The most important thing about learning math is the learning. It’s kind of like reading. Will you ever use reading in your life? Not always. But will it make you a more well rounded, interesting person? Probably.

Don’t get me wrong, there are countless applications of math that our society relies on for peace prosperity and health, but that shouldn’t be the motivation to learning math. That should be a government’s incentive to investing in good math education.

Being good at math means you are a good problem solver, have grit, and know how to work hard at something. It also means you’re probably not afraid of memorizing a few things, which is actually a good thing. As a math teacher (and someone with 10 years of math education myself) I have not yet met anybody who is good at math and didn’t have to work very hard at it. There is no faking being good at math.