What Mathematics Can Teach Us About Human Nature

It highlights the aversion that people have to doing hard things. People will do unbelievable mental gymnastics to convince themselves that doing an easy, enjoyable thing that is unrelated to their supposed goal somehow moves the needle more than doing a hard, unpleasant thing that is directly related to said goal.

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I recently saw someone online suggesting that to take advantage of the “humanistic mathematics” perspective, teachers could incorporate exercises like “juggling balls [which] could foster a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts in a hands-on and engaging manner.”

Juggling balls fosters a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts in the same way that eating ice cream or playing with puppies fosters a deeper understanding of biology: it doesn’t.

Sure, it would be nice if you could have kids text with each other on their phones to deepen their understanding of the math behind waves. Or if they could watch funny YouTube videos to deepen their understanding of the mathematical algorithms that make video streaming possible.

But I suppose that in itself is a way in which mathematics can teach us about human nature – it highlights the aversion that people have to doing hard things.

People will do unbelievable mental gymnastics to convince themselves that doing an easy, enjoyable thing that is unrelated to their supposed goal somehow moves the needle more than doing a hard, unpleasant thing that is directly related to said goal.

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