The Washington Post's Richard Cohen has advised high school students everywhere that algebra is a waste of their time.
You're never going to have to solve an algebra problem again in your life, he says, unless of course you do something foolish with yourself and become a scientist or a mathematician or something useless like that, instead of pursuing the higher calling of Washington Post columnist. And if life does surprise you some time and throw a problem your way that requires algebra to solve, well, don't worry, that's what computers and calculators are for.
No, that's what androids like Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation are for.
