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In the age of AI, learning maths is even more vital | Letters

TL;DR

Readers react to Simon Jenkins’ article that said it’s more important for children to learn how to speak fluently than study mathematics Simon Jenkins must have had a deeply unpleasant experience of learning maths at school because he seems to have a pathological antipathy towards it (We are teaching children maths they will never use. Isn’t it better to help them speak fluently? , 16 October). I have no qualms with his insistence on the importance of oracy.

Nauti's Take

AI workflows need both clear language and mathematical judgment. Strong communication improves requirements and collaboration, while quantitative reasoning helps teams check data, probabilities, and model outputs.

A small team should test independent verification of numerical answers before expanding automation.

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