Mental arithmetic expectations and discussion (1 Viewer)

[psyc1011]

Consider the following statement:

"If I am great at mathematics, then I am really good (faster than average) at mental arithmetic"

Agree or disagree?

Discuss.


EDIT: thank you if you participate, I will 'like'/'rep' all responses to show my appreciation. wanna see how people feel about the above statement

EDIT2: the mental arithmetic I was thinking was two 2-digit numbers and addition/subtraction of 2/3-digit numbers at a relatively quick pace

 

[AztecWarrior]

Disagree,
cause people doing high level maths use a calculator for logs and trig, and alot have a dependence on them

 

[dan964]

Disagree, sometimes you can be really good at the hard stuff and terrible at the easy stuff.

 

[si2136]

Disagree. Mental Arithmetic is a skill that you can practice and develop, most high level maths require critical thinking and calculators.

 

[InteGrand]

Very likely true, since we are only talking about being better than the "average". The average of the entire world at mental arithmetic, I'm guessing, is very slow. Someone great at mathematics is probably faster than this average.

 

[Silly Sausage]

tbh most engineers and physicists are wayyy better than mathematicians at mental arithmetic from what I've seen. This is probably because they actually deal with real values more.

 

[psyc1011]

Very likely true, since we are only talking about being better than the "average". The average of the entire world at mental arithmetic, I'm guessing, is very slow.

Fudge... failed the wording. Suppose that I said "noticeably remarkable mental arithemetic skills"

computing mulitiplication of two 2-digit numbers in under 2 seconds
computing addition and subtraction real quick, like 745+889 or 350-145 (under 2 seconds)

 

[si2136]

OP, define what you mean by mental arithmetic, Primary School 2-3 Digit Addition/Subtraction?

 

[InteGrand]

Fudge... failed the wording. Suppose that I said "noticeably remarkable mental arithemetic skills"

computing mulitiplication of two 2-digit numbers in under 2 seconds
computing addition and subtraction real quick, like 745+889 or 350-145 (under 2 seconds)

Oh. Then I'd say disagree. Most mathematicians rarely deal with 2-digit numbers .

 

[psyc1011]

OP, define what you mean by mental arithmetic, Primary School 2-3 Digit Addition/Subtraction?

My bad. I have made too many assumptions

yeah like maximum of multiplication of two 2-digit numbers and addition/subtraction of 2/3-digit numbers

 

[si2136]

It's just practice with 2-3 digit numbers.

 

[RealiseNothing]

Disagree,
cause people doing high level maths use a calculator for logs and trig, and alot have a dependence on them

Disagree. Mental Arithmetic is a skill that you can practice and develop, most high level maths require critical thinking and calculators.

Most high level maths really doesn't require calculators.

 

[psyc1011]

Thanks everyone for their input. I've encountered many parochial and ignorant friends who believe this statement (in original post) and it irks me

Little pop quiz: what logical fallacy is being commited in this statement (in original post)?

 

[InteGrand]

Thanks everyone for their input. I've encountered many parochial and ignorant friends who believe this statement (in original post) and it irks me

Little pop quiz: what logical fallacy is being commited in this statement (in original post)?

Converse error.

 

[RealiseNothing]

Converse error.

But would you really say that because some one is good at mental arithmetic they are good at maths?

 

[InteGrand]

But would you really say that because some one is good at mental arithmetic they are good at maths?

No. But perhaps some people think this (some people may think that this is what maths is all about).

 

[calamebe]

I'd say that someone who is great at math is more likely to be much better at mental arithmetic than the average person, but it doesn't mean that they are good at mental arithmetic.