It is worthwhile to learn math
- Details
- Published on 2011. február 02. szerda, 18:57
Some people, even today, boast that they never understood math. I've never understood why they are not ashamed instead.
I was allways thinking that studying math makes thinking more efficient and precise. Without doubt, one can be very clever without studying math, but who did not learn math losts his opportunities to be more clever.
Now, I have a proof: A study of college students' scores on admission tests for graduate and professional schools showed that students majoring in mathematics received scores substantially higher than the average on each of the tests studied. The study, by the National Institute of Education, compared the scores of 550,000 college students who took the LSAT and GMAT with data collected over the previous eighteen years. The table below excerpts some of this data from THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION. The entries show the percentage by which the mean score of test takers from specific undergraduate majors differs from the mean score of all test takers.
| Major | LSAT | GMAT |
| Mathematics |
+12.8% |
+13.3% |
| Arts and Music |
-0.05% |
-1.2% |
| Biology |
+4.0% |
+3.3% |
| Business |
-4.5% |
-0.8% |
| Chemistry |
+7.6% |
+7.5% |
| Economics |
+9.6% |
+7.3% |
| Education |
-8.7% |
-4.2% |
| English |
+5.6% |
+4.1% |
| Foreign Languages |
+5.7% |
+3.3% |
| History |
+2.9% |
+4.6% |
| Philosophy |
+8.7% |
+11.0% |
| Political Science |
-1.6% |
+0.06% |
| Psychology |
+0.9% |
+0.8% |
| Sociology |
-7.0% |
-5.0% |
So, one should learn math! And yes, my other favorite, philosophy should also be learned! Etc... :-))
Source: Why major in Mathematics?