New Math (song)

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“New Math”

Song by Tom Lehrer
Writer	Tom Lehrer

One of Harvard mathematics graduate Tom Lehrer's most famous songs was a satire named "New Math" which centered around the process of subtracting 173 from 342 in base 10 and in base 8. The song is in the style of a lecture about the general concept of subtraction in arbitrary number systems, illustrated by two simple calculations, and highlights the emphasis on insight and abstract concepts of the New Math approach.

Lehrer's explanation of the two calculations is entirely correct, but presented at rapid speed, with minimal visual aids, and with snide remarks thrown in. So it is difficult for most audience members to follow the otherwise simple calculations being performed. This is intended to poke fun at the kind of bafflement the New Math approach often evoked when apparently simple calculations were presented in a very general manner. While such calculations were mathematically correct, and arguably trivial for mathematicians, presenting them so generally was likely very confusing to absolute beginners, and even contemporary adult audiences.^{[citation needed]} Summing up his opinion of New Math is the final sentence from his introductory remarks to the song: "... in the new approach, as you know, the important thing is to understand what you're doing, rather than to get the right answer."

The original New Math was largely discredited and abandoned after the 1960s, partly as a result of efforts such as this song, though concepts such as unions, intersections, and functions are still taught today.^{[citation needed]} The song remains popular as the "New New Math" started a new generation of math wars in the 1990s. The New new math was in the processes of being abandoned by several states and school districts by the mid 2000s after a widespread federally supported adoption.^{[citation needed]}