I just downloaded this for my soon-to-be seven-year-old, to experiment. ($5 for a shot at making math easier is a no-brainer bet... if he takes one look and rejects it, well, $5.)
My goal is not that he literally walks away knowing algebra. My goal is that his brain gets primed with the patterns he'll need to learn algebra. Even if he never consciously puts the two things together, it can only help to have pre-burned neural pathways for the sorts of otherwise counter-intuitive manipulations that algebra calls for.
My feeling is that the exact opposite of what you fear will happen; children with prior exposure will find algebra simply easier, and in so finding it easier are far more likely to engage, even with the shit school curricula for algebra we have.
I hope that happens - I really do. We need kids not to be afraid of just playing with stuff, including abstract stuff like manipulating and rearranging equations. I see too many kids paralysed when faced with a problem, unwilling or unable to do anything because they are scared that what they do will be wrong. They don't know the right thing to do, so they don't do anything. There's a chance that games like DragonBox will help fix that. I'm just aware that there are other ways that it will play out for some kids, because not all kids are the same.
My goal is not that he literally walks away knowing algebra. My goal is that his brain gets primed with the patterns he'll need to learn algebra. Even if he never consciously puts the two things together, it can only help to have pre-burned neural pathways for the sorts of otherwise counter-intuitive manipulations that algebra calls for.
My feeling is that the exact opposite of what you fear will happen; children with prior exposure will find algebra simply easier, and in so finding it easier are far more likely to engage, even with the shit school curricula for algebra we have.