What's the difference between the mathematics of westerners and netizens in Singapore Olympic Maths?

When people who have lived in the United States mention American mathematics, what they say is: Oh, that's too bad. In fact, this mainly refers to ordinary people, and American mathematics professors are certainly not bad. Among the winners of the Nobel Prize in Mathematics, the United States has the largest number of winners.

Accurately speaking, what we mean by poor math is that ordinary Americans are far from China in mental arithmetic and oral arithmetic. It is no exaggeration to say that any old lady with little education in China is better than a master's or doctor's degree in oral arithmetic in the United States.

A friend told me that when he first came to America, his wife took care of children for an American family. The child has a teenage sister. One day, this girl asked my friend a question: What is seven plus eight?

A friend opens his mouth and comes: it is equal to fifteen.

The girl stood up from the sofa and looked at him skipping. She was very excited.

It's strange for friends to see it.

Asked why she was so happy, she said, "I find you a genius!" " "

The little girl's conclusion is correct. My friend is really a genius, and he is extremely clever. It is common for others to praise him for his cleverness, and he always takes it in stride. But the little girl's praise shocked him for a long time.

According to this standard, we are all geniuses in China!

Another friend went to the store to buy things, remember to change some money to wash clothes. In the United States and Canada, there is a penny called 25 cents, which is equivalent to a quarter of a dollar, that is, 25 cents. Many public washing machines and telephones are started by inserting this coin.

A friend handed the cashier a dollar and said, please change it into quarters.

The cashier has some quarters in her hand and turns them upside down. She wondered for a long time how many quarters to give her.

Finally, I made up my mind, counted five quarters and handed them to her!

To tell the truth, I just heard this story, and I don't believe it at all. How bad can math be?

Do you know how to change this dollar into four quarters?

My friend reported the time, place and store name of her coin exchange, which proved that what she said was true.

I think one of the reasons why they make such ridiculous jokes is that American schools basically don't cultivate children's computing ability. Students can use calculators from primary school. They focus on the understanding and application of mathematics, which is different from what we pay attention to.

Another reason is that many cashiers don't even graduate from high school, so they owe them something in education. They are not only poor in mathematics, but also poor in other aspects of knowledge.

You know, there are no exams in American high schools. As long as you attend classes honestly and stay out of trouble, you can get your diploma. Anyone who wants to go to college can go to it. The only difference is what kind of college he goes to.

But the story told by another friend made me overturn my conclusion. Some people with higher education are still confused about the basic concepts of mathematics.

This friend has been engaged in bridge design and reconstruction in an American company. One day, when he was reviewing his colleagues' drawings, he found that there was an angle calculation error, so he corrected it and told his colleagues.

The young man is a newly recruited engineer in the company and has just got a master's degree in engineering.

After a while, the young man came to him with a drawing and asked him: How did you work out this data? The friend said, "It's very simple. The sum of the internal angles of a triangle is equal to 180 degrees. 180 degrees MINUS this number can get the correct angle. "

He nodded and stood wondering.

Then he asked a question that made my friend faint on the spot.

He asked, "Do you mean that the sum of the internal angles of all triangles is equal to 180 degrees?"