People are math challenged

Take the typical pimple-faced kid working a cash register, and they can't make change on their own. They HAVE to enter the amount tendered and have the register display the change, otherwise, they can't handle it.

Tonight I had dinner at McDonald's. I ordered five items off the dollar menu. Even before the girl had finished entering all the items, I had $5.35 on the counter. When she was done, she was shocked that the total was $5.35, and asked if I ordered that all the time. I said, "No - five dollar menu items plus 7% tax is simple."

She looked at me like that sort of rocket science was beyond her capabilities.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the next generation of gamblers...the kind that will think that double zero roulette is better because it has one more way to win, and that 6:5 is more than 3:2.


Sigh....

Thanks for letting me rant.

I can't tell you how many times my bill has been something like $16.23 and I'll give $21.25 and it's like I've given foreign currency. "It's only 16 dollars sir," as they hand back the single. "But this way you ca-never mind." and then I get 4 one dollar bills. Then you see a sign on the desk "NEED $1s!!!!" Though that's when the register is good..."Just type in what I gave you, and give me the change!"

Quote: DJTeddyBear

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the next generation of gamblers.

I feel your pain, but haven't people been lamenting what becomes of the world when the "next ganeration" comes of age, since time immemorial?

"the kind that will think that double zero roulette is better "


Actually (other than single zero roulette) there is not a better bet in the casino that will turn $1 into $36 than the good old 00 roulette table.

With the advent of calculators and computers and the ability to use them as study aids, the magic of basic math eludes most people nowadays. Kids who are growing up now learn the basic times tables and learn how to do long division and key algebra but they practice all of the concepts on a calculator so they don't practice the basic math skills.

So many people are growing up as well without basic logic skills. They brainlessly punch numbers into a cash register or computer without thinking about the meaning of the results. It's fine to use a cash register to add a bunch of numbers or to calculate tax, but you really shouldn't be relying on the register to tell you how much change you owe the customer.

One thing though that I do notice about today's generation however is their ability to type. My daughter is in 7th grade and although she hasn't taken a formal typing or keyboarding class she can type very fast and fairly well (though spelling is another issue altogether).

too funny boymimbo. you are so right! back in my younger days only secretaries seemed to know how to type. and they had to take a test to prove it!. you usually learned to type by taking a formal class like i did. now, i don't think there is even such a thing as a typing class. unlike knowing how to count back change, that skill seems to come as naturally as saying your first word!

unfortunately they couldn't teach me how to use the caps key. but what the heck, i'm too old to learn old tricks.

I am part of the "next generation" of gamblers, I am 23 and know well to stay away from 6:5 and basically to stay away from everything besides BJ and maybe craps with good odds bets. Now all I have to figure out how to do is get a good enough bank roll! Anyone know a good place to find a job for someone with a BA in Psychology?

The wizard has a good point in that this has happened with every generation. I can speak directly in terms of my field, which is literally rocket science: aero/astro engineering. I am currently a student and to be honest what I am doing would take at least twice as long without a computer if not be impossible. I'm pretty sure the wizard uses a computer program (Matlab/Mathematica?) to come up with some of his analysis. The point being that although "we" may skip what you see as logical and basic, it will allow us to do much more than your generation ever dreamed - such as with my space capstone we can actually iterate a multibody orbit problem by the millisecond. I'm not trying to brag, just pointing out a little factoid elder generations sometimes miss.

Although with things as simple as you're talking about, I agree they should be basic logic.

Quote: DJTeddyBear

I had $5.35 on the counter. she was shocked that the total was $5.35, and asked if I ordered that all the time. I said, "No - five dollar menu items plus 7% tax is simple."

I double checked your math. You are right! 7 percent tax means 7 cents for every 100, so for each of those dollar items it 7 cents. Since there are five items, it becomes 5 times 7 or 35 cents!! Now, that was fun. No, really! It was fun. A very pleasant way for me to have spent the fifteen minutes figuring this out. Thanks.

Quote: cclub79

I can't tell you how many times my bill has been something like $16.23 and I'll give $21.25 and it's like I've given foreign currency. "It's only 16 dollars sir," as they hand back the single. "But this way you ca-never mind." and then I get 4 one dollar bills. Then you see a sign on the desk "NEED $1s!!!!" Though that's when the register is good..."Just type in what I gave you, and give me the change!"

Ah the memories. Sometimes I end up feeling guilty because my intent to help out the cashier by giving extra change totally confuses them. I remember many years ago I was at a Wendy's when the cash register was not working. There weren't any taxes and my total was something odd like $8.21. I gave the girl $20 and it was like she saw a ghost. She was truly lost and had to ask her coworker who thankfully had elementary math skills. I was going to tell her how much she owed me but something told me she would be insulted.