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This has not aged badly at all, you now have people who can not quickly add numbers together, or even figure out fractions. Example: My mom (Rhonda, 64) is the

This has not aged badly at all, you now have people who can not quickly add numbers together, or even figure out fractions. Example: My mom (Rhonda, 64) is the shop steward at a deli counter and had this conversation with her fellow employee Janice (25y): Janice: "Hey Rhonda, they want 2/3 of a pound of cheese. How much is that on the scale?" Rhonda (mom): "Janice, that's .66 on the scale." Janice: "Yea but why is it .66 on the scale if they want two thirds?" Rhonda: "Janice, you don't have to worry about that, just know that two thirds is .66." Janice: "Yeah, but HOW do you know that?" Rhonda: "..." I'm sure someone will say "Your mom is wrong because she should teach her fractions! What a huge jerk!" Note that this person has gone through high school, and children do this math regularly. What I am saying is, being numerate is useful at all levels of life, not just academic exercise.

melagonster 4y ago
people should learn how to use their computer everywhere.
- anarticle 4y ago
  Sure, let me bust my phone calculator out in a deli with customers while wearing food service gloves. The model is very easy to break down, all to learn something ONCE. Here's the difference: You know fractions everywhere and you don't have to think about it more than 2s without your phone because you are math literate. OR Every time someone asks you something, you take 5s to pull out your phone type the numbers (hopefully correctly), and you get your decimal answer that you can hopefully interpret. Which do you think is a better employee overall? I have a particular axe to grind on this one, as the response "well I'll just look it up!" is so glib it throws the entire house out with the bathwater and the baby inside :). For day to day math, needing a calculator to do the basics is like walking instead of flying. Mastery of the basics really pays off, especially for young students.

melagonster 4y ago

people should learn how to use their computer everywhere.

anarticle 4y ago
Sure, let me bust my phone calculator out in a deli with customers while wearing food service gloves. The model is very easy to break down, all to learn something ONCE. Here's the difference: You know fractions everywhere and you don't have to think about it more than 2s without your phone because you are math literate. OR Every time someone asks you something, you take 5s to pull out your phone type the numbers (hopefully correctly), and you get your decimal answer that you can hopefully interpret. Which do you think is a better employee overall? I have a particular axe to grind on this one, as the response "well I'll just look it up!" is so glib it throws the entire house out with the bathwater and the baby inside :). For day to day math, needing a calculator to do the basics is like walking instead of flying. Mastery of the basics really pays off, especially for young students.