Comment by bruce511

An excellent example that shows the value of understanding very basic geometry.

I'll add that math isn't really just about that sort of practicality though. It's also about a fundamental understanding of numbers and what they mean.

For example, inflation is in the news a lot. It's high, or low. Most people (the US president included) think that if inflation was 0% prices would come down. But that'd be a profound misunderstanding of the topic.

A grounding in numbers, in this case percentages, makes for a better understanding.

Any business owner needs to know fundamental truths to survive. Cost price, markup, margin, selling price, fixed expenses versus variable expenses and so on. All are grounded in basic math. Without that you can't do basic accounting. Without that you can't effectively run a business.

Anti-vax arguments are built on very bad math, and people bad at math fall for it.

We all use math all the time. People bad at math are at a major disadvantage. Populations bad at math are easily manipulated.