Why must they keep updating text books every year or two?Albebra today is the same algebra I learned as a kid?

Question

This constant updating causes us to pay such ridiculous prices for college textbooks.

Every history class I took spent 99% of the time going over 1700-1950.

& they appear to be concenred over the text book information from 2005 to 2008.

Answer 1

My thought is it is a ploy to get more money!  They change one or two things and charge $20 more and make it required.  Wait til the first day of class and ask the instructor if the old edition will be as sufficient. Often it is and save you a lot of money.  Shop around too sometimes you can buy books on ebay or half.com for cheap...Barnes and Noble as usual has discounted text books.

Answer 2

Sometimes opinions change or new facts are uncovered. Even small edits require a complete reprint. Besides, it keeps everybody in business. If only they would take back the old books for recycling and give you a discount.

Answer 3

In the case of math, a lot of school systems are starting to add "new math" (the normal forms for multiplying things etc are different because the writers believe that drilling on such forms is a waste of time when students have calculators... watch video in sources for details) as well as adding sections on -using- the calculators. My school doesn't make us get new books every year for math, but then again we have state books that we keep until they fall apart, literally.

Also, as some people said, the money is an issue: re-using books year after year doesn't make the school and the publishers any money.

In the case of history, they always need to add the contemporary stuff, as well as the new views on history and new things that are coming out after the fact (information on Vietnam is still coming out, for example)

Answer 4

The only answer is "More Money"!