--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Regular adult Americans are no more…" description: "\"“Regular adult Americans are no more capable of doing math than they are of photosynthesis.”\" — Dave Barry" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d5/dave-barry-222_photosynthesis_regular-adult-americans-are-no-more-capa_1482116.png" --- # Regular adult Americans are no more capable of doing math… ![“Regular adult Americans are no more capable of doing math than they are of photosynthesis.” quote by Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d5/dave-barry-222_photosynthesis_regular-adult-americans-are-no-more-capa_1482116.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d5/dave-barry-222_photosynthesis_regular-adult-americans-are-no-more-capa_1482116.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d5/dave-barry-222_photosynthesis_regular-adult-americans-are-no-more-capa_1482116.png) > ““Regular adult Americans are no more capable of doing math than they are of photosynthesis.”” [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The statement humorously claims that average adults lack basic math skills, equating them with a biological process they cannot perform. **In simple terms:** Adults are bad at math, like photosynthesis. Key Takeaway Improve math literacy. Themes education humor competence Mood lighthearted critical Type humorous educational When to use this quote - school curricula - adult education programs - workplace training - media commentary Key Concepts numeracy public perception skill gaps Questions to Reflect On - What factors affect math proficiency? - How can we make math more accessible? A Different Perspective Not all adults lack math ability; many are proficient. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Photosynthesis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photosynthesis/) ## Related quotes > [Uninformed and yet open to appeals for justice as they are, Americans are capable of reacting as they did to the ANC campaign against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/uninformed-and-yet-open-to-appeals-for-justice-as-they-are-americans/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Today, 8 million adult Americans, more than the entire population of Michigan, have not finished 5 years of school. Nearly 20 million have not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/today-8-million-adult-americans-more-than-the-entire-population-of/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Nine out of ten adult Americans have a checking account. 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Dimitrov > [When you think about the complexity of our natural world - plants using quantum mechanics for photosynthesis, for example - a smartphone begins to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/when-you-think-about-the-complexity-of-our-natural-world-plants-using/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [Nature has put itself the problem how to catch in flight light streaming to the earth and to store the most elusive of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mayer/nature-has-put-itself-the-problem-how-to-catch-in-flight-light/) [Robert Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mayer/) > [The planet needs trees. 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Dimitrov > [“more leaves mean more photosynthesis. Robust leaves also mean more roots, which means more carbon streaming into the soil. Which means, at once, greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-d-schwartz/more-leaves-mean-more-photosynthesis-robust-leaves-also-mean-more/) [Judith D. Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-d-schwartz/) > [Originally, the atoms of carbon from which we're made were floating in the air, part of a carbon dioxide molecule. The only way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/originally-the-atoms-of-carbon-from-which-we-re-made-were-floating-in/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [“We know a great deal more than the Greeks did about the forces of life. But with all our knowledge, no one fully comprehends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-ketchum/we-know-a-great-deal-more-than-the-greeks-did-about-the-forces-of/) [Richard M. Ketchum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-ketchum/) > [“I want my words to illuminate like the sun, as I give my daily lecture on photosynthesis to my houseplants.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-want-my-words-to-illuminate-like-the-sun-as-i-give-my-daily-lecture/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [We can look at the way of improving the key biochemical processes like photosynthesis itself. A lot of energy is lost to keep the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-marie-lehn/we-can-look-at-the-way-of-improving-the-key-biochemical-processes/) [Jean-Marie Lehn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-marie-lehn/) > [There are three types of biomimicry - one is copying form and shape, another is copying a process, like photosynthesis in a leaf, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/there-are-three-types-of-biomimicry-one-is-copying-form-and-shape/) [Janine Benyus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-benyus/) > [ Before the discovery of these \[underwater\] vents, all life on Earth, the key to life on Earth, was believed to be the sun and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-degruy/before-the-discovery-of-these-underwater-vents-all-life-on-earth-the/) [Mike deGruy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-degruy/) > [Biological energy comes from the sun. Light energy harvested by photosynthesis in chloroplasts and phototropic bacteria becomes stored in carbohydrates and fats. This stored…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-walker/biological-energy-comes-from-the-sun-light-energy-harvested-by/) [John E. Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-walker/) > [Four elements, Hydrogen, carbon, oxygen and nitrogen, also provide an example of the astonishing togetherness of our universe. They make up the "organic" molecules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/four-elements-hydrogen-carbon-oxygen-and-nitrogen-also-provide-an/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [You cannot increase the efficiency of photosynthesis. We improve the performance of farms by irrigating them and fertilizing them to provide all these nutrients.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-smil/you-cannot-increase-the-efficiency-of-photosynthesis-we-improve-the/) [Vaclav Smil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-smil/) > [Look, Sage. I don't know much about chemistry or computer hacking or photosynthery, but this is something I've got a lot of experience with."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/look-sage-i-don-t-know-much-about-chemistry-or-computer-hacking-or/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) [Browse all 33 Photosynthesis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photosynthesis/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Regular adult Americans are no more capable of doing math than they are of photosynthesis.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dave Barry" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/regular-adult-americans-are-no-more-capable-of-doing-math-than-they/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Photosynthesis" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/regular-adult-americans-are-no-more-capable-of-doing-math-than-they/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d5/dave-barry-222_photosynthesis_regular-adult-americans-are-no-more-capa_1482116.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d5/dave-barry-222_photosynthesis_regular-adult-americans-are-no-more-capa_1482116.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d5/dave-barry-222_photosynthesis_regular-adult-americans-are-no-more-capa_1482116.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Regular adult Americans are no more capable of doing math than they are of photosynthesis.” — Dave Barry", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dave Barry", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Regular adult Americans are no more...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/regular-adult-americans-are-no-more-capable-of-doing-math-than-they/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/regular-adult-americans-are-no-more-capable-of-doing-math-than-they/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```