaccines cause republicanism.
Prayer will cure any disease or condition.

The glass firmament was put there 6000 years ago.

Jeebus rose from the dead and is due back ANY MINUTE NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[defacto7]

42. Oh..uh... I didn't know all that stuff. Just the.. little angels thing.

Good to know there's some reliable education out there.... thanks. I might'a gone ta hell or somewhere bad... like Bakersfield.

[Sentath]

60. oh dear, what a thought.

Open up the dictionary. If it starts with a-l-vowel it might be in danger.

[Panich52]

9. Yall watch "Veep"?

MSNBC had writer from Veep on few days ago. He was amazed how politicians seem to mirror the show instead of the other way around. One example was Repub who used splitting logs in his ad. Veep had already done that. Now it seems the same character has spawned more The Onion-like reaction. In last 2 episodes he was against Arabic numerals.

What the fuck is this country coming to?!

[Mendocino]

10. How about this.

Umptray isyay ayay igpay.

[Yavin4]

13. Okay fine. Putin, you win.

Take us over. What is the point?

[patphil]

16. I can think of V good reasons why people don't know that our numbers are Arabic.

Bring back Roman Numerals!

[JoeOtterbein]

17. What did they think 10 Commandments meant? nt

[AZ8theist]

25. The Reich wing rubes can't count that high...

Home schooled, ya know....

[Fritz Walter]

54. Not true!

Unless one or more fingers were amputated.

Just don't ask them to count to 20 -- it takes too long for them to take their shoes off!

[BadgerKid]

31. Exactly. Both Commandments.

[JoeOtterbein]

37. Now you have me wondering which two they would like it to be! nt

[Mr.Bill]

18. What this poll really says

is that 56% of Americans don't know what Arabic numerals are. Which is just as bad.

[Beartracks]

20. Bigotry + ignorance. -- 1,2,3,4,5 Look, morans! Arabic Numerals!!

Conservatives: Lowering the Bar in America Since (at least) 1980.

===================

[Crash2Parties]

22. Even worse is they came from India, not the mid-east.

They were only introduced to europeans by arab traders.

[ProudLib72]

41. That's true!

I was going to say something about this, but I'm glad someone else is in the know!

[AZ8theist]

23. The dumbing down of America..

Repukes plan coming to fruition...

[burrowowl]

63. Actually, the stultification of America

started with Raygun!

[burrowowl]

28. It was in the Onion, right?!

[highplainsdem]

32. Oh, how we wish it were only in the Onion...

[sarisataka]

29. On one hand we have Arabic numerals

On the other we could use Roman numerals

But why do we limit ourselves to those 10 choices?

[NCjack]

33. There are good numbers on both hands. nt

[defacto7]

35. We could go the way of the Proto Indo-Europeans

They used base 60. It was actually a much more useful system than our base 10.

[KatyMan]

58. LOL

Nice one.

[TexasTowelie]

30. Lots of opposition in Brookings, South Dakota.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1238546

[Kaleva]

36. We actually use Western Arabic numerals. Eastern Arabic numerals are different.

[dsc]

46. yeah the eastern ones are communist

[lagomorph777]

48. LOL

[Docreed2003]

38. Idiocracy...

[BootinUp]

44. Bigotry and with a yuge helping of ignorance. Nt

[Celerity]

51. ahh, the recipe for boiled trumpkins

[tazkcmo]

52. Down with women's suffrage!

They've suffered enough.

[HopeAgain]

53. That's 1,792 morons...

in Arabic Numerals.

[LuvLoogie]

55. Count the Wheels!

[CrispyQ]

56. This is why the GOP focused on filling Boards of Education back in the 80s.

They also funded think tanks to craft their message, like trickle-down-economics and Cadillac queens. And they bought up radio stations to broadcast that message. They got jerks like Limbaugh to poke fun at the word liberal, putting pretty much the whole Democratic Party on the defensive. The GOP has been playing the long game.

I wonder how many how voted against Arabic numerals could even write to 10 in Roman numerals, much less 100?

[kskiska]

62. When my doctor gives me my annual senility test

where I have to draw a clock with numbers, I always do them in Roman numerals.

[jmowreader]

64. I remember learning what "Arabic" numbers are

In the 4th grade, on the first day of class, we had a math quiz: “In Hindu-Arabic numerals, write down these numbers...” and then she read off a list of 25 numbers.

I had never heard the term before so I figured it was just another name for Roman numerals, and wrote it out that way.

Come on...when you’re nine years old and you live in Idaho in the early 1970s, you have no idea numbers have an official name.