Same with calculators. I cannot believe some of the conversations I hear in the mall. "Well, it originally cost $100.00 and then it was 40% off and then they say it's an additional 20% off-How much does it cost?"
I know what you mean. My son told me he was in an electronics store and their register was down. My son handed the clerk a $5.00 bill, paying for an item that cost $1.83. The clerk couldn't figure out his change. My son told him, "are you kidding me?" He wasn't. My son had to tell the clerk what his change should be. And that kid graduated high school. Amazing.
When I converse with journalists via e-mail, it is much different from when they actually write pieces. Short, no capitalizations even most of the time.
I apparently am the only person that actually composes well-thought, paragraphed e-mails.
As for calculators..they are lifesavers. I am horrible at doing math in my head since no teachers ever really taught how.
Same with calculators. I cannot believe some of the conversations I hear in the mall. "Well, it originally cost $100.00 and then it was 40% off and then they say it's an additional 20% off-How much does it cost?"
Now, there is a real problem! I can come up with the answer, $48., in about three seconds without using my fingers, toes, a pencil or anything else and I only went through a public high school in South Carolina. I have known people who have university degrees but cannot come up with the answer on a calculator in less than three minutes.