tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-103598810361847905.post1849615947939771954..comments2023-09-01T08:17:00.310+01:00Comments on Incultus: When I were a Lad...2snafuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588812293454033077noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-103598810361847905.post-1946037551112641122010-05-30T22:08:43.402+01:002010-05-30T22:08:43.402+01:00When I was teachng adults computer systems, I disc...When I was teachng adults computer systems, I discovered that many twenty/thirty year olds did not know how to do multiplication or division at all unless they had a calculator and many could not add or subtract. Imagine their difficulty when they needed to understand how computers did maths. Not only did they not understand the methods involved, they had to work in binary and haxadecimal!snafuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07588812293454033077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-103598810361847905.post-12369771509191285842010-05-29T07:11:44.259+01:002010-05-29T07:11:44.259+01:00I failed math in school too until my GCE. Then af...I failed math in school too until my GCE. Then after I retired I started tutoring in math --me?!! That's because one of the things I did understand was fractions and decimals, and none of the students I tutored had parents who could do these. One thing I will never understand is how I ever got to college and did not know you were supposed to MEMORIZE your times tables !! I memorized them in my first year of college. I suppose that up until that time I was just familiar with certain combinations occurring and remembered them. I do remember being amazed by one boy in the village, about 9 years old who could do mental arithmetic in a snap. I honestly thought there was some trick he was using.<br /><br />Very interesting post, Pete.ChrisJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11550420299395301062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-103598810361847905.post-66041947181982096192010-05-29T04:16:47.081+01:002010-05-29T04:16:47.081+01:00Well, to be honest, Snafu, the subject of your blo...Well, to be honest, Snafu, the subject of your blog reminds me of how I failed Math so miserably in school! But I will say that when I quit school at age 16, my father put me to work in the reception of the hotel he was managing. No calculators or adding machines in those days, and the ledgers must have been a good 2 feet in length. I learned how to add a 2 foot column of figures so rapidly, and that talent is still mine today -- I can add lists of numbers in my head so quickly it makes other people's heads spin!kaybeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12808550103489943108noreply@blogger.com