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Comment Re:And yet... (Score 1) 2987

No, the most popular rounds by far for precision shooting are the .30-06 (the Marines use this round for sniping, it will penetrate military body armor at range), the .338 Lapua Magnum (used by the SEALS as anti-material, also holds the record for the second longest sniper kill at 1.5miles), the 0.5 BMG (can punch a 2" steel plate at 100 yards, holds the world record sniper shot). You need the weight of a heavier round to prevent the air currents from pushing the bullet around too much.

Comment Re:The NYT's Missed the Reason for Algebra Altoget (Score 1) 158

There is no such thing as "philosophical logic". There is only logic. Philosophy uses logic to reason about the world, but you can't reason in the first place without logic. And yes algebra is the, mathematically speaking, the foundation of logic. Algebra introduces the entire concept of a variable. Tell me exactly how one can make a philosophical argument of any merit without understanding the fundamental of abstraction. It is not the be all and end all of abstraction, and of symbolic manipulation, but it pretty close. Most children grasp the concept of metaphor and simile precisely the same time they grasp the basic concepts of algebra for a reason.

Comment The NYT's Missed the Reason for Algebra Altogether (Score 5, Insightful) 158

The reason is not algebra's application to daily life. The reason you teach algebra is because algebra teaches symbolic manipulation. Learning math teaches you not just how to add two numbers. Addition is almost unnecessary in daily life (we do have calculators). Learning algebra is critical because it teaches us to think in terms of abstractions, of models. We do not teach mathematics to teach you how to add, we teach mathematics to teach you how to solve, to teach you how to think.

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Math is like love -- a simple idea but it can get complicated. -- R. Drabek

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