Math is making you dumber
It's obviously not, but I can't resist playing around with clickbait
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Today’s brain tickler:
A boat has a ladder that’s 10 feet long and hangs on the side of the boat. The last 2 feet of the ladder are submerged in water. If the ocean tide rises 5 feet, how much of the ladder will be underwater?
I can already hearing you adding and subtracting, which reminds me:
Ew, math.
This is an unpopular opinion, but math is so uninspiring to me when it comes to creative problem solving. I know math experts and aficionados will send me hate mail and say I have no idea what I’m talking about.
Hissy fit aside, if you look at most studies and papers, these talk about how math CAN enhance creativity and that approaching math WITH creativity is a beautiful mental exercise that bolsters a variety of cognitive functions.
However most education programs royally fuck up when it comes to that. But that’s a different conversation.
Creativity can bolster anything, even manual labor. In fact, plenty of inventions have come to life because people were tired (or lazy) of doing the same repetitive task over and over again.
However, that repetitive task was not the source of creativity, it was the the catalyst for enacting change. Math helps with something called working memory, but I’d say that it’s very difficult to show that math has a higher direct impact on creativity compared to any other basic cognitive process.
So here’s food for thought.
What if math and memory-based sports (chess, for example) actually do more harm than good to creativity compared to other, more fluid activities?
Studies have shown that even chess grandmasters, who have legendary visual memory, struggle to apply that skill outside the chess world.
Obviously, that doesn’t mean math is bad and we should all sing kumbaya and paint Bob Ross landscapes. I’m just suggesting an alternative train of thought:
What if math and other repetitive, memory-driven activities stifle creativity? If that’s true, shouldn’t we then look at having a balanced diet?
Think of it like eating 8 diversified meals per day. Add some repetitive tasks (hello, Microsoft Excel), play around with some creative ones (hello, writing this fabulous newsletter), while also making sure you have a good mix of output and input.
That means give yourself time to breathe and ingest new information. Not everything has to be productive.
In a world of extremes, make sure you’re getting all the essential nutrients, not just overdosing on one.
Answer: 2 feet, silly. If the water level rises, the boat rises with it.
Honestly, this was a pretty rational one. If you got it right on the spot, you might be a hyper vertical thinker. Just like you might be a murderer if you got yesterday’s one right. Kudos!