April 7th, 2010
I don’t know about you, but the “Why would I ever need this?!” argument was a popular one in my youth. Especially concerning math.
As it turns out, more studious attention to mathematics would have been a great benefit to my ‘Professor Layton’ progress.
April 7th, 2010 at 8:39 am
OMG that’s my four-year old!
April 7th, 2010 at 8:40 am
Are you sure you didn’t model that little bird on my youngest son? Same expressions, same mannerisms, and the same views! Awesome comic as always.
April 7th, 2010 at 8:41 am
That is the same excuse used by some high school students to justify dropping out…
April 7th, 2010 at 8:42 am
Heh, heh. Yep, I used that excuse, too. The best math class I ever had was in college algebra where they used only practical word problems. Wish they’d done it years earlier, I might have actually enjoyed math. Who can get excited about (x+5)(y-4)?
April 7th, 2010 at 9:00 am
See, I flew through Professor Leyton but can’t draw emotive animals. Swap ya.
April 7th, 2010 at 9:03 am
Not math-related, but my family spent five years living abroad when I was a child. Of course, school made us memorize all the capitals and relevant geographical details of the country. One day, while studying for tests, I asked mother why did I need to do that if we were leaving the country in a few years. She was at a loss for words and all she could manage was to say I had to do that “to pass the test”.
April 7th, 2010 at 9:07 am
ah… why are birds SO wise?
April 7th, 2010 at 9:51 am
Wow … I totally had this conversation with my mom the other day … and I’m 30!
April 7th, 2010 at 11:15 am
I love it when he flaps his wings when he’s upset
April 7th, 2010 at 11:17 am
Yeah. I’m still there with you, kid. Math is for the birds….oh wait, damn…
April 7th, 2010 at 11:18 am
HAHA, great!
April 7th, 2010 at 11:50 am
hahaha… I STILL use that argument!
April 7th, 2010 at 12:04 pm
Ha ha! That’s awesome! I’ve heard that argument so many times, or at least one like it. Oh, and I love Professor Layton.
April 7th, 2010 at 12:54 pm
I’m going to be a math teacher and I’ll probably have to deal with this question all the time. :<
April 7th, 2010 at 1:34 pm
Ironically, I just switched careers from being a math teacher, partly because of this question. I’ve concluded if someone doesn’t already know the answer to this question, they won’t understand it.
April 7th, 2010 at 3:18 pm
Teachers at my high school would get that question all the time… from failing kids’ parents.
April 7th, 2010 at 4:05 pm
What’s important is not the math. What’s important is the act of solving the problem: calming your mind, organizing your thoughts and breaking down the steps to manageable bits.
No matter, I love the scene and it’s a refreshing burp from the more serious main story.
April 7th, 2010 at 4:47 pm
He’s right. The only place birds need to count is on variety shows and when they’re piloting guided bombs.
April 7th, 2010 at 6:22 pm
Why no plot?
April 7th, 2010 at 8:54 pm
@littleblueman: Plot has been suspended in favour of awesome. Sorry for the convenience.
April 7th, 2010 at 10:00 pm
I suppose in a few years it’ll be “Why do I need to know this? Isn’t that what Wolfram-Alpha is for?”
April 7th, 2010 at 11:22 pm
That was my argument all through college. “Why am I taking astronomy and statistics if my major is Creative Writing?”
April 8th, 2010 at 1:12 am
LOL, awesome! Keep up the beautiful work. This comic always makes me smile…even when I get a little teary.
April 8th, 2010 at 1:25 am
Math is for mammals…
April 8th, 2010 at 7:12 am
Math is for primates…
April 8th, 2010 at 9:02 am
math is fun.
April 8th, 2010 at 3:00 pm
it was really good to see you as a eisner nominee this year. good job, and good luck.
April 8th, 2010 at 3:52 pm
@Ruby
“Why am I taking Film Lecture if I am an Architecture major?”
Easy A for watching movies!
April 8th, 2010 at 5:32 pm
Just discovered this. Beautiful work! Instant fan.
April 8th, 2010 at 6:54 pm
Congrats on the Eisner nomination!
April 9th, 2010 at 3:28 am
Congrats on the nom!
April 9th, 2010 at 12:21 pm
Congratulations on the Eisner nomination! You deserve it, and the win too! You consistently deliver beautifully rendered and superbly written funny, suspenseful, and touching comics.
April 9th, 2010 at 5:06 pm
My daughter, 8yrs old, while very good at it, hates math, or so she says.
April 9th, 2010 at 9:47 pm
The key here is relevance. People (kids, grown-ups, birds, me) learn stuff better when we understand the relevance of it. What is it useful for? If no one can come up with a good answer, then maybe we shouldn’t force folks to learn it. I mean, that’s the whole point of education, right? Learn what we need to learn? I like math, but I like it more when I can see how I can use it.
April 10th, 2010 at 9:06 am
Ha! I love this one.
April 12th, 2010 at 5:35 am
I very definitely complained about this once we moved away from numbers and into algebra and alpha and beta and stuff. Why??
Very funny, very true. And Professor Layton is awesome
April 12th, 2010 at 12:09 pm
I’m lousy at math, but I have to do it, to be sure I have enough set aside to take Gherkin the Mighty, Professor Moriarty, and Agent Cooper to the vet for their regular checkups.
April 12th, 2010 at 2:47 pm
man can Karl get the critters to emote. They all look so natural and alive!
April 13th, 2010 at 7:05 am
Actually, here in the UK we used to have this mythical female shopper called Mrs Jones. This feeble, geriatric numpty would go shopping just like everyone else but the problems would always start at the checkout:
My teacher would say “Mrs Jones has 12 apples, if she gives four back how many does she have left?” My answer would always be ” If she didn’t want 12 apples why the hell did she buy them?” This never gave me the plaudits I expected, only extra homework and a visit to the heads office
April 13th, 2010 at 11:54 pm
Hah, yeah I feel the same way about Maths and Berries.
April 14th, 2010 at 2:12 pm
@darrell you really expect a kid to admit liking maths? sadly thats social suicide.
April 14th, 2010 at 8:24 pm
Surely the answer would be “one” – the other two would have been eaten by then!
April 14th, 2010 at 9:12 pm
Right on Shadowclad!
“What’s important is not the math. What’s important is the act of solving the problem: calming your mind, organizing your thoughts and breaking down the steps to manageable bits.”
April 15th, 2010 at 10:40 am
Right on Shadowclad! +1
And I liked the x^2+4x+15=25 types more, than the real-life examples. They are more simple.
It got complicated on the university where I had to learn more, faster, with a chaotic schedule. I never want to hear again about stochastic flows…
Btw there was a nice anecdote in my high school. Once the literature teacher was walking down the stairs and said to his colleague: ‘Why should I know the Pythagoras’ theorem?’ The math teacher heard it and said: ‘Who is Shakespeare anyway?’
April 17th, 2010 at 10:40 am
Yeahhhh, that argument is still pretty much used in present day… LOL
November 30th, 2011 at 7:20 pm
Binary birds?