Andrew Hacker's 2012 New York Times op-ed questioning the requirement of advanced mathematics in our schools instantly became one of the paper's most widely circulated articles. Why, he wondered, do we inflict a full menu of mathematics on all young Americans, regardless of their interests or aptitudes? The Math Myth expands Hacker's scrutiny of many widely held assumptions, like the notions that mathematics broadens our minds and that the entire Common Core syllabus should be required of every student. He worries that a frenzied emphasis on STEM is diverting attention from other pursuits and subverting the spirit of the country. In fact, Hacker honors mathematics as a calling (he has been a professor of mathematics) and extols its glories and its goals. Yet he shows how mandating it for everyone prevents other talents from being developed and acts as an irrational barrier to graduation and careers. He proposes alternatives, including teaching facility with figures, quantitative reasoning, and understanding statistics.
On the publication of Andrew Hacker's instant classic and bestselling Two Nations: Black and White, Separate, Hostile, Unequal, Newsweek described him as a "political scientist doing with statistics what Fred Astaire did with hats, canes, and chairs. he doesn't crunch numbers: he makes them live and breathe." Now, with the same keen, objective insight and wizardry with numbers, Hacker tackles the other emotionally charged issue that most preoccupies us, wealth and its distribution.
In MONEY, Hacker sifts through reams of data to answer the questions we most frequently ask about money:
Have women made real strides toward economic parity?
Has affirmative action improved the economic status of African Americans?
Does immigration really take jobs away from hardworking Americans?
Hacker's answers are surprising and fascinating, illuminating the financial condition of every strata of America. Shattering all the taboos we have on the subjects of wealth, poverty, and worth, MONEY is essential listening for anyone who wants to know more about their slice of the American pie.
