When Am I Ever Going to Use That?

A few days ago, a friend of mine solicited some help via Facebook with finding the central angle of an arc, given the radius and the arc length.  Since math is one area where I can actually be helpful at times, I tried my best to answer her question about how to solve the problem.  Soon after I entered the conversation, another person commented as follows:

"Is this what I have to look foreword too [sic]? This makes me sick! I will be no help to my kids and where in the world will they ever use that? So dumb!"

I've heard my own kids and others voice similar complaints.  "How is this going to help me?"  "When am I ever going to use that?"  I've even gotten a kick out of a clip from the Simpsons where Marge laments, "Since [losing interest in math after starting to date Homer], I haven't been able to do any of the Calculus I've encountered in my daily life."

But for some reason, this comment by this parent really bothered me and got me thinking about the "I'm never going to use this" argument.  A few thoughts:

• This type of attitude perhaps is at least a partial explanation for the United States continuing to fall behind other industrialized nations in math and science.  If this is the attitude of parents, I can't imagine what the attitude of the children is.  How can the US hope to increase involvement in math and science if this is the prevailing attitude?
• You won't be able to use any knowledge that you don't acquire.  By striving to learn all you can, you keep your options open.  You have the ability to enter fields that perhaps you'd never considered.  Perhaps rather than sitting back and using technology created by others, you could be on the leading edge, creating technology that will be used by others.
• Not all knowledge is necessarily an end in itself.  There are specific concepts in math and science that you might have a hard time finding a specific application for, but in many cases you have to learn basic principles in order to build more advanced concepts on top of it.
• Excellence for the sake of excellence.  I love to learn.  I consider this life a God-given opportunity to acquire all the knowledge that I possibly can (D&C 130:18).  I don't read history books and biographies because it will help me in my career, but because I believe being knowledgeable and informed makes me a better person.  I spend a lot of time exercising as well, not because I feel I have a chance to be an Olympian or a professional athlete, but because I want to be the best version of myself.  Making the effort to understand and master a concept is never going to be wasted effort.
• I think of all the brilliant discoveries and inventions that have been made and cringe to think of an Einstein or an Edison or a Newton thinking "I don't need to learn that...when am I ever going to use it?"  Did Einstein need to make the discoveries he did in order to have a career and get through life?  No.  Did he live a better and more meaningful life because he strove to understand things about the world that no one at the time understood?  I believe he did.
• Just because something is hard doesn't mean it shouldn't be pursued.
• Set your sights high.  We can always set our sights low enough that we don't need any special knowledge or skills.

I'm reminded of this Calvin and Hobbes comic strip (couldn't find the actual image publicly available):

Dad:  Let's start at the beginning. When you ADD something, you INCREASE what you have. You COMBINE.

Calvin:  I don't want to learn this! It's completely irrelevant to my life!

Dad:  This isn't irrelevant.  Everyone needs to know this.

Calvin:  I don't! I can get along fine without math!

Dad:  Oh yeah? What do you want to be when you grow up? Every job requires SOME math.

Calvin:  That's not true! I'll be a... a... a caveman! Yeah!

Dad:  That's not really a job.

Don't be satisfied with being a caveman.  When a teacher (or someone else) tries to teach you something that is difficult to understand and that you don't see an immediate benefit of learning, resist the temptation to say, "When am I ever going to use that?".  Work hard.  Learn all you can.  Stick with something even though it's difficult.  Be the best version of yourself that you can.  

And if you need some help with math, just let me know.  I'm happy to help.