"Gabriela, sooner or later someone's going to tell you that algebra teaches reasoning. This is a lie propagated by, among others, algebra teachers. Writing is the highest form of reasoning."
Not surprisingly, this statement comes from a professional writer. :)
And by his work product, I'd contend he's disproven his own statement.
"Gabriela, sooner or later someone's going to tell you that algebra teaches reasoning. This is a lie propagated by, among others, algebra teachers. Writing is the highest form of reasoning."
Not surprisingly, this statement comes from a professional writer. :)
An incompetent professional writer. He compared what he claims to be the highest form of reasoning to something that teaches reasoning. Nobody said that algebra is the highest form of reasoning. Nor did anyone say that teaching algebra is the most effective way to teach reasoning.
More likely, Richard Cohen knew exactly what he was writing and knew it was deceptive. That is not professionalism. Excuse me, in MSM journalism it may be that the art of deception is professionalism.
Is Calculus possible without algebra? Could Einstein have developed the theory of general relativity without algebra? Could we have computer chips, processors and nuclear technologies without algebra?
If the answer to those questions is no, I'm sure there are other technologies that couldn't have been invented or developed without algebra. Thereby Richard Cohen demonstrating his gross ignorance, or worse, a sloppy attempt at deception.
"Since that time, modern algebra—also called abstract algebra—has continued to develop. Important new results have been discovered, and the subject has found applications in all branches of mathematics and in many of the sciences, as well." History of AlgebraAlgebra