This one is new to me

[_EAllusion]

So in an article on the wonderful things students will be learning in taxpayer funded voucher schools in LA, this came up:

"Unlike the 'modern math' theorists, who believe that mathematics is a creation of man and thus arbitrary and relative, A Beka Book teaches that the laws of mathematics are a creation of God and thus absolute…A Beka Book provides attractive, legible, and workable traditional mathematics texts that are not burdened with modern theories such as set theory."

What the hell is the fundamentalists' beef with set theory? I read fundie material as a hobby and this is new to me as best I can recall. The rest of the article is old hat, though probably shocking to some people not as familiar with the culture, but I can't figure out what's going on here.

[_Kishkumen]

I hear they're also striking the troubling letter x from algebra.

[_hans castorp]

There are still quite a few Platonist and other non-relativistic mathematicians and philosophers of mathematics.

Nonetheless, as a homeschooling parent who has examined A Beka materials, I can only weep for any child taught from them.

hc

[_malkie]

I hear they're also striking the troubling letter x from algebra.

Fortunately, algebra can manage just fine with any other letter in place of 'x'.

Once the schools have progressively removed all of the other roman letters (as each one valiantly attempts to substitute for their BFF 'x'), algebra can retreat through the greek, cyrillic etc alphabets, perhaps pausing briefly in respect when they get to the Artist Formerly Known as Prince.

But it will all be just a stalling action, as even UTF-16 contains representations for only just over a million or so characters, and then where will they go. Algebra may as well give up now - it's a hopeless fight.

[_MrStakhanovite]

What the hell is the fundamentalists' beef with set theory? I read fundie material as a hobby and this is new to me as best I can recall. The rest of the article is old hat, though probably shocking to some people not as familiar with the culture, but I can't figure out what's going on here.

My guess, it is a reaction to what they perceive to be “modernism” which means any ground breaking idea that came about or grew in popularity in the 20th century. A Beka comes out of Bob Jones University, and belongs to a conservative strata of Christianity that is pretty much reactionary to anything not “God centered” (which you are well aware of), so I bet set theory got lumped into that based of some notion that the only “infinity” is God.


Here is a shining example, equating "relativity" with liberal poltical agenda.

[_MrStakhanovite]

You know, this isn’t too far from William Lane Craig, he has to reject the possibility of an “actual infinity” for his Kalam argument to function properly, which I think many consider to be him denying Cantor’s paradise, though he weakly affirms that in works in “theory”

[_Kishkumen]

I hear they're also striking the troubling letter x from algebra.

Fortunately, algebra can manage just fine with any other letter in place of 'x'.

Once the schools have progressively removed all of the other roman letters (as each one valiantly attempts to substitute for their BFF 'x'), algebra can retreat through the greek, cyrillic etc alphabets, perhaps pausing briefly in respect when they get to the Artist Formerly Known as Prince.

But it will all be just a stalling action, as even UTF-16 contains representations for only just over a million or so characters, and then where will they go. Algebra may as well give up now - it's a hopeless fight.

Oh, I am aware tat it can function without an x. It was a joke paying on other associations that letter carries.

[_Darth J]

I hear they're also striking the troubling letter x from algebra.

It's time to put the Christ back in "algebra."

[_Darth J]

I hear they're also striking the troubling letter x from algebra.

We also need to remove the letter "y" from algebra, because trying to determine "y" encourages secular questioning of one's faith.

[_Kishkumen]

I hear they're also striking the troubling letter x from algebra.

We also need to remove the letter "y" from algebra, because trying to determine "y" encourages secular questioning of one's faith.

Exactly. Now you see the problem. In Texas they are striking out 'critical thinking.' We all know what a can of worms that opens up.