Posted on 03/13/2013 1:57:35 PM PDT by Olog-hai
A fifth of adults are so bad at math that they struggle to perform basic mental arithmetic, a survey has revealed.
More than a third can only manage sums that total less than 100 and have to use a calculator for anything larger.
One in 50 people were stumped by adding or subtracting in their head if the total was more than ten.
And one in three parents believed their children’s ability exceeded their own. …
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
More like Brave New World.
I don’t know..do students still do multiplication, addition tables, and all the other rote learning things we did fifty years ago? I still remember the nun at the blackboard with the pointer and all us kids reciting in unison.
-PJ
Well in their defense, those machines are sometimes tied to a central store computer for record purposes. On top of that, UPC codes and debit cards cant be used without electricity.
When I got my degree (accounting/finance) we had to learn the math by hand before using calculators. Some of the problems could take 4 pages to solve and sometimes 1 problem was the only question on a test. I have helped some people in the recent past getting the same degree that only learn what buttons to push on the calculator. I’ve read that some of the young finance graduates were responsible for the financial crises, because they never learned the logic that accompanies the formulas.
LOL...Government teachers have severely dumb down the masses for the past 2+ generations...
“Hate to say, but my own personal policy is that when a cashier overpays me in change that I say *nothing* anymore”
I am with you on that. I had someone short me about $10 on my change. I called in the manager and demanded a register count. The register was off by over $100. I got my money and the employee wasn’t there the next day.
She was confused and said "You gave me too much money" and gave me back the dollar bill and the thirty cents.
She processed the transaction giving me $8.73, in exchange for the twenty. I left the money on the counter, then handed her two ones and asked for a ten.
She then looked at me and I could almost see the light bulb click on; "OH!! you wanted a ten back didn't you?"
>>>One in three adults can’t do simple sums past 100 without a calculator<<<
Shocking. One in three? That is almost 25%! :)
Because the article did not clarify it if (the study) is a real test, or it is just a survey. I can't find any link to the study.
Also from the article: “one in three parents believed their children’s ability exceeded their own” - really? are they confusing with the ‘tech savvy’ skill vs. real math/science skill?
Yep. There are three kinds of people: people who understand math and people who don’t.
It;s the impact of technology over time. How many folks can sharpen a wooden pencil with a knife?
We homeschooled, used Saxon Math books, and they always had sections of, what they called, Mental Math. All that meant was no paper and pencil allowed, much less a calculator.
I have a book called Test Your Math IQ (someone gave it to me as a present) and I enjoy solving the problems, just to keep my math skills alive (even though I’ve almost hit the big 60)
it’s good to keep your brain nimble doing word problems and such.
If only the problem were confined to math. The pathetic truth is that people are being given a well rounded education, they are ignorant not just about math but about language, history, government, literature, geography, and many other things. If ignorance had any value we would be rich indeed. The average American soldier in WWII had an eighth grade education and was better educated by far than most recent college graduates.
I have noticed that many people have no “feel” for numbers. If they use a calculator to multiply 41 x 82 and they enter it incorrectly and the answer comes up 336200 they are apt to think that is correct. I learned arithmetic the old way long ago and it instantly flashes in my mind that 40 x 80 is 3200 so there is no way the answer could be six figures long. Terms like 1/4, .25, .250, 0.25, 25% etc. all look the same to me, some people seem to need a calculator and a book to figure out that 1/4 of a pound is the same thing as .25 x 1 pound or 25% of a pound and all are equal to four ounces.
Amazingly enough to me most adults don’t seem to know how many feet are in a land mile, let alone a nautical mile. When I was in grade school I learned that a land mile is 5,280 ft. and a nautical mile is 6000. I could not forget those if I tried, if I ever cannot remember them I will know that I am entering dementia.
I agree. All the educational establishment did was lengthen the time it took to educate the young. They did not teach more information.
If you look at math books, from the early 1900’s, they were teaching, what we teach in grade 12, in the eighth grade.
Your post reminded me of this classic
The Absent-Minded Waiter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgOjxGjCtDM
I’m just glad it doesn’t have anything to do with pi. I thought pi was some number, but it turns out it’s a book about a tiger eating everyone on a boat.
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