We should be teaching linear algebra before calculus, because the concepts are genuinely more relevant and teach you how to see systems of equations differently.
I’d argue that stats should come before either of those. A basic course in statistics would be enormously helpful to most people in navigating and understanding the modern world. It’s much more likely to be relevant to daily life for the average person than calculus or linear algebra. Basic calculus–especially differential equations–is certainly enormously useful for understanding the natural world, but statistics is relevant everywhere, and even a lot of math/science people never get any instruction on it.
We should be teaching linear algebra before calculus, because the concepts are genuinely more relevant and teach you how to see systems of equations differently.
I’d argue that stats should come before either of those. A basic course in statistics would be enormously helpful to most people in navigating and understanding the modern world. It’s much more likely to be relevant to daily life for the average person than calculus or linear algebra. Basic calculus–especially differential equations–is certainly enormously useful for understanding the natural world, but statistics is relevant everywhere, and even a lot of math/science people never get any instruction on it.
100% agree