
More than 50% of respondents said Arabic numerals should not be taught in school - howard941
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/teaching-arabic-numerals/
======
Kuraj
Interestingly, another question mentioned in the article - "Should schools in
America teach the creation theory of Catholic priest Georges Lemaitre as part
of their science curriculum?" \- yielded similar results :-)

~~~
ebg13
I think you could plausibly still call it bigotry even if the thing you
thought you were voting on deserves to be voted on that way if it turns out
that you were actually supposed to be voting on something else and you ended
up voting the wrong way because of a kneejerk reaction to the wording.

With that said, this example is substantively different because "creation
theory" is a term that has a very different meaning in common parlance than
the one intended here. "Arabic numerals" has no confounding information other
than the mere fact that they're being called Arabic.

~~~
thecabinet
“They are uneducated, backwards, mouth-breathing bigots! My tribe was tricked
by using words that we have a negative reaction to.” Oh wait.

~~~
ebg13
Yes basically.

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rjohnk
Reminds me of someone going around college campuses asking whether or not we
should ban Dihydrogen Oxide.

~~~
anoncake
It also works with abolishing female suffrage.

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writepub
1\. The numerals are actually Indian [1], that Arabic traders picked up and
propagated elsewhere. I don't think it changes the findings as I expect the
respondents to have answered in a similar fashion.

2\. I don't believe this is evidence of bigotry. If a similar survey were to
be taken in say Saudi Arabia, asking if American Numerals need to be taught in
madrasass, it'd likely have a similar response.

I think this entire exercise is setup with an agenda to apparently uncover
bigotry in the US, when the actual science behind it is questionable. Specious
sounding, misleading questions are often answered inaccurately. Clearly, the
question never educated the audience on the fact that Arabic Numerals are in
fact regular numbers in general use. The whole survey is intending to exploit
unawareness on the definition of "Arabic Numerals"

[1]:
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu–Arabic_numeral_system](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu–Arabic_numeral_system)

~~~
ebg13
> _I don 't believe this is evidence of bigotry. If a similar survey were to
> be taken in say Saudi Arabia, asking if American Numerals need to be taught
> in madrasass, it'd likely have a similar response._

What do you think bigotry is if not being opposed to something for reasons
other than its own merit? The unbigoted answer if you don't know what Arabic
Numerals means is the third option, "I don't know/No opinion".

~~~
writepub
> What do you think bigotry is if not being opposed to something for reasons
> other than its own merit?

Opposition to things for lack of awareness in itself isn't bigotry. Opposition
_because_ of hate of something you somewhat understand/misunderstand _is_
bigotry.

I'd vote NO to "Should we learn Martian Numerals", because I do not know what
martian numerals are, not because I hate martians

~~~
ebg13
> _I 'd vote NO to "Should we learn Martian Numerals", because I do not know
> what martian numerals are_

Voting _no_ because you don't understand something is expressing hate for
things that you don't understand. The unbigoted answer would be "I don't
know/No opinion".

~~~
writepub
> Voting no because you don't understand something is expressing hate for
> things that you don't understand

It's a stretch to call it "hate". I mean, as long as we're playing with words,
maybe you can classify "No opinion" as masked hate". A No vote IS NOT BIGOTRY.
I like Chocolate ice cream more than Vanilla, and would vote NO on a school
survey asking what flavor to serve in the cafeteria. I'm not bigoted against
Vanilla

~~~
ebg13
> _I like Chocolate ice cream more than Vanilla_

This is not analogous unless you actually think that schools should not teach
numerals or if the only reason you like chocolate is _because_ you don't know
what vanilla is. Choosing between two things by preference is also not
analogous to choosing yes or no for one thing.

> _A No vote IS NOT BIGOTRY._

It is IF you vote no BECAUSE you don't understand. That's called xenophobia.

If you don't have a note from a psychiatrist excusing your behavior because of
a medical condition, xenophobia is bigotry. Bigotry against vanilla and
Martians, it turns out, is not considered to be a big deal (yet) so you're
probably safe.

~~~
writepub
Here's a refresher of the definition:

"intolerance toward those who hold different opinions from oneself"

None of the scenarios described in your tirade fits the definition.

And back to the original article, it's highly likely that the audience
understood "Arabic" numerals to mean actual numerals in Arabic script. The
only definitive way to deduce bigotry is from a follow up question that has
amongst other choices, one for "because I dislike XYZ people". Everything else
is speculation - if you don't believe me, submit this for publication in any
peer reviewed academic journal.

"Never Attribute To Malice What You Can Attribute To Stupidity" \- the
respondants (likely) didn't know Arabic Numerals referred to what they already
use, and the question is setup to exploit the general lack of knowledge on the
matter, and spin a native on bigotry. Because, a story on bigotry is a LOT
more click baitey than simple ignorance.

BTW - you seem intent on pushing a "bigotry" narrative, and FUD-ing in
general. Are you the author? Or the person cited in the article tweeting an
obvious non sequitur, claiming _this_ unscientific, non-conclusive data to be
_evidence_ of bigotry?

