Probably not going to change hearts and minds, but I had to go there.

The last math diary you'll ever need
by TheLadyBrienne

Poor, dear old math. What did it ever do to deserve to have its name dragged through the mud in this shameful manner?

None of these “math” diaries are really about math. Mostly they are collections of projections by people who are absolutely sure that their special crystal ball (or the special crystal ball used by their favorite pundit) is the only one that could possibly be showing an accurate picture of future events.

If we’re honest with ourselves, we don’t call that math. We call it what it is: guessing.

We run into trouble here when everyone thinks their guess is the only “educated” guess and therefore the only one worthy of consideration. But let’s put the emphasis where it belongs — on the noun, not the adjective.

To be clear, I think it’s OK to be confident in a guess, as long as we don’t confuse our guess with reality. That means that we can think what we want, and act (or not) accordingly; but telling the world that anyone who doesn’t believe our favorite prediction is stupid, delusional, naive, brainwashed, corrupt, or even mentally ill, is both irrational and condescending.

It also causes protracted, pointless, destructive, bad-blood-inducing infighting.

Look, I know we all want to know what happens in the primaries, so that we can do our victory dances and/or drown our sorrows. Me too! I don’t mind telling you I can’t wait to use my math.

Just hang in there. That day is coming soon. Won’t it be great when we finally have all the primary voting results? Then we can use our beautiful, precise, glorious, logical math to add them all up and get the result we want: a real, calculable, incontrogoddamnvertible final answer!

I know it’s hard to wait, but until all the people have voted, there is no final answer. Only guessing.

So here’s my proposal: Let’s agree that if we get the urge to argue about what we guess is going to happen, we will stop ourselves and go do something else. Anything else. Some suggestions: Phonebank for our chosen candidate. Knock on doors to get out the vote. Bake a few dozen cookies. Practice our swordsmanship. Knit a pair of socks. Play Scrabble with friends, using wooden tiles on a tabletop board. Build a birdhouse. Clean out the garage. Watch some cute baby animal videos.

Seriously, literally anything is more productive than arguing over whose guess is more educated.

Anything.

Love, Brienne