Measure this,....

[Meursault74]

Maybe Johnny wouldn't have to sell dope if he'd got a good education.

Those dope dealer math questions were very relatable and made math more relevant back in the day. I know it was mostly a joke though. You'd better believe Johnny should know math when he has to give the boss man his take. Loan sharks and Bookies too. How else are they going to calculate the Vig? They can't be keeping records on a computer now can they? It has to be in a little black book written in some code, right ?

 

[BFBOB]

Is this supposed to be a joke?
The correct reading is 3.34, as is noted previously on the chart - between 3.3 and 3.4. Nothing funny, so it fails twice, as humor and as education.

Oops, late to the dance again.
But, seriously, is it supposed to be funny?

 

[RoninB4]

They are new math and old math techniques. A lot of time is spent on skills that are outdated. It is taking away from teaching skills that are necessary today.

I saw some of the Common Core techniques in 1966, it was useless then and doesn't seem to have improved. When the "educators" decide what is outdated/useless knowledge it has the distinct aroma of revisionism and exclusion of valuable knowledge. Evidence of this can be seen daily by cashiers that cannot make change in a simple transaction without a machine telling them what to do.

Outdated/useless information is still used for roof pitch, cooking recipes, concrete mixing, sewing/fabrication layout, and a long list of other tasks one might encounter in daily life. The perceived need for educators to teach a basic concept and move on seems to underestimate what a young mind is capable of learning. Not sure that I'd trust that decision of capability from lower level educators based upon their own levels of demonstrated proficiency for state certification.

Horses for courses is all I'm suggesting. Some tasks are better suited for fractions, some for decimal, some folks multiply 2's, 5's, and 9's on their fingers. I use whatever tool, formula, or method works best for the task at hand. An "old technique" can still be more relevant than a new innovation, every mind learns/adapts differently. Apologies to all, rant over.

 

[tak1313]

Not measuring related, but a friend of mine worked as an assistant manager at a chain variety store. Being retail, they have a lot of high school students. She had one of them do markdowns, a guy that just graduated from high school.

It was just a bunch of stuff, and she handed him a pile and a calculator and told him to mark everything down by 50%. He just stared at the calculator and asked "how do I do that?" The worst part about it is that I asked her why couldn't he just do it without the calculator - I mean it's 50%, not 26.85%. She said she did just tell him to mark everything down, but an hour later when she checked-in, he said he didn't know how to do it, so that's when she handed him the calculator.

 

[rancherbill]

Evidence of this can be seen daily by cashiers that cannot make change in a simple transaction without a machine telling them what to do.

That's a useless skill. I can't remember the last person I saw paying with cash - it's debit cards or credit cards.

 

[RTM]

In this part of the state, we have two types of people paying with cash, those who can't get CC, and those who don't want their CC transactions tracked. Probably 1/3 of the transactions are cash these days, from HD to the local coffee shop.

 

[andyvh1959]

Cashiers that cannot make change in their head, because the basic math is no longer intuitive. The machine does it for them as they get less skilled. Soon we'll have autonomous cars letting drivers become passenger, getting ever less skilled. Until the moment rears it's ugly head when the person at the steering wheel must suddenly take control of 4,000 lbs of machinery with at least minor skills. I don't want to be near that when it happens, as already has been proved by crash reports and fatalities.

 

[4xdog]

Cashiers that cannot make change in their head, because the basic math is no longer intuitive. The machine does it for them as they get less skilled. Soon we'll have autonomous cars letting drivers become passenger, getting ever less skilled...

I think we're pretty close to there already. Not a day goes by that I don't see multiple cars driving around after dark with no lights on. If the car didn't do it for them, I guess it doesn't get done.

 

[4xdog]

Not measuring related, but a friend of mine worked as an assistant manager at a chain variety store. Being retail, they have a lot of high school students. She had one of them do markdowns, a guy that just graduated from high school.

It was just a bunch of stuff, and she handed him a pile and a calculator and told him to mark everything down by 50%. He just stared at the calculator and asked "how do I do that?"...

From the late 1950s to the mid 1980s my father taught general business/bookkeeping/accounting at the high school level. His kids were not the college prep kind, and he figured it was part of his job to teach them life skills. He spent a LOT of time on percentages, 'cause that was something he figured they'd need to know in whatever job they got and perhaps more importantly, it would help them become smarter consumers as they tried to navigate their lives.

He used to visit the funeral homes in town too, and get their rate cards. He'd spend time in class talking about what was strictly required by law, and what kinds of things the funeral homes were going to try to take advantage of them with at a vulnerable time in their lives. More life skills.

For a long time -- perhaps all his career -- if you came to his class groomed and properly dressed, had and took out a pencil and paper when he asked, and diligently followed his instructions on a test or quiz -- and got every single question wrong -- you'd still pass his class because he thought it was important that if his students became willing and obedient workers they'd get through life OK.

 

[Brandon_oma#692]

When I travel to Mexico for work if you want a 6" dial or digital standard beam caliper you have to ask for a "vernier". I'm not sure if it is a regional or language reason but it is what it is in the few plants that I have been at.

 

[rancherbill]

Those dope dealer math questions were very relatable ....

Dope dealers do not deal in fractions like ounces (1/16 of a pound), they deal in grams. hahaha no fractions

 

[isb cornbinder]

I recall another form of measurement not mentioned yet. When something was just a little too short or too long it was a ????? hair too long or short.

Finally, someone said, or almost said that word. LOL. Years ago, in the most careful way and with utmost caution, I got one of the tough females at work to volunteer a "court and shirly". I have forgotten the numbers. Maybe it is better this way.
After about a year, the female asked me to return what she let me borrow. I was not able to return the favor, so I asked if I might trade two for one. We got a laugh, and the subject was never brought up again.
I did see her at a retirement event, years later. We looked across at each other and both of us laughed. Not a word was spoken.

 

[rharman]

Alternative math....

 

[andyvh1959]

We've likely all heard from someone at sometime that math, I'll never use that in real life. Yet, calculating a percentage down (which is REAL easy), estimating a volume, determining the length of an angled piece or determining an angle cut (basic Trig) is something I use many times a week. I had an oak tree in the back yard break off about 1/3 way up, there was a rotted crotch. I talked to a local guy to fell the remainder of the tree, and what felling direction limits I may have. So, I went out to the yard where i had a clear sight line, measured 20' out from the tree and used the angle indicator app on my smart phone to sight the top of the tree. Distance and angle, simple trig gave me the height at 32'. The old 3-4-5 triangle to check a 90 degree corner is basic Trig. If you are in the trades, plumbing, framing, concrete, the math is a daily thing.

After eight years of basic math in Catholic grade school back in the 60, I moved to public school for Jr. High and was suddenly introduced to Algebra. Letters!? How can there be letters in math!!?? I struggled with it, and after being an A's and B's student in grade school I failed at math. Algebra stumped me, but Geometry and Trig can easily, I understood it right away. After high school I had Algebra again in tech school and it came to me, all B's and A's grades. After that, Calculus, Differential Equations, I got through it all.

 

[Garcky]

I've trained a bunch of apprentices (Tool and Die) over the years and I'll never take shots at younger people for simply not knowing how to use certain tools. Most adults don't know how to use calipers or even why they'd want to, so it isn't like they are going to teach their kids how to do it. High schools haven't pushed "real world" knowledge on students in decades; it's all college prep courses now.

I know there are a ton of under-qualified workers filling jobs in factories, I see it every day. I really do enjoy showing people how to do things. I can't tell you how many times I've heard "Nobody has ever shown me how to do that before!" It's pretty rewarding.

I've encountered some who just don't want to learn something, but that is really rare. No big deal to me though, I just move on.

I'm not saying the OP does this, but I see enough people belittle/treat others poorly because they don't know how to do something and it doesn't do a damn thing to improve any situation. I implore my fellow garage journal friends who have the skill and knowledge to do things, to show those around you who are struggling how to succeed at some of those tasks. Be nice, be helpful, and make some friends along the way.

The short of it is, I've met a lot of people over the years who didn't know know much about anything mechanical because they never had the opportunity to learn from someone. Those who've wanted to learn about it have done so and enriched their lives because of it.

Yours is the best reply I've seen so far in this thread. When someone doesn't know something, it just means that person hasn't learned that. So, you teach them. Then, they know. It's not being stupid not to know something. It's just that you haven't learned it yet.

Patience and the willingness to teach others is the most valuable skill of all.

 

[Kenstone1]

I've trained a bunch of apprentices (Tool and Die) over the years and I'll never take shots at younger people for simply not knowing how to use certain tools. Most adults don't know how to use calipers or even why they'd want to, so it isn't like they are going to teach their kids how to do it. High schools haven't pushed "real world" knowledge on students in decades; it's all college prep courses now.

I know there are a ton of under-qualified workers filling jobs in factories, I see it every day. I really do enjoy showing people how to do things. I can't tell you how many times I've heard "Nobody has ever shown me how to do that before!" It's pretty rewarding.

I've encountered some who just don't want to learn something, but that is really rare. No big deal to me though, I just move on.

I'm not saying the OP does this, but I see enough people belittle/treat others poorly because they don't know how to do something and it doesn't do a damn thing to improve any situation. I implore my fellow garage journal friends who have the skill and knowledge to do things, to show those around you who are struggling how to succeed at some of those tasks. Be nice, be helpful, and make some friends along the way.

The short of it is, I've met a lot of people over the years who didn't know know much about anything mechanical because they never had the opportunity to learn from someone. Those who've wanted to learn about it have done so and enriched their lives because of it.

What I knew as calipers during my apprenticeship:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D943TWY/?tag=atomicindus08-20

just sayin'
.