I showed my 10 year old and he said, "I don't think this person paid attention in school. Third pounder are obviously bigger than quarter pounders. They're a third, and the other is a quarter!"
I worked at an online veterinary pharmacy, at one point, and we occasionally had people call in confused about the decimal measuring markers on the oral medication syringes that we sent out. They literally had no idea that 1/4 and 0.25 were the same thing.
My high school biology teacher once marked my answer wrong on a test because I gave the probability of a certain genetic cross as 25%, when the correct answer was 1/4.
Until that moment, it hadn't occurred to me there was a difference.
I don't even understand how to get by today without knowing all that. This isn't just college graduate smugness: You sure as hell can't do most trade jobs without knowing the basics.
I wonder how much of this is due to cognitive differences, and how much is other factors. I knew someone who didn't know (and couldn't learn) compass directions
That certainly occurred to me. I was actually wondering if some of the folks struggling with this might have dementia, to be honest. There are plenty of people with cognitive disabilities who have pet companions.
I wish there was a term for when the market disliked a good product or service because of that kind of misunderstanding.
It's like in the car industry, people dislike CVT transmission because they're used to thinking gears should be changing, even though that's less efficient.
The last time I bought grocery store sliced deli cheese I had to say "4 ounces" AND "a quarter of a pound" AND "0.25 pounds" before the young woman behind the counter got it. Realized halfway through "a quarter" that I should just tell her what was literally displayed on the scale.
Also when I was working in fast food restaurants, over a quarter of a century ago now, I was almost always the only one under 45 who was competent at counting back change. My drawer was always perfect, the old ladies' drawers were always perfect, and everyone else was off by $0.50-$2.
I was trying to explain to someone filling out a timesheet that a 1/2 hour is the same as 30 minutes or .5 hours. She couldn't figure it out and I couldn't figure out a way of explaining it. It didn't help that I was stoned 😏
I taught fractions and decimals to a really smart girl who had a really bad home life and had been sent to one of those abusive residential schools for troubled teens. We were weighing coffee and she didn't realize that .5 and 1/2 were the same.
I had that exact experience at a radio shack back in the day. I was looking for a 1/2 amp fuse. Employee said they didn’t have any. When I brought one to the desk to buy he said it was a .5 amp fuse and didn’t think it would work. 🤷♂️
George Lakoff posed that the way a word would feel in our mouths when spoken influences the way we think about it, even when the word is not actually spoken.
I have practically applied his theories, and the results seem to bear him out, though I have no formal proof.
Comments
Come to think of it, more than one math teacher.
Until that moment, it hadn't occurred to me there was a difference.
It's like in the car industry, people dislike CVT transmission because they're used to thinking gears should be changing, even though that's less efficient.
☹️☹️☹️☹️
So a quarter (4) must be bigger than a third (3)
a tenth of a pounder must be massive....snigger snigger
I hope someone taught this guy.
I use money, and teach them fractions and percents w coins, to start. A quarter is a quarter dollar, and 25 cents (percent!)
It’s fun to see the light sparkle in their eyes.
fucked up cadence and ugly words
George Lakoff posed that the way a word would feel in our mouths when spoken influences the way we think about it, even when the word is not actually spoken.
I have practically applied his theories, and the results seem to bear him out, though I have no formal proof.
wait.
*rolleyes*
This did it. Avenge me