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Sad commentary on the state of education / reliance on computers
Self | 18 May 2021 | COBOL2Java

Posted on 05/18/2021 10:08:48 AM PDT by COBOL2Java

I'd gone to a doctor's appointment this morning. Stopped by McDonald's before returning to work. Walked in so I could use the restroom. My order came to $6.87. I gave the girl $20.87. Went downhill from there.

She handed me $13.13. I said, "No, you need to give me $14" She replied, "I can't, the register says I have to give you $13.13".

Called the manager over. She had punched in $20 instead of $20.87.

The manager said "Give him $14" The girl was all flustered. "But, the register says..."

"Give him $14"

Sad commentary on today's kids. I guess they're skilled in demonstrating with ANTIFA and BLM but can't figure out how to do change.


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Computers/Internet; Education; Society
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To: rarestia
"I credit understanding the abacus with my quick uptake on binary, octal, and hex in computer science classes."

There was none of that when I was a kid. As someone interested in history, I'm sorry now that I never studied Latin in high school. My oldest son, now 54 wasn't interested in taking any computer classes when he was in college. Ended up teaching himself over the years. He's a computer geek now. After spending his weekdays working from home on a company computer, in his spare time he writes script, and creates mods for Fallout 4 that he uploads for people to use in the game. He has a channel on YouTube where he uploads videos, and live-streams on Twitch a couple times a week. I don't understand any of it, so he obviously didn't get his brains from me.

21 posted on 05/18/2021 10:43:07 AM PDT by mass55th ("Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway." ~~ John Wayne )
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To: caww
"Physicians are doing that in diagnosing you....punch into a computer symptoms and up pops the solutions."

My Rheumatologist retired when the medical group he was working at decided to upgrade to a better system. He told me he was terrified of it.

At one of my last appointments with him, he walked into room, saw the screen on his laptop had gone black, and said: "Oh dear! That's not good."

I told him the computer had just gone to sleep. He didn't even know what I was talking about. I told him all he had to do was hit one of the keys, which I did, and the screen woke up. He was so impressed, thanked me profusely for "fixing" his computer. I asked if he had a computer at home, and he said "yes," but obviously he wasn't familiar with it. I couldn't believe I'd been seeing this dummy for all those years. Thank God he did retire.

22 posted on 05/18/2021 10:50:00 AM PDT by mass55th ("Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway." ~~ John Wayne )
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To: COBOL2Java

back in the 80s I was the only one allowed to work register because I was the only one that could count out change


23 posted on 05/18/2021 10:51:30 AM PDT by JerryBlackwell (some animals are more equal than others)
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To: NewHampshireDuo

My wife like to torment the deli people by asking for a third of a pound of something.


24 posted on 05/18/2021 10:52:54 AM PDT by hanamizu
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To: caww

Physicians are doing that in diagnosing you....punch into a computer symptoms and up pops the solutions.


The hospital scene in Idiocracy made it even simpler—icons for symptoms. The ‘giving birth’ icon comes to mind.


25 posted on 05/18/2021 10:56:12 AM PDT by hanamizu
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To: COBOL2Java

“Sad commentary on today’s kids.”

Don’t blame the kids, it’s not their fault that their idiot parents consider keeping up with the Jones more important than protecting their kids from the public schools. Something like 80% to 90% of the people I work with send their kids to those schools...and virtually all of them can afford not to. But what the heck, their free!!!!!?


26 posted on 05/18/2021 11:01:35 AM PDT by BobL (I shop at Walmart and eat at McDonald's, I just don't tell anyone, like most here.)
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To: mass55th
Heck I have a female Dr. who hasn't once examined any part of my body though I've had two surgeries...not even looked at it! She just asks me for symptoms and pats away at her computer.

When I told her my left ankle and foot were swelling at times and I'd not had that problem before surgery....she just said “I know”.... and went on typing though I'd never mentioned it before and never addressed the issue..

27 posted on 05/18/2021 11:01:43 AM PDT by caww ( )
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To: Free in Texas

Right. Doing the work is how the skill is learned. Nothing is learned when a student punches numbers on a calculator. They get the results but have no understanding of the process needed to get the results. I teach adult ESL. I discourage the use of translators unless a student has no idea of what he is reading or needs to write.

The humorist Jean Shepherd once commented on a paint-by-number set that promised that the user would soon be painting beautiful masterpieces just like Michaelangelo’s. Yep, skip from A to Z without having to worry about talent or skill or real work.


28 posted on 05/18/2021 11:04:11 AM PDT by Southside_Chicago_Republican (The more I learn about people, the more I like my dog. )
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To: BobL

I have a son who finally took his three girls out of public schools in their teens. Said it was one of the best decisions he made. First thing he noticed was all the drama ceased....grades were already good but improved even further. And the girls were much happier.


29 posted on 05/18/2021 11:04:33 AM PDT by caww ( )
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To: COBOL2Java

Can’t blame the kids.. Blame the educators. They’re the problem.


30 posted on 05/18/2021 11:05:05 AM PDT by maddog55 (The only thing systemic in America is the left's hatred of it!)
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To: COBOL2Java

I would have explained and tried to teach her.

Sounds like even the manager didn’t take the time to teach.

I think that says something about the adults nowadays.


31 posted on 05/18/2021 11:06:44 AM PDT by Irenic ( )
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To: COBOL2Java

It’s not just kids. There are adults who rely on the computer and not on their brains. Are we on the way to becoming a nation of idiots who can do nothing without a computer?


32 posted on 05/18/2021 11:07:14 AM PDT by I want the USA back (Non-binary transnormativity is a construct of intersectionality. Leftist gobbledegook stinks.)
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To: hanamizu
Oh sheesh! Icons for symptoms! I guess reading and writing is no longer fundamental.
33 posted on 05/18/2021 11:07:37 AM PDT by caww ( )
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To: caww

“I have a son who finally took his three girls out of public schools in their teens. Said it was one of the best decisions he made. First thing he noticed was all the drama ceased....grades were already good but improved even further. And the girls were much happier.”

EXCELLENT story. Usually it doesn’t end too well (for many reasons) if you wait too long to pull them out. Depending on the state, they may even hunt you down with ‘social workers’, or at least force you to prove to them that you’re ‘still’ educating their students (even if though they weren’t). However, if you never get on their radar, like my kids, then they won’t even know the kids exist. Just tell the neighbors they go to that Christian (or other private) school at least 10 miles away...as it’s unlikely you’ll run into any real families using that school.


34 posted on 05/18/2021 11:10:58 AM PDT by BobL (I shop at Walmart and eat at McDonald's, I just don't tell anyone, like most here.)
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To: caww

Sounds like it’s time for you to find another doctor. When my family doctor of many years moved to S.C., I asked my Endocrinologist to take over that job. He agreed. And when my Rheumatologist retired, my Endocrinologist took over prescribing my anti-inflammatory too. I’ve managed to turn 3 co-pays into only one. I see him every six-months after having fasting blood work. And he’s old school, doesn’t rush you through the visit like most doctor’s do these days.


35 posted on 05/18/2021 11:12:20 AM PDT by mass55th ("Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway." ~~ John Wayne )
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To: caww

Oh sheesh! Icons for symptoms!


I’m pretty sure fast-food restaurants moved to icons on the registers years ago. Back in the dark ages, we were expected to know what things cost and enter the right numbers on the registers.

You can see the icons from the movie here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXzJR7K0wK0


36 posted on 05/18/2021 11:16:17 AM PDT by hanamizu
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To: hanamizu

Ask for 2 sevenths of a pound to really mess with their heads.


37 posted on 05/18/2021 11:19:59 AM PDT by Nateman (If the Left is not screaming , you are doing it wrong.)
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To: COBOL2Java
I saw this years ago, at least a couple of decades. I was working at a Hallmark store and a young teen came in and it was obvious that she had not been taught about "change". She couldn't work out which coins added up to the amount she needed. She just dumped the coins out and I had to pick out what she needed to pay for her purchase.

I was dumbfounded. Don't they have the little handout sheets with different coins to help kids understand what the value is and how to use different coins to get to the amount you need?

Our kids can't even do common sense little things like count change.

38 posted on 05/18/2021 11:28:16 AM PDT by LibertarianLiz
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To: COBOL2Java
They can't even count back change without the register telling them first how much it should be. That is just counting, not even math.
39 posted on 05/18/2021 11:28:46 AM PDT by zeugma (Stop deluding yourself that America is still a free country.)
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To: COBOL2Java

How did the register screw up?


40 posted on 05/18/2021 11:34:07 AM PDT by ConservativeInPA (“When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.” ― Thomas Jefferson)
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