60% of girls aged 18-21 cannot do basic addition/subtraction w/o calculator

[BoomerD]

Originally posted by: randay

Originally posted by: Rudee
I read that 1 out of 4 children are mathematically illiterate. 1 out of 4!! That's 50%!

50%? holy shit! thats almost half!

Sheesh...the failboat is coming for both of you.
1 out of 4 is 33%...THAT's almost 1/3...
GAH! where did you guys do your math? In the girls room? :roll:

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: BoomerD

Sheesh...the failboat is coming for both of you.
1 out of 4 is 33%...THAT's almost 1/3...
GAH! where did you guys do your math? In the girls room? :roll:

Nine out of Six actually understand division problems. People will start using letters and other algebraical symbols to make everyone else think they are smart. Geometry teaches us to bisex angles. :laugh:

 

[imported_yovonbishop]

Originally posted by: TallBill

Originally posted by: yovonbishop
I doubt it's just girls bud. I went into Burger King and the 17-18 year old kid behind the counter told me it would be $4.56 or something like that - I handed him a 10 and somehow he managed to give me back $7.75. I would consider that this was possibly just an error with him grabbing too much money or something, but when he handed me my recepit he had actually did the math with a pencil on the back. He subtracted $4.56 from $10 and gotten the $7.75 somehow. I was so sad, I wanted to cry.

I'd cry if I was eating at Burger King too.

That's another issue:laugh:

 

[Foxery]

Originally posted by: cubby1223
I've gotten into trouble sometimes when thinking I'm helping them out. Like the amount is $4.83 and I'll hand the person $5.08, the person just stands there with the dumbest look. I don't do that anymore.

I do this all the time when trying to dump pocket change or one dollar bills. Fortunately, I've only *once* had someone hand back my money, saying "You gave me too much." Most furrow their brow and turn to the register for the answer. But the scariest ones are those who show no glimmer of light in their eyes at any point...

You folks want to bash the OP for his example? I work at an investment firm. Finance. About 1 in 3 people in my office can total a commission report that says 100 + 250 + 325 in their heads, never mind tip a waiter properly. You would cry if you spent a day listening to a room full of people who are technically licensed to manage your retirement fund.

It is socially acceptable in America to be dense and ignorant. You could make a copy of this thread for the concept, "today's grads can not write a coherent paragraph without a spell checker." Graduating high school is treated like eating your vegetables - and as soon as your parents aren't watching, you order out for pizza.

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: Foxery

Originally posted by: cubby1223
I've gotten into trouble sometimes when thinking I'm helping them out. Like the amount is $4.83 and I'll hand the person $5.08, the person just stands there with the dumbest look. I don't do that anymore.

I do this all the time when trying to dump pocket change or one dollar bills. Fortunately, I've only *once* had someone hand back my money, saying "You gave me too much." Most furrow their brow and turn to the register for the answer. But the scariest ones are those who show no glimmer of light in their eyes at any point...

eh, to be honest, this has happened to me. when the job is mundane, you get into a pattern, and expect certain things. it becomes very mindless and automatic.

 

[ConstipatedVigilante]

Wow. I'm terrible at math, but I can do simple arithmetic like making change. Hell, I'm taking calculus now - just not very good at it. But really, you can't go through life THAT dumb. It's impossible. They have to be good at SOMETHING.

 

[Dimmu]

Originally posted by: randomlinh

Originally posted by: Foxery

Originally posted by: cubby1223
I've gotten into trouble sometimes when thinking I'm helping them out. Like the amount is $4.83 and I'll hand the person $5.08, the person just stands there with the dumbest look. I don't do that anymore.

I do this all the time when trying to dump pocket change or one dollar bills. Fortunately, I've only *once* had someone hand back my money, saying "You gave me too much." Most furrow their brow and turn to the register for the answer. But the scariest ones are those who show no glimmer of light in their eyes at any point...

eh, to be honest, this has happened to me. when the job is mundane, you get into a pattern, and expect certain things. it becomes very mindless and automatic.

Indeed. I'm a Computer Science major and am doing quite well for what it's worth. I work at Target on breaks from college. Most of the time the guests give us an even amount or creidt/debit cards, etc. That's merely what I am used, to so when someone pulls a fast one on me , as in cubby1223's example, it honestly does make me think for a second. But then I instantly type the given amount into my register and it calculates the change for me. Ah, blessed computers, haha.

 

[Mardeth]

Reminds me of sister who once had to calculate the weight of brick based on its dimensions and density. The answer was something like 1 382 157 kg. She never doubted her answer... Never stopped to think if it made ANY SENSE.

 

[soccerballtux]

Yet another controversial thread from IcerbergSlim that delivers!

These are the same women that want us to spend "about 3-4 months salary" on their wedding ring, or the amount I'd spend on a couple year old used car. Ha! The number of men who will put up with kind of BS are dwindling, both by choice and by fact that purchasing power is decreasing-- when my father was 30 he could afford a lot more (house, cars, wife, kids) than what I'll be able to afford when I reach thirty.

 

[GoingUp]

I'd believe it. Its amazing how few people can do basic math in their head.

 

[OhSnap688]

Thank goodness I'm within the 40% . Maybe some girls are too lazy to try in their heads?

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Originally posted by: CaptainKahuna
This scares the sh*t out of me, and this is why:

There are a few people in this thread calling the OP's workplace a "crap" job, etc. Here's the thing - it's not. This is middle America. Club workers, waitresses, department store clerks, etc. To us (the AT crowd, generally well educated and science-minded) these people seem like the lower end of society. They're not. The average household income (Wikipedia) in America is $48,500. That means 50% of the country makes less than that. These are your waitresses, clerks, bus drivers, etc. These are the people that in general have problems with basic arithmetic.

Here is where it gets scary: That means 50% of the people voting for president likely can't do basic substraction in their head. 50% of people voting for president will take out a sub-prime mortgage they can't afford and then expect the government to bail them out. 50% of the people voting for president probably use credit cards like free money, paying only the minimum balance every month.

And now you know why the candidates never talk about important issues - social security, the economy, etc. Why? Because 50% of Americans likely don't understand, or care about, these issues. And guess what? 50% of the vote wins the presidency. So the candidates will spend their time talking about issues that don't really matter to the country (gay marriage, abortion, etc) but that push people's buttons and win votes.

This is why the electoral college was created - because the founding fathers had this figured out. They realized that glamorous as democracy may be, there is part of the population that really has no business running this country and making important decisions on issues.

Yes, I know this was an impressive rant (and quite a deviation from the topic). Flame away.

Here's the problem with your statement. You're going purely by money. Prostitutes can make more money than that. Does that therefore not make it a crap job? Nope. It's a crap job, and as is working a club scene. Both are about the body more than the intelligence.

In conclusion good money /= anti-crap job

 

[Strk]

Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune

Originally posted by: CaptainKahuna
This scares the sh*t out of me, and this is why:

There are a few people in this thread calling the OP's workplace a "crap" job, etc. Here's the thing - it's not. This is middle America. Club workers, waitresses, department store clerks, etc. To us (the AT crowd, generally well educated and science-minded) these people seem like the lower end of society. They're not. The average household income (Wikipedia) in America is $48,500. That means 50% of the country makes less than that. These are your waitresses, clerks, bus drivers, etc. These are the people that in general have problems with basic arithmetic.

Here is where it gets scary: That means 50% of the people voting for president likely can't do basic substraction in their head. 50% of people voting for president will take out a sub-prime mortgage they can't afford and then expect the government to bail them out. 50% of the people voting for president probably use credit cards like free money, paying only the minimum balance every month.

And now you know why the candidates never talk about important issues - social security, the economy, etc. Why? Because 50% of Americans likely don't understand, or care about, these issues. And guess what? 50% of the vote wins the presidency. So the candidates will spend their time talking about issues that don't really matter to the country (gay marriage, abortion, etc) but that push people's buttons and win votes.

This is why the electoral college was created - because the founding fathers had this figured out. They realized that glamorous as democracy may be, there is part of the population that really has no business running this country and making important decisions on issues.

Yes, I know this was an impressive rant (and quite a deviation from the topic). Flame away.

Here's the problem with your statement. You're going purely by money. Prostitutes can make more money than that. Does that therefore not make it a crap job? Nope. It's a crap job, and as is working a club scene. Both are about the body more than the intelligence.

In conclusion good money /= anti-crap job

It's also ignoring household income versus individual income. A household income may be $48k, but that doesn't mean it is two people contributing to it.

 

[soccerballtux]

Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune

Originally posted by: CaptainKahuna
This scares the sh*t out of me, and this is why:

There are a few people in this thread calling the OP's workplace a "crap" job, etc. Here's the thing - it's not. This is middle America. Club workers, waitresses, department store clerks, etc. To us (the AT crowd, generally well educated and science-minded) these people seem like the lower end of society. They're not. The average household income (Wikipedia) in America is $48,500. That means 50% of the country makes less than that. These are your waitresses, clerks, bus drivers, etc. These are the people that in general have problems with basic arithmetic.

Here is where it gets scary: That means 50% of the people voting for president likely can't do basic substraction in their head. 50% of people voting for president will take out a sub-prime mortgage they can't afford and then expect the government to bail them out. 50% of the people voting for president probably use credit cards like free money, paying only the minimum balance every month.

And now you know why the candidates never talk about important issues - social security, the economy, etc. Why? Because 50% of Americans likely don't understand, or care about, these issues. And guess what? 50% of the vote wins the presidency. So the candidates will spend their time talking about issues that don't really matter to the country (gay marriage, abortion, etc) but that push people's buttons and win votes.

This is why the electoral college was created - because the founding fathers had this figured out. They realized that glamorous as democracy may be, there is part of the population that really has no business running this country and making important decisions on issues.

Yes, I know this was an impressive rant (and quite a deviation from the topic). Flame away.

Here's the problem with your statement. You're going purely by money. Prostitutes can make more money than that. Does that therefore not make it a crap job? Nope. It's a crap job, and as is working a club scene. Both are about the body more than the intelligence.

In conclusion good money /= anti-crap job

You're right, but that's not a valid retort by itself. I say this because I'd simply feel more confident with someone who makes 50k handling my money than something that makes a quarter of that. The people making a quarter of that are the ones that picked the easy job at Kroger next to home in highschool, dropped out, and kept working there. The people who are making 50k have probably at least thought about trying to find a job that makes them more money. If you're so uneducated that you can't figure out what 3/10ths of a pound is you're definitely not educated enough to look for another job and learn about how to get to it using public transit.

Also, Kahuna's remark about the average income being 48.5k, and therefor 50% of America making less than that, is inaccurate. If we want to see what 50% of America is making less than, we need to look at the MEDIAN income, not the average income. Nitpicking, but very important; because the median income is less than 48.5k (couple thousand, maybe more; I don't recall). If you only look at the average then the exec's at the top of the food chain weight the average upward more than the lower income folk pull it back down.

The electoral college comment is right on though; and as much as it hurts us sometimes, it helps us too. That doesn't keep politicians from catering to the stupid people though, like Hillary saying she wants to give $30B in aid to the idiots that took the AMR's. Free votes right there. Same thing goes with welfare; that's a huge populace you can draw out to vote for you if your opposition wants to axe entitlements.

 

[thomsbrain]

blah blah blah damn kids these days are no damn good what's the world coming to blah blah.

*shakes cane* GET OFF MA LAAAWN!

 

[Sphexi]

Math is fun, even if I'm not that great at the higher end stuff. I love accounting work, numbers just come really easy to me when I'm looking at bills or spreadsheets or whatever. Hell, I'm such a dork that I mention "cross-multiplication" at least once or twice a week in conversation at work, and most of the time I get blank stares. Then I write out:

Part ------X
____ x ____
Whole ---100

They stare at it a while longer, and if they're my age (27) or older, then they tend to remember that day back in 5th grade when they learned it. If they're younger, then the blank stare continues, and I sigh. Something so incredibly useful, yet they apparantly don't teach it anymore.


Edit:
Ignore the dashes in the above, formatting sucks

 

[OrganizedChaos]

Originally posted by: ryan256

Originally posted by: ebaycj
Interesting. I was unaware of this "new age math" until i googled it in response to this thread.

I am 28 now, apparently I learned "the old school math" when i was in JHS / HS.

Funny thing is that I developed a methodology very similar to "new age math" in my head, to make things easier / quicker, that's how I do all my arithmetic now.

i.e. 54*32, in my head, is :
50*30 + 50 * 2 + 4*30 + 4*2 = 1500 + 100 + 120 + 8 = 1728

I'm about the same with you on this. To me its
(54*3) *10 + 54*2 = 162*10 + 108 = 1728

I think the problem two fold. Kids being allowed to use calculators too early in school and being rewarded for plain dumbassery. I was taught that you use the calculator as a shortcut not a crutch.

I'm 21, have a high school diploma, passed my state mandated graduation test, and have no higher education. I have absolutely no idea what you two just did or how you did it.

 

[invidia]

Originally posted by: OrganizedChaos

Originally posted by: ryan256

Originally posted by: ebaycj
Interesting. I was unaware of this "new age math" until i googled it in response to this thread.

I am 28 now, apparently I learned "the old school math" when i was in JHS / HS.

Funny thing is that I developed a methodology very similar to "new age math" in my head, to make things easier / quicker, that's how I do all my arithmetic now.

i.e. 54*32, in my head, is :
50*30 + 50 * 2 + 4*30 + 4*2 = 1500 + 100 + 120 + 8 = 1728

I'm about the same with you on this. To me its
(54*3) *10 + 54*2 = 162*10 + 108 = 1728

I think the problem two fold. Kids being allowed to use calculators too early in school and being rewarded for plain dumbassery. I was taught that you use the calculator as a shortcut not a crutch.

I'm 21, have a high school diploma, passed my state mandated graduation test, and have no higher education. I have absolutely no idea what you two just did or how you did it.

They just added and multiply. Even with a calculator it shouldn't be too hard to understand the concept of addition and multiplication. Like 1 apple plus 1 apple = 2 apples or 1+1=2.

Numbers are represented by the symbols: 1, 2, 3, 4 so on. Like for example, you know what a "tire" is on your car or truck? There's 4 tires. A bicycle has "2" tires or wheels.

 

[Foxery]

No need to be rude.

They broke apart the numbers into more manageable pieces, then added them back together. I've preferred to become good at estimating, since I rarely need an exact figure; most days I'd say 50*30 = 1500, plus a few more of each is around 1700. Decide whether this ballpark figure makes sense in the current context, and move on.

 

[mrSHEiK124]

Originally posted by: theprodigalrebel
It's true. A lot of small-time grocers/stores here don't have cash registers. They just add numbers up on a calculator and tell you how much you owe them (or jot down items, qty & price on a piece of paper with pen). It's odd when you see a guy take 5 seconds to slowly add 12+13+5 = 30 on a calculator.

I always figured it must be out of habit. But I'm sure it's not so always.

The cigarette/paan shop guys surprise me though. Let's say I buy something worth twenty rupees and I pay him using all the coins I have. I put all my (1,2,5 rupee) coins on the counter, the dude takes two-three seconds to glance at the coins and then hands a one rupee coin back saying, "You gave me an extra buck." It always baffles me how the cigarette/paan shop guys can add up a whole bunch of coins so fast.

Sometimes, uneducated paan shop dude > high school kids

I've seen the same exact thing in Arab countries. Definitely not the brightest crayons in the box, but they make a living out of it, so they learn it naturally. It doesn't apply to everyone though; when I was in Jordan, I bought a 7 JD pre-paid cellular card, I gave him 12 JD. He looked at me like I was an idiot, and repeated, very loudly, first in Arabic, then in broken English, 7 JD. I wanted to tell him that means give me a 5 back, meathead, before his dad came out from the back, hit him upside the head, and apologized for the trouble :laugh:

Originally posted by: OrganizedChaos

Originally posted by: ryan256

Originally posted by: ebaycj
Interesting. I was unaware of this "new age math" until i googled it in response to this thread.

I am 28 now, apparently I learned "the old school math" when i was in JHS / HS.

Funny thing is that I developed a methodology very similar to "new age math" in my head, to make things easier / quicker, that's how I do all my arithmetic now.

i.e. 54*32, in my head, is :
50*30 + 50 * 2 + 4*30 + 4*2 = 1500 + 100 + 120 + 8 = 1728

I'm about the same with you on this. To me its
(54*3) *10 + 54*2 = 162*10 + 108 = 1728

I think the problem two fold. Kids being allowed to use calculators too early in school and being rewarded for plain dumbassery. I was taught that you use the calculator as a shortcut not a crutch.

I'm 21, have a high school diploma, passed my state mandated graduation test, and have no higher education. I have absolutely no idea what you two just did or how you did it.

I'm 17, just graduated high school, and already took Calc I in college. What the heck is that shit you two were doing with the numbers? 50 * 32 = 1600, + 128 = 1728. Took all of three seconds. I can differentiate/integrate equations with less work.

 

[imported_Baloo]

It some ogre dude staring over their sholders, eyes always at breast level when face to face, making them nervous. Notice how when you leave the area, you no longer hear them asking such questions? Put up a camera w/ audio and record what they say when you leave.

 

[fatpat268]

I see the overall stupidity of people every day. I tutor math for my college on the side, but it's not really the younger people that have the problems, it's the older ones.

Granted, chances are, they've been out of school for a while, but seriously... How hard is 4-7?
I tutor people who cannot grasp the concept that 2+(-3) is the exact same thing as 2-3 or something similar to that. I've seen people need a calculator for something like 9*2. It's awfully frustrating when you're trying to tutor people in the most basic of Algebra, and yet they cannot even grasp simple arithmetic without the use of a calculator. It's not that difficult, and yet they look at me like I'm nuts that I can tell them that 54*3 is 162 or 54/3 is 18 in less than a second.

I just can't understand how these people are able to manage their money at all when they don't even know how to do simple arithmetic. Or maybe they simply don't and overdraft all the time. Hell if I know.