Interesting. I would have thought that "the culture needs to change" is in direct opposition to Lockhart's thesis. My reading of his essay is that people are rightly justified in hating the "mathematics" that was forced upon them.

I wonder if this difference in reading is some sort of confirmation bias, reading into an essay what we each want to hear? On a more meta-level, I wonder if that quality improves or detracts from an essay. Or maybe that quality isn't a part of the essay as much is it is attached to the subject or the reader? Something I'll have to ponder some more.