Counted Out: Aggies Reimagine How We View Math at Documentary Screening

Across the nation, political strategists are carving up voting districts like a Thanksgiving turkey. Heaping portions go to some; scant morsels are left for others. Like the salamander for which gerrymandering is named, the practice goes largely unnoticed, yet possesses potential harm — poisonous toxins on the skin in the case of the animal; long-term implications for many in the case of manipulative redistricting.

At the core of this AI-fueled process are sophisticated techniques — including computational analysis and algorithm-assisted realignment, all based on math — that few Americans can fathom, let alone muster the time and energy to adequately monitor and call into question. And redistricting is only one of many math-based challenges facing individuals and society.

“Politics, economics, climate change, pandemics — all of these require quantitative knowledge to even begin to tackle,” said Utah State University Mathematics Professor Brynja Kohler.

To address this challenge at the community level, Kohler, associate dean for undergraduate studies and director of mathematics education and outreach in the College of Arts and Sciences, organized the Nov. 17 campus screening and panel discussion of the 2024 documentary Counted Out. Produced and directed by attorney Vicki Abeles and featuring a range of educators and scholars, the film,according to its website description, “investigates the biggest crises of our time through an unexpected lens: math.”

“This powerful new documentary explores how math literacy is essential to the health of our democracy,” said Kohler, who is principal investigator for USU’s National Science Foundation-funded Noyce Fellowship Community Impact with Teacher Leaders in Data Science and Mathematical Modeling project.

“We initiated this gathering to hear from local educators and leaders, and to foster discussion among adults and teens throughout our community about this compelling issue,” she added.

She recruited Noyce project colleague Carrie Bala, professional practice assistant professor in USU’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics; along with Liz Dickenson, director of secondary education for the Logan City School District; and Damon Cann, professor of political science in USU’s School of Social Sciences to serve as panelists for a post-film discussion.

The film traces the impact of math on several individuals’ lives and features insights from diverse influencers including Math for Love founder Daniel Finkel, math teacher Karim Ani, journalist Julia Angwin, mathematicians Erika Bullock, Eugenia Cheng and Ben Blum-Smith, along with the late civil rights activist and teacher Robert Moses. A central theme is recurring barriers to mathematics understanding and educational access that hamper career success and financial stability, further fueling inequality.

Panelist Bala, who trains future and in-service K-12 mathematics teachers, said knowledge of math is power.

“Working with teachers is the best way to propagate teaching innovation and create opportunities for students,” she says. “Helping teachers experience and share the richness of quantitative thinking can be powerful.”

Cann, a quantitative social scientist, conceded his elementary, secondary and undergraduate experiences with math were less than inspiring, but graduate study led him to a realization of the value of the discipline.

“As soon as I learned what a powerful tool quantitative reasoning could be for helping me solve problems of public policy and governance — things that I really cared about — I fell in love with math as a tool for achieving those goals,” he said. “And so the ways the film framed how to think about math really resonated with me.”

Dickenson said math was a favorite subject until 8th grade, when she began to struggle.

“I felt like I was really bad at math, but now I ‘live’ data day in and day out,” she said. “I want to ensure students become mathematically literate.”

Dickenson said today’s teens are constantly reviewing data from their social media interactions.

“The film reminded me how our students have so much access to information, so it’s crucial they have the critical thinking skills to make decisions,” she said.

Audience members enthusiastically chimed in with questions and comments about their own personal experiences with math and concerns about loss of societal math literacy.

“Democracy is in peril — that’s what piqued my curiosity in this event,” said scientific programmer Mike Vlah. “I had a hunch math was at the epicenter of it all, but I wanted to hear it laid out for me and how math can be used to solve these problems.”

Aspiring math teacher Helen Quevedo said many have a negative view of mathematics.

“Some think math is only for particular people, or even just for men,” said Quevedo, a doctoral student in USU’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics. “So I think it’s important to think about another way to see mathematics and explore different ways of teaching.”