To prepare for this Discussion:
- Review the TED Talk on abstract math, paying particular attention to how Eugenia Cheng (2018) explains how pure mathematics models social inequality.
- Think about an overall group that may exist in your environment.
- Identify three subgroups within the overall group, and diagram these groups as Cheng (2018) did in the presentation using the following format where a/b/c are your individual subgroups:
- {a,b,c}
- {a,b}, {a,c}, {b,c}
- {a}, {b}, {c}
- { }
- Think about two inequality statements that can be inferred from the diagram referring to the specific groups that you have just created. For example, if a represents dogs and c represents cats then and inequality could be: dogs>cats.
- Using the problem-solving techniques from Week 1, decide if these inequalities are true based on the overall group you selected.
- Consider one potential bias or inequality that may exist in either Level 2 or Level 3 of your diagram and think about how it would create an unequal ranking between the elements on this level.
- Think about what the inequality would be in the context of your situation and think about how it would be expressed as a mathematical inequality.
- Consider who might be interested in these results, and why.
Click on the link above for Eugenia Cheng’s TED Talk, An Unexpected Tool for Understanding Inequality: Abstract Math.
https://www.ted.com/talks/eugenia_cheng_an_unexpected_tool_for_understanding_inequality_abstract_math
Post at least 2 paragraphs responding to the following prompts:
- Provide diagram created based on your example of social inequality.
- Write one inequality statements that can be inferred from your diagram, referring to your specific sub-groups (not the variables a/b/c).
- Explain whether you feel these inequalities are true.
- Express your conclusion as a mathematical inequality.
- Explain who might be interested in these results, and why.