Ann Coulter Might Be Replaced

Ann Coulter, my least favorite conservative, is in danger of being replaced by Catherine Seipp:

I’ve never needed algebra, and in fact have noticed that in everyday life fast arithmetic can trump advanced math. I used to ask a physics-major friend to estimate the tip when we had lunch, thinking that because she went to Caltech she’d be much better than little old math idiot me. But then I began to notice I’d figured out the tip in my head while she was still staring vaguely at the bill, presumably distracted by passing thoughts of quantum mechanics.

You need, not only algebra, but calculus as well to understand why “peak-oil” hysteria is utter nonsense. You can try the usual dodge of people who didn't learn anything in school and get the information from somebody else, but that amounts to “my expert can beat up your expert.”

On a practical level, I suspect that people who thought they didn't have to remember high-school math are keeping Las Vegas and Atlantic City in business.

On a not so practical level, abstract algebra is helpful in solving Rubik's Cube.