[robot_no_421]

It's way, way more than just a tool that improves thought. It's a necessary tool to organize your life. How can you even budget or use a credit card responsibly if you don't know algebra? You need algebra to know how long a paycheck can last you.

My dad didn't graduate high school and even he knew enough algebra to work out how much money he needed a month for cigarettes (until he eventually quit once he really thought about the numbers).

[kazinator]

That's a good question. Historic human societies without algebra somehow had working bean counting.

Using a credit card isn't very abstract.

You only have to use the concrete specific values in your situation, and not solve some generality.

Moreover, I don't think I had to ever square anything, let alone, cube, when reckoning over credit card transactions. Or find the roots of a polynomial, or do anything with polynomials.

I'm not saying that the intuitions gained from algebra are not relevant, mind you.

[robot_no_421]

> Using a credit card isn't very abstract.

To use a credit card responsibly you need to understand the concept of exponential growth, or you might accidentally turn a manageable $500 debt into a burdensome $5000 debt. Same goes for understanding good debt (mortgages) vs bad debt.

It might not be solving a polynomial per se, but I don't see how you get to understanding exponential equations without at least understanding algebra.

[recursive]

I don't think you really need abstract representations to do basic budgeting. Adding and subtracting concrete quantities can get you pretty far.

[kazinator]

When it comes to spending money on credit, you need an intuition for running sums. This lets you maintain an estimate in your head tracking how much you charged on the card.

People without that intuition are surprised at how fast the little charges added up to an unexpectedly large sum.

But I only spent a hundred here or there; how did it blow past $4700?

[Loocid]

I'm a big proponent for math education but I don't think budgeting or dealing with credit cards requires anything past basic arithmetic.