When you were in algebra class, you learned a number of formulas. Why? There you were, a middle school student, looking at letters bound to other letters by the symbols of arithmetic. So what? What does an X have to do with anything that would be of interest to a preteen or young teenager? Ah! The adults had a conspiracy. They wanted to infuse your brain with a way of thinking that would spill over into almost every opinion you would have later in life. “What good is algebra? When will I ever have to use it?” you asked.
And now, here you are, years later using the methods of algebraic proofs in your daily life. How so? To answer, let’s look at what algebra might use. If I say
ax^2 + bx + 3 = 0
what am I saying? You might remember that as the standard form of a quadratic equation. Why the letters in front of the Xs? Well, you could put numbers there. The letters “a” and “b” stand in for coefficients of the Xs. But how would you know that to resolve the equation you could use something as simple as
-b+ /- √(b)2 -4(a)(c)
--------------------------- ?
2(a)
This is where you come in personally. The reason for the “a,” the “b,” and the “c” (which is 3 in the equation), is that the problem can always be solved. We know that whatever numbers we put in place of the “a” and the “b,” we can always find the solution and get to the root of the problem. Somebody figured out that it would be impossible to demonstrate the validity of the solution if we just used numbers instead of letters. We would have an infinite number of numbers to test, and we would never know whether or not this algebraic process would be correct the next time we used it. With the letters we overcome the problems that individual numbers would pose. You have used this system of proof most, if not all, of your life to validate your opinions.
Nerds. Stupid people. Beautiful people. Used car salesmen. Rocket scientists. Street people. Druggies. Politicians. Any group becomes the coefficient of X. The system makes it easy for you to prove your point, whatever that point is. “Oh! Look. It’s a famous singer! Quick! Get the camera. I want a Selfie.” Why?
The “a” and “b” make confirmation bias easy. The proof always works for you regardless of the value of either “a” or “b.” You have predetermined that your solution to the problem of humanity will always work. Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, European Americans, Jews, Protestants, Catholics, Muslims, Hindus, Atheists, Agnostics, Animists, and the neighbors down the street: Plug any of them into the process and you always come up with an easy solution in its infinite variety. Nerds are not good sports pundits. Nuns know nothing about sex. Beautiful people rarely have blemishes or physical ailments. This group is bad. That group is good. Plug the individuals into any of your equations, and you get the answers you want. You can get the root of the problem. Why are others having so much difficulty learning YOUR algebraic system?
You get the roots of the problem because you have a handy method that always works for you. Regardless of the specific nature of the individual, you’re always right. Maybe you did learn something from algebraic proofs and processes. Just remember that people are neither coefficients nor Xs.
And now, here you are, years later using the methods of algebraic proofs in your daily life. How so? To answer, let’s look at what algebra might use. If I say
ax^2 + bx + 3 = 0
what am I saying? You might remember that as the standard form of a quadratic equation. Why the letters in front of the Xs? Well, you could put numbers there. The letters “a” and “b” stand in for coefficients of the Xs. But how would you know that to resolve the equation you could use something as simple as
-b+ /- √(b)2 -4(a)(c)
--------------------------- ?
2(a)
This is where you come in personally. The reason for the “a,” the “b,” and the “c” (which is 3 in the equation), is that the problem can always be solved. We know that whatever numbers we put in place of the “a” and the “b,” we can always find the solution and get to the root of the problem. Somebody figured out that it would be impossible to demonstrate the validity of the solution if we just used numbers instead of letters. We would have an infinite number of numbers to test, and we would never know whether or not this algebraic process would be correct the next time we used it. With the letters we overcome the problems that individual numbers would pose. You have used this system of proof most, if not all, of your life to validate your opinions.
Nerds. Stupid people. Beautiful people. Used car salesmen. Rocket scientists. Street people. Druggies. Politicians. Any group becomes the coefficient of X. The system makes it easy for you to prove your point, whatever that point is. “Oh! Look. It’s a famous singer! Quick! Get the camera. I want a Selfie.” Why?
The “a” and “b” make confirmation bias easy. The proof always works for you regardless of the value of either “a” or “b.” You have predetermined that your solution to the problem of humanity will always work. Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, European Americans, Jews, Protestants, Catholics, Muslims, Hindus, Atheists, Agnostics, Animists, and the neighbors down the street: Plug any of them into the process and you always come up with an easy solution in its infinite variety. Nerds are not good sports pundits. Nuns know nothing about sex. Beautiful people rarely have blemishes or physical ailments. This group is bad. That group is good. Plug the individuals into any of your equations, and you get the answers you want. You can get the root of the problem. Why are others having so much difficulty learning YOUR algebraic system?
You get the roots of the problem because you have a handy method that always works for you. Regardless of the specific nature of the individual, you’re always right. Maybe you did learn something from algebraic proofs and processes. Just remember that people are neither coefficients nor Xs.
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