[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by agzg

He'll use a lot of linear equations in the future if he studies economics (which everyone has to on some level if they go to a four year college).

Really? I never studied economics in any form at all, and I don't get the sense that I'm unusual in that.

BTW, I had to take one math course in college. I picked the easiest one I could find.

Originally Posted by agzg

Linear equations are the lead-in to geometry - but you have to understand how to solve it before you can move on to harder geometry concepts - which plays into figuring out square footage of houses, how much paint you'll need to paint all the walls in a room, how many tiles you need to tile a kitchen... just cook up some home improvement projects! I'd love to say "we need to re-floor the kitchen because our kid is studying linear equations."

Okay, I'll be honest here. I do all of these things all of the time, and I don't see any connection at all with linear equations (y=mx+b or the other forms). All I need to figure out square footage is a tape measure; I don't need to know the slope of the line or how it graphs on a plane.

Am I missing something? Are my pathetic understandings of algebra showing?

Originally Posted by BraveMaroon

Honestly he may never use the linear equations and so forth, but unfortunately, that's not the point.

The point of most of the classes you take is the process you use to learn the material and not the material itself.

Much like at least half the meetings I attend aren't directly relevant to my job, but because I am asked to be there, I go.

It's a life skill.

Yeah, I think that's the bottom-line answer. Unfortunately, for an Aspergian, that frequently isn't a good enough answer. It's a common Asperger's trait -- the need to understand and buy into the value of something before expending any energy on it.

Thanks for the links, k_s.