Zeev's Turnips Talk Politics (ZTTP)

[sarai]

Brain, I may be a product of that "new math" -- altho I'm not really sure what "new math" is... And my life has turned out okay in spite of "new math".

What kind of math involves mental algebra? My middle schooler comes home with what looks like algebra (to me??) but needs to be solved "mentally" - in the student's head without putting pencil to paper.

I haven't got a clue on how to do mental algebra. Altho I could easily solve the problems with an algebraic equation.

Is my inability to think math a result of new math -- or something like that?.. Why do algebra without algebraic equations?