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 |    Not for the faint of art. |
| A little less rant-worthy today—some history from Smithsonian. After Failing Math Twice, a Young Benjamin Franklin Turned to This Popular 17th-Century Textbook  A 19th-century scholar claimed that “Cocker’s Arithmetick” had “probably made as much stir and noise in the English world as any [book]—next to the Bible” But why didn't he just look it up on the internet? Before Benjamin Franklin became a printer, newsman, author, inventor, philosopher, diplomat and founding father of the United States, he failed math twice. They forgot "epic troll." Also, I'd never heard this "failed math twice" thing before, and couldn't find other support for the claim apart from things linked within the Smithsonian article. Those lead to Franklin's words, and, I reiterate, the man was an epic troll and in no way a reliable narrator. This doesn't mean it's false; I just can't confirm or refute it. We like to hear about great people's failings, and there was a similar rumor about Einstein that turned out to be pants-on-fire false. Also that thing about Franklin's fellow Founding Father George Washington chopping down a cherry tree was false. So you'll have to deal with my skepticism.It doesn't change what the article is mainly about, which is the math textbook. Yet the story of the “book of arithmetic” that finally helped Franklin master the subject is little known today—another irony, because in his day, it was every bit as famous as he was. Probably even more famous, at least when he was a brat. Cocker’s Arithmetick was probably the most successful elementary math textbook published in English before the 19th century. It epitomized an age in which the expanding worlds of commerce and capitalism, education and Enlightenment, coalesced to make basic arithmetic the classroom staple it is today. Oh, I thought they'd given up on teaching math. It sure seems that way. Though perhaps unfamiliar to modern readers, in the 18th century, Cocker’s Arithmetick was as close to a household name as any math textbook is likely to ever be. Edited from the writings of London-based teacher Edward Cocker and published posthumously in 1678, the book included lessons on basic arithmetic with a commercial slant, posed as a set of rules to be memorized, as was typical of educational books of the day. So it was kind of like the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition, but more math-oriented? Cocker’s lessons covered addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, as well as calculation with pre-decimal British currency and a gentle introduction to 17th-century England’s bamboozling array of weights and measures. I often found it ironic (or whatever) that, upon revolting, the US adopted a decimal money system while keeping the "bamboozling array of weights and measures." I think I did an entry about that a while back. Meanwhile, the UK kept the non-decimal money system and adopted, at least officially, SI units. If I remember right, the UK didn't switch from pounds/shillings/pence until around 1970. Finally, the textbook taught arithmetic skills for business, such as dividing profits equitably between partners. No wonder the book fell out of favor. Nowadays, we like books about how to screw over the other partners. Whatever else a student might learn in Franklin’s grand scheme of general instruction, which included everything from oratory and ancient customs to drawing and geography, he maintained that arithmetic was “absolutely necessary.” Nah, best to keep the populace ignorant of math so they don't notice when you short their paychecks or mess with their timeclocks. Toward the end of his life, in a well-known letter of 1784, Franklin reflected in satirical fashion on the importance of waking early in order to save money that would otherwise be spent burning candles at night. I'm just including this bit to emphasize that the "early to bed, early to rise" thing was satire. Lots more history at the link, of course. Mostly, I just found it interesting that I'd never heard of the book before. Probably because no one can make money advertising it. |
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