Transcript of Gad Saad's 2016 Video, "Social Justice Mathematics"
A nice pic of Saad
Before the ChaChaChas, something serious
Below you will find a transcript of Gad Saad’s 2016 video, THE SAAD TRUTH_323, available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmf_QVL-k2M&ab_channel=GadSaad
Why am I including this? Because Saad is a legendary Jew. He’s been published. He’s reputable. And he’s a Rogan guest who doesn’t say things like ‘Alex Jones is more trust worthy than the mainstream news.’ (what Kurt Metzger said during his appearance, where him and Joe insisted Jews were comitting genocide in Gaza). Instead, he was recently featured on Rogan and discussed his experience being a Jew kicked out of Lebanon, now fearing the same fate for Jews in Canada and US.
I’m not a Joe Rogan listener. The podcasts are wayyy too long. But what I find fascinating about Rogan and so many other non-partisan shows is that the vocal Palestine Supporters can only discuss their victimhood. In fact, when such guests are asked about how Jordan or Syria treat “Palestinians,” they are trained to turn the coversation back to the Jewish crimes they insist on. Meanwhile, the Zionist guests like Saad, Yuval Noah Harari and too many others to list, try to discuss a long list of fields. This diversity of intersts may be bad for Israel and Zionism PR, but is a sign that our biggest fans are not as boring as Palestine Supporters.
Here is the YT intro:
Enjoy this new branch of mathematics free of racism, sexism, transphobic, ableism, and all other ugly "isms" and "phobias." The paper by Rands (2009): http://bit.ly/2huhPJ3 _________________________________________________
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This transcript comes via AI services and may have mistakes.
Hi everybody, this is Gad Saad for the Saad Truth. Yesterday, I shared an abstract of a paper on how to queer mathematics, yes, as a verb. You know, you could queer architecture, you could queer archaeology, and you can queer pedagogy in general. But I wanted to actually look for the field that one would argue is the least "queerable" because, by definition, mathematics is a discipline that one would like to think is free of value judgments and all the things that social justice warriors would fight. So I started doing some searches looking for any attempts by someone to queer mathematics. By the way, this is not a derogatory term; it is actually used by people in this area of study under the broad umbrella of queer studies.
The paper in question was published in Sex Education by Kathleen Rand in May 2009. The title of the paper is "Mathematical Inquiry," but inquiry is spelled I-N-Q-U [E] E-R-Y, so "inqu(e)ry: Beyond add queers and stir." You just have to read this paper, it is breathtaking. I actually downloaded it to look at it, and I decided to go beyond the abstract. I didn't read the whole paper word for word because this would drive even the most patient person to the brink of jumping off a building. But I did find a few quotes that I'd like to read for you here.
At one point, the author quotes someone else, Kumashiro in 2004, who says, "What and how we teach math are influenced by social factors and do have hidden messages that often reinforce oppression." The satire I'm about to offer you is rooted in exactly the way these folks think. Mathematics, even though it is by definition the one area where you could argue is absolutely free of human biases and all the other social justice warrior issues, is apparently laden with oppression, patriarchy, and racism. I thought I would read another quote from the author. Let me just read it for you as another example of her remedy for how we could queer mathematics in elementary school:
"A third-grade teacher might incorporate queer symbols into a geometry lesson. The teacher passes out buttons, bumper stickers, and other items with symbols such as pink triangles, gay flags, interlocking female or male symbols, and so forth. The teacher poses the following questions: What is the area and perimeter of each symbol? For two interlocking female symbols, what is the area of the overlapping part? What fraction of the gay flag is green and blue? How could you construct a pink triangle that has twice the perimeter of the one on the button? In these examples, teachers pose questions that challenge students to think and do mathematics in the context of a queer inclusive scenario."
She also puts out a call to arms: "The time has come to queer elementary mathematics education." This is not satire. This is an actual author explaining how to queer the field of mathematics to very young children.
As someone who has studied mathematics with an undergraduate degree in math and computer science, an MBA with a mini thesis in operations research, and a PhD minor in statistics, I use all sorts of mathematical tools in my scientific career. I've taken courses in discrete mathematics, probability, statistics, operations research, linear algebra, differential equations, calculus, and logic. Despite this, I think all these fields might be racist, patriarchal, sexist, and transphobic because we don't have a field called social justice mathematics. So, I'm introducing this new field that will revolutionize mathematics to make it more inclusive and fair.
Some thoughts to show how mathematics could be racist and how social justice mathematics can address this:
Stating a number is irrational marginalizes mental illness. There are no rational or irrational numbers in social justice mathematics, just numbers.
Saying some numbers are prime creates a hierarchy. In social justice mathematics, all numbers are equally prime or divisible. Numbers can self-identify as they see fit.
Inequality signs infuse patriarchy and oppression. Saying three is less than five is unfair. All numbers are born equal.
Odd numbers teach children othering. Getting rid of odd numbers gets rid of bullying.
Hurtful labeling of numbers (prime, real, odd, imaginary) is stereotyping. All numbers are real.
The Laplace transform is a transphobic operator. It implies the trans is not worthy of love and dignity as is.
Roman numerals are triggering, glorifying one culture and marginalizing others.
Using labels positive and negative for numbers is othering. All numbers have a voice.
Equilateral triangles are the only allowed triangles in social justice mathematics because they recognize equality. Isosceles and scalene triangles perpetuate racism and homophobia.
Perfect numbers perpetuate the notion of striving to be perfect, leading to eating disorders. All numbers are perfect just the way they are.
Saying 2 + 3 equals 5 presumes numbers self-identify according to their integer value. In identity mathematics, numbers self-identify.
Binary numbers in computer science are transphobic as they perpetuate binary discourse in human sexuality.
You might think this is satire, but the sad reality is that what I'm satirizing is indicative of what we are seeing in education. It's a collective exercise in mass delusion. The more people speak out against this nonsense, the quicker we can get rid of it. I don't want my children to be taught ideological nonsense instead of the fundamentals of mathematics. All people deserve respect, but this doesn't mean infusing teaching with ideological nonsense.
Have a good day, everybody. Ciao.
Please comment your thoughts, especially if you think it is offensive to say math can not be oppressive. Look, I (and I believe Saad) would completely understand any argument about lack of resources and exposure to education in lower income households, or lack of guidance from math-saavy people. But to say math is offensive? Really?
This is where we’ve been for 8 years now and it’s not going away. It’s getting crazier each year. Saad referenced new papers in the vein of social justice math during the podcast. I could not find them, but know they’ll pop up more and more.
PS New York Times recently ran a story on Queer Food!
“The way you slice into okra and it’s crunchy and ooshy-gushy—a lot of people think it’s weird,” said Ms. DuBose, a nonbinary transgender lesbian who will soon graduate from the food studies program at New York University. “But okra is queer.”
Introducing sexuality into how you think about food and math makes a mockery of actual LGBT+ activism.
