Why do you think so many people are bad at maths?

[kamil9876]

Tbh the thread started from workbook and highschool level, not this stuff. After all we're students here so we told the anecdotes we experienced. Most people who posted here, a lot of 'spec buffs' weren't attacking any nations but just things on a very local level, and they weren't saying it's too 'easy' but quite the opposite: that there are too many "leaps".

And btw, Terry Tao is just a talent and of course Ausrtalia will have these because people of this sort can excell as long as they get access to good libraries, a few competitions and extension programs and I think Australia is very good at these. (just look at IMO gold medalist from Aus). Only the average highschool level has 'problems' really but the big talents can do well in Aus no doubt.

[TrueTears]

"Isn't that the whole point of the thread? Poorer education==>Less opportunities."

Who the heck said or even implied that?

Opportunities?

Read the thread name please. We are not talking about opportunities.

[kamil9876]

True but I am talking about his background. Chinese parents do put more pressure on children then most Australians.

That's not what makes and cannot make superstars like Terry Tao. For that kind of thing you need to be able to motivate and nurture talent and in a lot of ways this comes from the opposite of pressure.

But yes, probably does help in achieving well in highschool

[TrueTears]

I never said Terry Tao was a genius because of his parents, I just said his background obviously helped him become one.

[kamil9876]

True but I am talking about his[Terry Tao] background. Chinese parents do put more pressure on children then most Australians.

This juxtapositioning made me think that you are implying pressure => Tao-like ability. Which I just had to show my disagreement of.

[TrueTears]

But did I say this pressure made Tao become what he is? No, like I said I was simply stating a notable pattern that Chinese parents put more pressure on their children than Australian parents.

For "his" background I am talking about "Chinese" background, not a single person's background.

Also say Terry Tao's parents didn't immigrate to Australia? He'd be a Chinese genius no?

It's not the country that produces the genius, it's the individual who produces the genius.

[kamil9876]

can't blame me for misinterpreting you with juxtapositioning like that.

[kamil9876]

can't blame me for misinterpreting you with juxtapositioning like that.

Maybe Australia should improve their comprehension skillz too.

Gimme some of that pressure and discipline biatch!

[TrueTears]

can't blame me for misinterpreting you with juxtapositioning like that.

Maybe Australia should improve their comprehension skillz too.

Gimme some of that chineese pressure and discipline biatch!

LOL

[Toothpaste]

So do you reckon skills/higher ability in mathematics are inborn (i.e. genetics); or acquired through experience and certain types of conditioning (i.e. affected by pressure from parents, exposure to maths problems early)? Or the combination of both? Also known as the debate of nature Vs. nurture.

In a language more suitable for this topic:
development of skills = biological factors + environmental stimulation?

[JuzzLee]

poorer education could mean the lack of resources, correct guidance, or the recognition of the importance of education. Especially for maths subjects, it is important to explore students' interests otherwise it would be merely "rot learning". As the thread starter has mentioned, this may be a cause of people being bad at maths, which may eventually lead to undesirable study scores. as a result, future maths academical related career opportunies may be restrained.

it is certainly true that a large proportion of Asian parents pay much attention on their children's education, and some parents' high educational background may even further benefit their children's academic success. However, that doesn't mean the top mathematicians in Australia are only limited to asians, there are heaps more other than terrence tao. there are many non-asian family who emphasise education and care about their children's study just as much as asian parents do. My point being that a person's family background, environment, which are irrelevant to their race, can affect his academic status.

[TrueTears]

So do you reckon skills/higher ability in mathematics are inborn (i.e. genetics); or acquired through experience and certain types of conditioning (i.e. affected by pressure from parents, exposure to maths problems early)? Or the combination of both? Also known as the debate of nature Vs. nurture.

In a language more suitable for this topic:
development of skills = biological factors + environmental stimulation?

That sums up everything.

[Glockmeister]

So do you reckon skills/higher ability in mathematics are inborn (i.e. genetics); or acquired through experience and certain types of conditioning (i.e. affected by pressure from parents, exposure to maths problems early)? Or the combination of both? Also known as the debate of nature Vs. nurture.

In a language more suitable for this topic:
development of skills = biological factors + environmental stimulation?

I think for something like academic subjects like these, it's probably more nurture than nature. That said sometimes, parents putting pressure on people to perform can have the opposite effect to what is intended. This is because the possibility of failure could easily reduce the self-efficacy of a person, leading to reduced performance in exams and the ilk. Or to put it more simply, students may lose confidence in their own ability to do maths (or any other subject for that matter).

It may also be the possibility that this Asian=smart stereotype could be exaggerated. Often, we tend to notice the most poignant examples, in this case, Asians with ENTERs (or ATARs) of >99. By doing this, we forget about the possibly larger number of Asians with very low ENTER scores, a bias known as availability bias.

[ninwa]

Before saying China educates its citizens better than Australia does, look at their unemployment rates, and the percent of the populus living under the poverty line in comparison to that of Australia.

You bring that up as if it were conclusive evidence that China's education system is inferior. It is not. You were right the first time:

Competition in China/India is greater than that in Australia.

No matter how educated you are, if there are millions of people who are equally educated, then of course there will be unemployment. When my mother graduated from high school, she was the only one who got a place in university out of her class of ~100, not because the rest of them were incompetent but because there were so many high school graduates trying to get into university. Employment is the same.

Also this thread is now moved to the general maths board because it really had nothing to do with further maths.

[lukeperry91]

If China nurtures education so much, why don't they build and fund more Universities?
And to what TT said about opportunities: isn't that the whole point of getting an education? The opportunity to proceed on to excel with further learning, to join the skilled workforce?