Skills become outdated over time. The skill of mental calculations, I think, is not really that valuable on the average nor is it unlearnable later on if you si

Skills become outdated over time. The skill of mental calculations, I think, is not really that valuable on the average nor is it unlearnable later on if you sit at a cashier's desk at some point ... but the skill of doing quantitative calculations mentally greatly helps me make connections that I suspect I won't make otherwise. I think this is because I'm morphing pictures in my head instead of crunching numbers. Next step - lets allow all kids to use google search during their tests.