I think that Jensen's position as the guy selling the proverbial shovels incentivizes him to take a lot of irresponsible positions (namely around safety) but imo he's fundamentally correct here.
As sometime who's memorized but also forgotten their timetables while still managing to go through Algebra I. I don't understand the importance for memorizing times tables (or any other tables for that matter).
There are basic skills that everyone should learn, being able to do simple math in your head is a building block for more complex reasoning.
I once had a roommate who I encouraged to divide our grocery bill by 2 in his head for splitting the bill, by the end of the year he was quick and accurate.
That doesn't follow. I'm not especially gifted at mental math yet I've been able to learn various programming languages and libraries and dev tools. I've also been able understand and implement some algorithms.
Quick math. Basic financial literacy. Times tables are for arithmetic, the working man's math. Algebra is an entirely different math which solves different problems and deals more in the abstract.
You can definitely get past algebra without knowing your times tables, but algebra isn't going to help you in the checkout line to make sure you received the correct amount of change and bought the correct number of goods.
Most people on a budget (i.e. the vast majority of people) are constantly using exact or approximate multiplication while shopping. And they are rarely whipping out their calculator for this purpose.
Why not just use the calculator app on your smart phone? That's what I do. (School made me all too aware of how easy it is for me to get the wrong answer when trying to do calculations mentally)
Depends on the calculation and context, it is definitely advisable to use tools for complex or high-risk situations, dividing the dinner bill by 2 or 3, that should not require a calculator or one of the thousands of bill splitting apps, perhaps it is a bit harder when you want divide bill by items, but not a high risk situation.
practice makes perfect, exercise your brain like your body
bennettpompi1 · · focus · HN ↗
verdverm · · focus · HN ↗
while I generally agree on his open weight stances, I lost all respect in that moment, everyone of these people are so out of touch
bobajeff · · focus · HN ↗
verdverm · · focus · HN ↗
I once had a roommate who I encouraged to divide our grocery bill by 2 in his head for splitting the bill, by the end of the year he was quick and accurate.
bobajeff · · focus · HN ↗
verdverm · · focus · HN ↗
soulofmischief · · focus · HN ↗
You can definitely get past algebra without knowing your times tables, but algebra isn't going to help you in the checkout line to make sure you received the correct amount of change and bought the correct number of goods.
abdullahkhalids · · focus · HN ↗
bobajeff · · focus · HN ↗
[deleted] · · focus · HN ↗
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verdverm · · focus · HN ↗
practice makes perfect, exercise your brain like your body
watwut · · focus · HN ↗