Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four.
― George Orwell
In The New York Times this week, conservative columnist David Brooks observes that the gospel of woke has already reached the remainder shelves, its freshness expired.
The proof, he says, lies in the fact that corporate America has co-opted it.
Corporations have the uncanny ability to productize progressive ideologies, Brooks says, "taking what was dangerous and aestheticizing it."
He cites the example of a nearly laughable pamphlet for math teachers, A Pathway to Equitable Math Instruction.
The pamphlet urges teachers to shun "racism in
mathematics."
"White supremacy culture shows up in math classrooms when there is a greater focus on getting the 'right' answer than understanding concepts and reasoning," the pamphlet says.
"Upholding the idea that there are always right and wrong answers perpetuates objectivity," and objectivity is racist.
Brooks might find this stuff silly and harmless; I don't.
There are tens of thousands of teachers imbibing this swill.
Mathematical truth—what philosophers call realism—is apodictic, immutable and—as harsh as it sounds—nonnegotiable.
Mathematical truth may be the last bastion of white supremacy, but I'll defend it to the end.
Otherwise, truth is only that which is trouble-saving.
Do you want your grandkids crossing bridges engineered by snowflakes unable to add two plus two?
