The SAT debate misses the real math problem in tech

UC faculty are demanding a return to SAT tests, citing "severe" math deficits. 648 points, 866 comments. in practice, the education debate is as polarized as ever, but let me offer a perspective from someone who actually uses math in their work.

I build trading bots. Not the "buy low sell high" meme kind — real systems that parse market data, calculate indicators, execute strategies, and manage risk. The math isn't optional. If you can't understand probability, statistics, and basic calculus, you're not going to build systems that survive live markets.

The push to remove standardized testing is well-intentioned but naive. Yes, SATs have biases. Yes, they don't measure everything. But they measure something: the ability to learn abstract concepts quickly. In a world where AI can write code for you, that ability matters more than ever.

Here's what I see in the developer community: the best engineers aren't the ones who memorized algorithms. here's the thing — they're the ones who can think in systems. And systems thinking requires a foundation in math. frankly, not advanced calculus — basic probability, logic, and the ability to reason about cause and effect.

The UC faculty are right about the deficit. What they're wrong about is the solution. Bringing back SATs won't fix an education system that treats math as a gatekeeping mechanism instead of a tool for understanding the world. Math should be taught as a language, not a hurdle.

I didn't learn this in school. I learned it by building systems that failed. A trading bot that blew up because I misunderstood variance. An automation pipeline that broke because I didn't account for edge cases. frankly, real math education happens when you build something and watch it break.

The debate misses the real issue: we need more builders, not more test-takers. here's the thing — give someone a problem to solve and they'll learn the math they need. Give them a test to pass and they'll forget it by Monday.

. Anyway, that's my take.