David Strom:
This movement is so profoundly stupid that the people pushing it don't seem to realize that it emphasizes how backward some societies actually were. There may be many things to admire in indigenous societies, but their grasp of mathematics is generally not one of them. And to the extent that they were mathematically literate, they corresponded well enough with so-called "European" mathematics.
These types of courses have nothing to do with the "math" or "science" they claim to be celebrating. They have everything to do with the growing anti-Westernism pervading our universities and educational institutions.
No doubt, the very same people who push this intellectual mush would turn around and complain if we denied Western medicine to an indigenous person who needed a kidney transplant, and with good reason. No herb or potion could match the efficacy of good ol' colonialist medicine in such cases.
Plenty of wisdom may be buried in indigenous ways of life, but it isn't in their math or science. As blind as Westerners may be to some of the rhythms of life or the wisdom of diets without processed foods, I doubt indigenous math could land a probe on Mars.
# posted by Ranger @ 9:24 PM
