Is history as important, or more important, than Maths?

[Mr Jack]

I hate mathematicians. Granted numbers have their essential uses, but the idea that you can sum up the origin of the universe with a stream of numbers that mankind invented (they're NOT universal constants, merely arbitrary frames of reference) is frankly arrogant and absurd.

Sounds like you hate physicists more than mathematicians. Why do you feel this way about people trying to create a model of the universe with the best tools they have yet invented for doing so?
Many times throughout history our current mathematical tools have proved to be inadequate; they have been replaced by newly invented branches of maths more suited to the task. It may be true that to model the universe at the next level of complexity we shall require a system very different from the one we use now, but that does not make their endeavour less worthy, or mean that mathematics is obsolete.

There is an extremely powerful correlation between what we observe, and the mathematical models built to describe them. Do not dismiss Science so quickly.

As to the question, I believe it is futile to argue over which is more vital to society.

Mathematics is fundamental to our understanding of the world, not just in the theoretical sense that Alandoril disparages, as it also underpins our system of logic. to be able to think mathematically is necessary for any kind of society worthy of the name.

History, if we take it as everything that is remembered of the past, represents the sum of human knowledge. All art, science and philosophy falls under this. Even starting with the concept of modern maths, having no "history would leave us blind, on unfamiliar ground.

It is like arguing whether water or air is most important.

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

Well what is learned from History can be important for not repeating mistakes personally I think Maths is a bit more important for a practical everyday application as nothing around you would exist without Maths. Computer runs using Binary Code and Boolean Algebra, the applied use of total internal reflection in fiber optics(although that is physics as well), etc.

 

[SuperNashwan]

History helps us understand who we are. Maths helps us understand the universe. They are both important as long as we are human beings seeking to understand existence.

 

[Thaliur]

History is equaly important because of the old saying of those who fail to learn from history is doomed to repeat it.

I've heard this often enough, I'm German after all...

Pretty much all our history lessons from seventh grade on (when we left the interesting epochs where society actually developed, things were invented, cities were built...) were about third Reich.
I understand that it was a bad time to be around for anyone, but everything I actually learned from these lessons was "Don't be stupid", and - frankly - I already knew that from watching Transformers and MASK as a child.

I didn't learn anything useful in history, only a few interesting bits about medieval warfare.
Judging from the time devoted to specific events in history class, mankind went from fish to industry in about two weeks, and then stayed in the second World War for roughly thirty years. Nothing happened afterwards, we just suddenly made a jump to "now".

Apparently I was supposed to feel guilty for something that happened even before my parents were born, so I spent most of the lessons about WW2 in a kind of defiant trance.
Oh, and I learned that it's possible to improvise a source text interpretation just by reading the title and catching up a few words from the text.

Maths on the other hand...
Well, without it, we wouldn't have computers, which would have quite an impact. Not even the radio would work, since tuning into a station would be a trial-and-error activity, at best.
Basically nothing where engineering is involved would exist.
Concerning "stuff you learn after 8th grade is useless" argumentations:
I agree that Math should be just a tool, but in almost any remotely scientific field (i.e. the useful ones) you will need it, and you will need it a lot.

History basically enables you to be a history teacher, while maths can be a pathway to just about anything.

 

[SimuLord]

Is an orange more important than an apple?

Yes, for two reasons:

1) An orange a day for a week can reverse the effects of scurvy, and having one handy in the first place can prevent it far more efficiently than can an apple, and

2) I'm allergic to fresh apples but suffer no such problem from oranges. (oddly enough, cooked apples offer me no difficulty. There must be an enzyme or something that gets destroyed by heat.)

 

[likalaruku]

I have an endless appetite for history, but I'd say math was more important. If you want a job in something that requires knowledge of history, you need science classes, & when I was in highschool 10 years ago, they wouldn't let me take any science classes (except "into to") unless I could pass advanced algebra. I took & failed basic algebra 6 times because of my Dyscalculia. You see how good your job options are when you can't remember your own phone/social security numbers & space-out in front of a cash register.

 

[Maze1125]

Nothing is more important than Maths. It's fundamental to our entire society.
Without Maths our world would collapse within hours.
Without History we could still continue. Yes, lots of mistakes would be made that could have been avoided. But things wouldn't just outright fail.

I think some English should have some importance because Maths isn't a proper term.

Maybe you should learn something about the language to claim to know about..
Remember it's called English not American.

 

[Daipire]

Why wouldn't it be? If it was so unimportant, than why would anyone bother teaching it?

Because people are stupid? And, as many high schoolers would agree, so is the Board of Studies...

OT: Weeeeeell, I think that history is unimportant, as the only people who would need to reference history were historians and possibly politicians.

Notice how that's not exactly the majority of anything?

Maths, however is literally used for every job. (serious)


EDIT: But since it's a for a history class, you should title it "Why History is the greatest subject evarrr: And why my teacher is a brilliant person."

 

[Resphyre]

Math>History... you dont need to know how something worked to use it effectively... although if youre planning something big youd want a historian to ask "has anyone screwed this up before?"

 

[ultimateownage]

They're not more important then each other. You can't have history without maths, or maths without history.
'One million people died in the war' What's a million?
Has for maths, well maths was created over thousands of years, so without history we would never have advanced maths to the state it is right now.

But if pressed, I'd probably go with maths. I dare you to go a day without using maths, and then go a day without using history. The day of no Maths is ten folds worse.

 

[Woodsey]

More important in terms of what?

That's such a loosely defined question that it's near impossible to say either way.

 

[WJC]

If we didn't have maths we wouldn't have anything beyond the most primitive society, and by that I mean starving hunter-gatherer level.
Whereas, people managed pretty well enough without serious history before Thucydides and I think you could probably get by without it to some level, depends what you mean by 'history' and for that matter 'maths' though, people will always talk about what happened in the past and it's pretty much impossible not to count, simply by having the singular and plural numbers in language you use maths...

 

[JourneyThroughHell]

No, it's not, not even close. Barely anything in history could be taken as fact, maths is all facts. Hisstory does not teach logic. History does not develop your mind. It's just stuff you remember that will be genuinely useless to you because the world is constantly changing and does not like to repeat itself. So, unless you're some sort of future political scientist (and, I am), maths is lightyears ahead.

Also, history is subjective as hell.

With history you can fill your mind, with maths - train it.

 

[updraftnoir19and99]

I say this as a History graduate and Maths hater:

Both are important in their own ways. Maths (even basic) is needed to get through life, no matter what you end up doing, whether you're trying to work out a household budget or figuring out the dimensions of a building. It might get complicated, but once you work out the trick of things it becomes easy, and you will use it all your life.

History is important because it provides us with explanations of how we got where we are today, rich cultural heritage and a means to understand one another. Of course there are the arguements that history is written by the victors and we must use history to learn from it (one thing I learnt above all else in my 3 years at uni is that most often this isn't the case) etc etc. But History is always interesting, if its being explained in the right way. I suppose the same goes for Maths too. Its probable I hate Maths because I never had any fun teachers to explain it.

Ah well. Those are my opinions

 

[Comrade_Beric]

I'm a history teacher, so my personal opinion would be biased. I believe that History is an incredibly important subject to learn as it provides perspective. It helps people to understand the world as it existed before they were born, before I was born, or before America even existed as a nation. I mean, there are kids who still don't know who won WWII when I begin teaching them about it. (The Soviet Union won, btw. If you disagree, PM me and I'll gladly explain how.) American teens can barely imagine a world without the US, much less that the Empire the Romans built lasted for well over a millennium.

All of that said, I'd say Mathematics and History are equally important. A perspective of one's place in the world and history is of no use if you cannot find a way to be productive enough to make a living in society.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

I don't think it is quite as important as maths, but still important. A lot of things you learn in history are useful in subjects like politics or law. Maths is really important for loads of things, especially with all our new fangled technology and whatnot.