Dumbed-down maths won’t fuel smart economy

Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve enjoyed the spectacle of the Olympics at London 2012 and rejoiced in Irish competitors winning their various medals.

Sure, we would have liked to have done much better but given our size, our limited investment in sport, particularly in elite sport, and, indeed, the limitations forced on us with the current capacity of our economy, we are happy with our success.

We forget at our peril how each of those individuals, from Katie Taylor and her fellow boxers to Cian O’Connor, actually achieved that success.