Lately I have watched several videos where young college aged people being asked simple questions such as how many states are in the US, who fought in the Civil War etc. Most of them can't answer these questions. It is both scary and sad.
So true, I would help my grandson with his homework when he was younger.. The way he was taught math was insane, I showed him how I was taught so he could actually function in society but he was required to show his work so we struggled with their fucked up system JD
My two youngest boys, smart college educated professionals, will stare at me in amazement when during a conversation some simple math is required and I immediately give them the answer. Arie Twisk, all these years later, you're still my favorite teacher making me do all those daily calculations. 🥰
6 + 2? Simple answer: Hey kid that's why God gave you 10 digits (8 fingers and 2 opposable thumbs). Just hold up your two hands and have a brother shoot 6 off and then 2 more.. The number of digits left subtracted from 10 will reveal the answer.
Sometimes the brain just isn't working and a calculator is required to brute force the answer. If I'm adding or subtracting two oddball numbers, yeah, I'll enter it into the calculator rather than risk an arithmetic error that throws the rest of the problem off; however, I don't recall my mind being so frazzled that I had to add single digits on a calculator but I still routinely use my fingers; I'm not throwing out something that works.
My midterm math exam was 20% lower than what I usually score (96-97%) because my mind was simply not there on test day, it happens. It wasn't nearly as bad as the day before but still bad enough and I didn't want to put the test off till the last day because of how technology is. Throw in ridiculous, and ineffective, anti-cheating measures that often force students into incredibly cramped and uncomfortable positions in order to get everything within the camera's view and it's a recipe for poor performance. It's fine for government, history, etc. but math requires I stretch over a bulky whiteboard sitting on my desk and try to squeeze into camera view. I wish I could take tests in-person / proctored on campus but it's all outsourced now and my professor isn't even in my state. Even if I took the class in person, I would still have to enter everything electronically.
HP’s calculators certainly beat the shit out of a slide rule, which I used until my senior year in engineering, when I got the granddaddy, the HP35. HP15C was probably the best in terms of size and functionality, but that one arrived well after my graduation. Also, the tactile feedback of the HP calculators was/is unexcelled. Quality devices.
LIkely a Detroit/Chicago/Baltimore/DC gifted class.
ReplyDeleteLately I have watched several videos where young college aged people being asked simple questions such as how many states are in the US, who fought in the Civil War etc. Most of them can't answer these questions. It is both scary and sad.
ReplyDeleteWell, I've read the stories about how they teach math now days. Kinda like you need to do a quadrilateral equation to get the answer to 1+1
ReplyDeleteDaryl
So true, I would help my grandson with his homework when he was younger.. The way he was taught math was insane, I showed him how I was taught so he could actually function in society but he was required to show his work so we struggled with their fucked up system
DeleteJD
My two youngest boys, smart college educated professionals, will stare at me in amazement when during a conversation some simple math is required and I immediately give them the answer. Arie Twisk, all these years later, you're still my favorite teacher making me do all those daily calculations. 🥰
ReplyDelete6 + 2? Simple answer: Hey kid that's why God gave you 10 digits (8 fingers and 2 opposable thumbs). Just hold up your two hands and have a brother shoot 6 off and then 2 more.. The number of digits left subtracted from 10 will reveal the answer.
ReplyDeleteKeep a cheap pair of readers from Walmart handy for those difficult problems
DeleteDaryl
It’s division not addition. The answer showing is 3
DeleteObviously not a Hewlett-Packard calculator. (Most folks don’t know RPN.)
ReplyDeleteI still have the HP 15C I bought over 40 years ago.
DeleteOver the years I've picked up another 15C and a 12C as well.
I've gotten so used to RPN that I have to stop and think if I have to use a "standard" calculator.
I still have a HP 16C I bought in 1981.
DeleteSometimes the brain just isn't working and a calculator is required to brute force the answer. If I'm adding or subtracting two oddball numbers, yeah, I'll enter it into the calculator rather than risk an arithmetic error that throws the rest of the problem off; however, I don't recall my mind being so frazzled that I had to add single digits on a calculator but I still routinely use my fingers; I'm not throwing out something that works.
ReplyDeleteMy midterm math exam was 20% lower than what I usually score (96-97%) because my mind was simply not there on test day, it happens. It wasn't nearly as bad as the day before but still bad enough and I didn't want to put the test off till the last day because of how technology is. Throw in ridiculous, and ineffective, anti-cheating measures that often force students into incredibly cramped and uncomfortable positions in order to get everything within the camera's view and it's a recipe for poor performance. It's fine for government, history, etc. but math requires I stretch over a bulky whiteboard sitting on my desk and try to squeeze into camera view. I wish I could take tests in-person / proctored on campus but it's all outsourced now and my professor isn't even in my state. Even if I took the class in person, I would still have to enter everything electronically.
- Arc
Use my TI BA2 Biz Analyst all the time.
ReplyDeleteHP’s calculators certainly beat the shit out of a slide rule, which I used until my senior year in engineering, when I got the granddaddy, the HP35. HP15C was probably the best in terms of size and functionality, but that one arrived well after my graduation. Also, the tactile feedback of the HP calculators was/is unexcelled. Quality devices.
ReplyDelete