SAT Math and Logic

The SAT is unlike any other test students are asked to take. While some of the same ideas from mathematics and English may apply, those ideas are not, necessarily, what students are being tested on. The College Board is not so concerned about a student knowing thousands of Latin roots or all of the formulas associated with finding area, volume, or distance; but rather they are interested in knowing how well a student understands an equation or algebraic concept. Memorization of equations alone will not help students raise their scores into the 1200+ range on the SAT.

A more accurate description of what is being tested on the SAT would be: Logic, Deductive Reasoning, and Reading Comprehension. Obviously these are typically not class titles offered in high school since they are actually intelligences and not simply subjects – more a way of thinking, like knowledge in motion rather than a regurgitation of facts.

Howard Gardner has shown that each of these intelligences can be grown and developed just like physical muscles. If a man wants to get stronger, he has but to make the decision that he will workout regularly and take control of his diet. If he commits to this end then he will, most certainly, get stronger and increase his muscle mass. As the adage goes, “No pain, no gain.”

Students will find it very beneficial to put down the xBox, shut off the boob tube, and begin to actively engage their minds in logical exercises such as chess, Minesweeper, MENSA puzzle books, spades, or any other game that requires logic, strategy, or probability to win. Obviously if a man desires to build muscle mass but chooses to not workout he will remain small, weak, and fragile. Intelligence, like ignorance, is a decision.

– Andrew Turner

www.thinkarchimedes.com