This sheila’s ‘dumbest question ever’ on TikTok divides the internet!

We only mentioned it the other day, but if there’s one thing bloody Twitter is good for, it’s watching strangers discuss, debate and argue over s**t. And that brings us to today’s post. Shortly after a sheila from the States questioned the history of algebra, some people on the platform started jumping down her throat. Much to her surprise, though, her support came from an unlikely place – bloody maths nerds!

Yeah, nah, this is, as someone put it to us, one of those stories where a positive comes from a negative. It all started when a TikTok user by the name of Gracie uploaded a video where she asked some pretty pointed questions about algebra.

I’m pissed people are mocking this kid. She asks great questions, whose answers aren’t obvious, and which math classes should address. https://t.co/vks69P6n5y

— Jordan Ellenberg (@JSEllenberg) August 26, 2020

“I just wanted to tell you guys that I don’t think Math is real…like who came up with this – and you’re all gonna be like Pythagreus – but HOW? He didn’t even have plumbing but he was like, ‘let me worry about Y=MX+B.’ And like, what did he need it for?”

trying to conceptualize why something exists shows far more intelligence than just accepting its existence at face value…. math has a really interesting history & all she’s doing is expressing her thoughts on it, nothing “dumb” about it

— liv 🐌🍓 (@livbarryyy) August 26, 2020

And you’ve gotta admit that they’re fair questions. Of course, though, some people don’t see it that way. Another sheila shared Gracie’s TikTok, claiming it was the ‘dumbest video they’d ever seen’.

she’s so valid tbh this is a legit philosophical question with no real answer, was math invented or discovered? There’s a mf nova documentary about it. Just cause she says like a lot u think she’s dum ok 🙄

— rachel (@rachel50093442) August 26, 2020

And that’s when the maths nerds came to Gracie’s rescue. Instead of criticising the young lass, they were like, “Yeah, nah, what we want is critical thinking, and that’s what Gracie is doing.”

“was math invented or discovered?”

i don’t think a question has blown my mind like this in a long time, and now i will never know peace pic.twitter.com/77jdTRqS6D

— 👁👄👁 (@sandraQMP) August 26, 2020

Take Maths Professor, Jordan Ellenberg for example. He was said, “I’m pissed people are mocking this kid. She asks great questions, whose answers aren’t obvious, and which math classes should address.”

1) don’t pick on a child
2) she’s showing critical thinking skills, the foundation of higher education
3) these thoughts spark a useful discourse on bigger themes of foundations of common core concepts

— You’re doing great (@Back2aPupkin) August 26, 2020

Another user said, “Trying to conceptualize why something exists shows far more intelligence than just accepting its existence at face value…. math has a really interesting history & all she’s doing is expressing her thoughts on it, nothing “dumb” about it.”

There are in fact people who have studied math for much longer than she has who have raised a lot of the same issues with it. So I do actually think those are reasonable questions to be raising.https://t.co/AijnpRDrvg

— Vanzetti Books (@sackobooks) August 27, 2020

And that’s what we reckon too. As for Gracie, she’s since uploaded another video rephrasing her questions and hoping people will give that one a squiz too.

Questions aren’t stupid & to answer that, mathematics isn’t really an invention, It’s really more of a discovery. Mathematics encompasses many different types of studies, so its discovery can’t even be attributed to one person.

— 7 (@HoesSAy_soto) August 27, 2020

We reckon you should check them both out.

Final thought: What we have to say here is that we’re far from academic, but what we love about this is that people are celebrating the questioning of the knowledge. And really, that’s how we improve as a society and a race. Sure, sometimes the questions are framed differently, but at their core, they’re critical questions, and if school doesn’t teach us that, it teaches us nothing. Good s**t, Gracie. Good s**t.

can we blow this one up instead of the one where i sound stupid hashtag math isn’t real pic.twitter.com/HuaEDwqXXP

— gracie cunningham | BLM (@graciegcunning) August 27, 2020

Just in case you missed it, here’s one of Ozzy’s latest commentary videos…Ozzy Man Reviews: Aggressive Weather

Video Link: Gracie Cunningham

H/T: TWITTER.