I'd agree with you that your background (which lacks calculus) is entirely appropriate and adequate to provide you with scientific literacy.
The problem is that the concepts
taught in calculus all-too-commonly come as revelations which are presented solely in that venue. Similarly, statistical methods. Possessing a conceptual (as opposed to comprehensive or working) understanding of the concepts underlying calculus is exactly what I meant by "knowing the terms" at issue. I didn't mean verbal definitions, but conceptual ones. Honestly, that is a simple enough thing that I've taught middle schoolers what "integration" is in about twenty minutes; I find it horrifying that people can graduate from high school, much less college, without understanding that.
That would be akin to not understanding what a "subject" is in a sentence, or how a Democracy differs from a Republic. Is that merely a parlor trick or trivial pursuit answer? Well, maybe-- at least in isolation it is-- but it's still part of being literate in the relevent area.
Truly, statistics are probably
more critical than calculus to the average person, and nothing more than algebra is actually required to understand the methodology of at least 80% of that. Oh, sure, you may not be able to follow the derivations completely, but that's fine if you know how to use the results and what they mean (or don't).
The fact that most people have no idea what a 95% confidence interval actually
means is deeply distressing to me, because that means that while they may have
access to peer-reviewed studies in journals, they lack the competence to actually understand them.
Even an auto mechanic ought to be capable of understanding the difference between quality assurance statements from two parts companies when they are made in statistically correct verbiage.
Does one
have to acquire this understanding via formal instruction? Certainly not. I acquired my own linear algebra skill set via self-study in college. Colinsmum is absolutely correct about how oddly insular the view on this is in north America. Those who have taken calculus
in the US tend to have a propensity to lord it over those who have not for some bizarre reason. I find that rather incomprehensible, too. Differential equations was ultimately far more interesting and useful. More to the point-- none of it is alchemy any more than German or Cantonese is. LOL.
