UIndy hosted the first Indianapolis screening of “Counted Out,” a nationally-recognized film, on Jan. 30 in Ruth Lilly Performance Center.
According to the film’s website, it looks at social issues through an unexpected lens: math. The film focuses on how the lack of math literacy affects how society deals with matters like politics, misinformation and general life decisions. Associate Professor of Mathematical Sciences Krysi Leganza said she found out about “Counted Out” and wanted UIndy to be the first in Indianapolis to screen the film and share its message.
“There’s no such thing as a math person and not a math person,” Leganza said. “Everybody can do math, and you wouldn’t go around saying ‘I can’t read’ but people almost proudly say ‘I can’t do math’… but you should know enough math to function in society.”
According to Leganza, there is a misunderstanding that this is only a math movie, but it is also about social issues. It talks about how math is applied in real life such as with algorithms, the job market and gerrymandering. Leganza said people do not need to know how the math is calculated but should know what it means and how it affects you.
“We don’t all have to become mathematicians, but we have to know enough math to be good citizens.” Leganza said. “That’s all math, but it’s affecting your vote and who represents you and what happens in our democracy. It affects who gets funding.”
Not everyone grows up liking math, and recent UIndy alum Eljiah Armour experienced the same. Yet, he graduated with two degrees — one in chemistry and one in mathematics. Armour said it was a big 180, but over time his attitude toward math evolved from disgust to apathy to enjoyment.
“I hated math, and I actually had a passion to hate math. Did not want to do it, refused to do it.” Armour said. “… by the time I got to the math classes here at UIndy, it was so much more interesting… I don’t know what it was, but I caught myself gravitating towards it and really, really enjoying it.”
Armour said his ultimate goal is to become a professor of math and teach. While tutoring other students during his time at UIndy, he said he loved the “light bulb moments” and knew in those moments that teaching math was the career he wanted to pursue. He said he likes to use the analogy of learning math like learning an unfamilar place, like how a brand-new student learns the layout of campus.
“I tell people like the best way to become familiar with [math] is to do it,” Armour said. “The more you’re in that space, the more familiar you’ll become with it, so the more comfortable you’ll become with it — and that’s where things start to get easier.”
“Counted Out” advocates to make math literacy more accessible and start a dialogue surrounding it, according to its website. The screening featured an audience discussion, where viewers had a conversation about the film with each other. People were eager to share their thoughts and have a meaningful conversation about some of society’s problems and solutions.To learn more about “Counted Out” or attend a screening, visit www.countedoutfilm.com.
