2torts 342 Posted September 18, 2018 Report Share Posted September 18, 2018 Yesterday my oh needed a new cable for his I-pad charger so went into the Apple Store in Southampton. He got chatting to the assistant & discovered that she was a student at the university doing business studies. The cable cost £19 & as he was buying 2 he jokingly asked for a discount. She said no as she had to charge the price that came up on her machine. So he said ok I'll give you £38. She again said no as she had to charge the price on her machine. She scanned the cables & then said in a surprised voice oh that is £38! Shouldn't all university students be able to work out that 2 x £19 is £38 without needing a calculator especially ones doing business studies? Link to post Share on other sites
Pesky Pirate 166 Posted September 18, 2018 Report Share Posted September 18, 2018 God help the future of our country if we have folk who can’t do simple addition! Davybe and 2torts 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Kidd II 794 Posted September 18, 2018 Report Share Posted September 18, 2018 The same people are calculating the effects of Brexit. Frightening! 😂😂😂 Link to post Share on other sites
*Dancing Queen* 394 Posted September 18, 2018 Report Share Posted September 18, 2018 2 hours ago, 2torts said: Yesterday my oh needed a new cable for his I-pad charger so went into the Apple Store in Southampton. He got chatting to the assistant & discovered that she was a student at the university doing business studies. The cable cost £19 & as he was buying 2 he jokingly asked for a discount. She said no as she had to charge the price that came up on her machine. So he said ok I'll give you £38. She again said no as she had to charge the price on her machine. She scanned the cables & then said in a surprised voice oh that is £38! Shouldn't all university students be able to work out that 2 x £19 is £38 without needing a calculator especially ones doing business studies? It doesn't surprise me, when I worked I would regularly take Management Trainee's' through my office and you wouldn't believe just how thick some of these University students were, I'm sure many were very clever but when it came down to common sense or the simplest of tasks they hadn't a clue. 2torts, Emmone and Oldworldtraveller 3 Link to post Share on other sites
Countrygirl 228 Posted September 18, 2018 Report Share Posted September 18, 2018 1 hour ago, *Dancing Queen* said: It doesn't surprise me, when I worked I would regularly take Management Trainee's' through my office and you wouldn't believe just how thick some of these University students were, I'm sure many were very clever but when it came down to common sense or the simplest of tasks they hadn't a clue. I have to agree with you, I once had to ask a Uni student to help out by sorting the mail in a large office, they did not understand the system which was alphabetical, so simple but as you say no common sense, does make you wonder what is taught at school these days, The younger generation use their phones and computers for everything. What happens when the power goes down, Oldworldtraveller and *Dancing Queen* 2 Link to post Share on other sites
HLM 518 Posted September 18, 2018 Report Share Posted September 18, 2018 Obviously some people have never heard of number dyslexia, should anyone really be labelling people as thick just because they couldn't add up. I know of two very successful doctors (brother & sister) the sister is dyslexic and the brother wouldn't know what end of a hammer to hold, but they both now have very successful careers, she's a GP in London and he's an A&E doctor, not bad hey. It pays not to judge sometimes!! HLM. Furby 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Oldworldtraveller 2217 Posted September 18, 2018 Report Share Posted September 18, 2018 When I was at school we didn't have electronic calculators, they hadn't been invented, we had to add up figures in our head and learn our tables by rote. When we wrote in our books the spelling was correct because we had learned how to spell. In todays world people do not have to learn how to do either. just put the amount into a machine and it will give the answer. Write on your smart phone, tablet or computer and it will auto spell check. That is the main reason people cannot add up and cannot spell. Yes, dyslexia does affect people, but very few in the overall scheme of things, about 1 in 10 and that covers all forms including people with special needs. Emmone, *Dancing Queen* and Countrygirl 3 Link to post Share on other sites
mitch 325 Posted September 18, 2018 Report Share Posted September 18, 2018 i am a bookkeeper, have been in one form or other since i left school in 76 including 18 years in the army so ive seen the progression from no electronics to the amazing machines we have now. but i have to say its not all for the good i dont think. in several posts ive assisted in the recruitment process for several well known accountancy firms and the one thing ive always included is a no machines test of mental arithmetic and accounts skills. you would be horrified at the number of graduates that couldnt complete what were relatvely simple tasks. i still have no formal qualifications but can run rings round all these mba's etc. Link to post Share on other sites
*Dancing Queen* 394 Posted September 18, 2018 Report Share Posted September 18, 2018 I can still add a column of figures up quicker in my head than by using a calculator. Countrygirl and mitch 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites
mitch 325 Posted September 18, 2018 Report Share Posted September 18, 2018 3 hours ago, HLM said: Obviously some people have never heard of number dyslexia, should anyone really be labelling people as thick just because they couldn't add up. I know of two very successful doctors (brother & sister) the sister is dyslexic and the brother wouldn't know what end of a hammer to hold, but they both now have very successful careers, she's a GP in London and he's an A&E doctor, not bad hey. It pays not to judge sometimes!! HLM. i think theres a bit of difference when the job entails working with numbers HLM my brother in law just sees garbage when he looks at a column or row of numbers but he is one awesome car mechanic, has even worked with some major names including morgan but his wife has to do his invoices and books. i would have thought working in a retail environment ought to require basic numeracy. *Dancing Queen* and 2torts 2 Link to post Share on other sites
HLM 518 Posted September 19, 2018 Report Share Posted September 19, 2018 6 hours ago, mitch said: i think theres a bit of difference when the job entails working with numbers HLM my brother in law just sees garbage when he looks at a column or row of numbers but he is one awesome car mechanic, has even worked with some major names including morgan but his wife has to do his invoices and books. i would have thought working in a retail environment ought to require basic numeracy. Therefore would you label you brother in law as thick Mitch? I'm guessing not. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses that's the point I'm making, working in retail is no different that's what tills are for. We have people working in this Country who can barely speak English let alone read or write it, but do we label them thick? Of course we don't. Of course I'll be accused of being argumentative by the members, but I happen to feel strongly about this issue and by labelling people thick says more about them than anyone else. HLM. Link to post Share on other sites
Ikea Logistics 12 Posted September 19, 2018 Report Share Posted September 19, 2018 i have to ask why go to the apple store to get the cable plenty of others about much cheaper and no you don't need the cable to be original. Link to post Share on other sites
cruise chef 865 Posted September 19, 2018 Report Share Posted September 19, 2018 My old Maths teacher said calculators giver you brain rot!!! Possibly a good example! Davybe, *Dancing Queen* and Oldworldtraveller 3 Link to post Share on other sites
Davybe 529 Posted September 19, 2018 Report Share Posted September 19, 2018 1 hour ago, cruise chef said: My old Maths teacher said calculators giver you brain rot!!! Possibly a good example! The children today are taught differently to what we were 70 years ago, the nearest we had to a calculator was a slide rule/log tables.And we learnt our times tables. I am Number dyslexic as in I get the numbers I see in the wrong order ,but can work out bills and calculations in my head.My Grandson who was taught his Tables by his dad (A Teacher) is way ahead of his class mates, and surprises us all by getting the bill totalled up right in a restaurant ,He is 10? My Daughter went to a restaurant and the computers broke down ,the staff were flummoxed as to what to do, my daughter said "Pencil and Paper" take the order down to the kitchen ,took them ages to work out the bill ,they had no idea how to add it all up?....Davybe Link to post Share on other sites
Davybe 529 Posted September 19, 2018 Report Share Posted September 19, 2018 2 hours ago, Ikea Logistics said: i have to ask why go to the apple store to get the cable plenty of others about much cheaper and no you don't need the cable to be original. I presume the are afraid of setting their homes on fire, far to many iffy cables out there.....Davybe sinbad10 1 Link to post Share on other sites
mitch 325 Posted September 19, 2018 Report Share Posted September 19, 2018 4 hours ago, HLM said: Therefore would you label you brother in law as thick Mitch? I'm guessing not. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses that's the point I'm making, working in retail is no different that's what tills are for. We have people working in this Country who can barely speak English let alone read or write it, but do we label them thick? Of course we don't. Of course I'll be accused of being argumentative by the members, but I happen to feel strongly about this issue and by labelling people thick says more about them than anyone else. HLM. sorry HLM but at no point did i label anyone thick. Emmone and Davybe 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Davybe 529 Posted September 19, 2018 Report Share Posted September 19, 2018 13 hours ago, mitch said: i am a bookkeeper, have been in one form or other since i left school in 76 including 18 years in the army so ive seen the progression from no electronics to the amazing machines we have now. but i have to say its not all for the good i dont think. in several posts ive assisted in the recruitment process for several well known accountancy firms and the one thing ive always included is a no machines test of mental arithmetic and accounts skills. you would be horrified at the number of graduates that couldnt complete what were relatvely simple tasks. i still have no formal qualifications but can run rings round all these mba's etc. I am told by friends still working that for some jobs they give the candidate a pen an paper, and ask them to write their CV by hand, to many CV's computer generated .We are relying on Computers to sort everything out for us.(Me Included) My daughterWho had had written some work for Uni got it ripped up ,as the lecturer had no time for hand written stuff, he needed it printed?.....Davybe Link to post Share on other sites
*Dancing Queen* 394 Posted September 19, 2018 Report Share Posted September 19, 2018 1 hour ago, Davybe said: The children today are taught differently to what we were 70 years ago, the nearest we had to a calculator was a slide rule/log tables.And we learnt our times tables. I am Number dyslexic as in I get the numbers I see in the wrong order ,but can work out bills and calculations in my head.My Grandson who was taught his Tables by his dad (A Teacher) is way ahead of his class mates, and surprises us all by getting the bill totalled up right in a restaurant ,He is 10? My Daughter went to a restaurant and the computers broke down ,the staff were flummoxed as to what to do, my daughter said "Pencil and Paper" take the order down to the kitchen ,took them ages to work out the bill ,they had no idea how to add it all up?....Davybe My brother who is five years younger than me was taught differently to the way I was and he struggles with things I find relatively easy, having said that he excels in many things I don't so it's swings and roundabouts, I have never agreed with the use of calculators etc in schools as they hardly get the brain working, I think it's wonderful that so much is available to the young these days but in my opinion 'back to basics' would do them no harm at all and sadly that is what a lot seem to lack the common sense to work something out for themselves. Davybe 1 Link to post Share on other sites
afcandrew 353 Posted September 19, 2018 Report Share Posted September 19, 2018 I feel it is actually more of a mindset these days than anything else. More & more people are using electronic devices to carry out simple tasks and run their lives. They then just stop thinking things through as it is second nature to let the device do the work! That young woman was probably quite capable of multiplying 19 x 2 but I suspect it did not remotely enter her head to even think about it as the computerised till always does it for her (or when not at work a calculator on her phone or a computer...). Davybe and Furby 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Ikea Logistics 12 Posted September 19, 2018 Report Share Posted September 19, 2018 2 hours ago, Davybe said: I presume the are afraid of setting their homes on fire, far to many iffy cables out there.....Davybe agreed on iffy cables davy but there are good ones out there(Amazon Basics one at 9.49 Apple Certified) at still cheaper than apple (whose own cables are made by a chinese company) but i see your point Link to post Share on other sites
2torts 342 Posted September 19, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2018 2 hours ago, Davybe said: I presume the are afraid of setting their homes on fire, far to many iffy cables out there.....Davybe That what we were thinking. Link to post Share on other sites
2torts 342 Posted September 19, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2018 6 hours ago, HLM said: Therefore would you label you brother in law as thick Mitch? I'm guessing not. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses that's the point I'm making, working in retail is no different that's what tills are for. We have people working in this Country who can barely speak English let alone read or write it, but do we label them thick? Of course we don't. Of course I'll be accused of being argumentative by the members, but I happen to feel strongly about this issue and by labelling people thick says more about them than anyone else. HLM. Yours is the only post in this topic that has used the word thick. Countrygirl and Davybe 2 Link to post Share on other sites
HLM 518 Posted September 19, 2018 Report Share Posted September 19, 2018 2 hours ago, 2torts said: Yours is the only post in this topic that has used the word thick. Hi 2torts. "It doesn't surprise me, when I worked I would regularly take Management Trainee's' through my office and you wouldn't believe just how thick some of these University students were, I'm sure many were very clever but when it came down to common sense or the simplest of tasks they hadn't a clue." Posted by Dancing Queen. HLM. Link to post Share on other sites
HLM 518 Posted September 19, 2018 Report Share Posted September 19, 2018 5 hours ago, mitch said: sorry HLM but at no point did i label anyone thick. My apologies Mitch, it was said in general and not said to you personally. HLM. Link to post Share on other sites
*Dancing Queen* 394 Posted September 19, 2018 Report Share Posted September 19, 2018 17 minutes ago, HLM said: Hi 2torts. "It doesn't surprise me, when I worked I would regularly take Management Trainee's' through my office and you wouldn't believe just how thick some of these University students were, I'm sure many were very clever but when it came down to common sense or the simplest of tasks they hadn't a clue." Posted by Dancing Queen. HLM. As usual HLM you take something else out of context, the use of the word 'thick' is an everyday word which I'm sure many use frequently but keep up the good work because if nothing else it highlights to others just how argumentative you can be and your tendency to 'stalk' certain people and I am by no means the only one. Do enjoy the rest of your your day 😁 sinbad10 and Davybe 2 Link to post Share on other sites
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