@CaptHenway said:
I do what Fred does, and it really confuses the young'uns when I give them a half dollar and a dollar coin and the half dollar is bigger!
It takes a numismatist to know why that is, and also why the nickel is bigger than the dime.
Congratulations on being able to do math in your head and parse sentences all day long, and memorize all the states and their capitols.
The physics of the planet have not changed for thousands of years, and the number of naturally occurring elements still is 92.
50 years ago, why not, instead of spending all the time on memorization, invent the IPHONE, GPS, accident avoidance systems for cars, digital cameras, protease inhibitors, etc.
Maybe urban legend, but allegedly, Albert Einstein was asked for his phone number, to which, he took a phone directory, and looked it up. The person was amazed, that Einstein did not even know his own phone number., He replied that he knew where to find his phone number, but used his brain to think the thoughts no one had thought yet.
There are REAMS of educational systems that are the FINEST in the world at rear view mirror teaching: They concentrate on what has been learned, not what is yet to be discovered. Mind numbing drills, thousands of hours spent on learning 2 systems of writing (cursive and printing) that the longest thing I "write" with a pen or pencil is my signature, learning 487 nuance inane rules of grammar, instead of fixing an archaic language cobbled together over 600 years, memorizing weird spellings of thousands of words that is great of a spelling bee, but spell check fixes all. There are thousands of highly educated people, many of them teachers, who can recite everything in the past, but cannot move a inch or centimeter into the future.
In my "real" job as an engineering manager, I interviewed hundreds of people with college degrees, from bachelor to PHD's, and the biggest "problem" was separating those who "knew" versus those who could "think". I need the thinkers who would bury me in new patent applications. Those who were mistakenly hired, who were in the "knew" category, were relegated to proofing the grammar and checking for mathematical oopsies in the work of the thinkers.
All this does not excuse, though, being a dolt at McDonalds, and unable to manage basic life skills.
Well thought out post.
Google has essentially replaced the need to memorize.
So the question becomes, "Where do we go from here?"
Businesses lose a lot of money due to cashier errors and found it more cost effective to buy POS (point of sale) systems that either calculate the change or have a change dispenser do it automatically.
America just got dumber over the years. It's really sad.
As someone who's well-integrated into the higher education community, I have to say that the most talented people are what I like to describe as "Western" intellect.
I have many, many peers who qualify as "Eastern" intellectuals (Russian/Chinese style), and are the result of thousands of hours of drilling to become very adept at a certain skill (computation, programming etc.)
On the other hand, I have substantially fewer peers who are of "Western" intellect, but they are also the ones who are truly brilliant. They tend to perform comparably or better on exams than the "Eastern" intellectuals, but spend less than a quarter of the time learning the subject. Instead, they spend the rest of their time being Renaissance men, becoming brilliant at other majors that are tangential to their own. For example, a brilliant Physics major who is also a genius at electrical engineering and piano playing.
There are Americans who are of "Eastern" intellect and people from "the East" who are of "Western" intellect, but by and far the "Western" intellectuals are from the US (regardless of race/ethnicity).
Personally I think America needs to stop trying to push people towards college education. The vast majority of such institutions are absolutely useless in undergraduate education (think anything along the lines of Arizona State, Penn State etc.) and serve as a bastion of excessive indulgence in vice. Their sole reason for accepting undergraduates is to milk money to support their research departments.
Instead, the vast majority of students should just pick up a vocation after high school. Even computer programming counts.
At the 'world cubing' rubiks cube competition Saturday in Amherst Ma, kid drops three dimes on the floor. I picked them up and asked him if he wanted them. "They're just change" he said. 30 cents for me I guess, helped pay for the $14 parking fee.
Comments
It takes a numismatist to know why that is, and also why the nickel is bigger than the dime.
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
McDonald's solved the problem:
No Way Out: Stimulus and Money Printing Are the Only Path Left
They don't let you buy alcohol at an automated checkout ......
Left Brain vs. Right Brain the battles never cease.
Not entirely true...some take and scan a driver's license.
wow, so the kid nabbed his dads drivers license and then returned it without him knowing ....
If I didn't 'help' my son with homework every night I would not believe this.
One of his homework questions was..
**There are 25 boys and 45 girls in chorus. What is the ratio of pens to pencils?
**
??????????????????
Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb, Ricko
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
Well thought out post.
Google has essentially replaced the need to memorize.
So the question becomes, "Where do we go from here?"
Oh yes there is Tax on alcohol in California at least in LA and Ventura Counties plus CRV and if ya want it bagged tag on another dime
Steve
Businesses lose a lot of money due to cashier errors and found it more cost effective to buy POS (point of sale) systems that either calculate the change or have a change dispenser do it automatically.
America just got dumber over the years. It's really sad.
As someone who's well-integrated into the higher education community, I have to say that the most talented people are what I like to describe as "Western" intellect.
I have many, many peers who qualify as "Eastern" intellectuals (Russian/Chinese style), and are the result of thousands of hours of drilling to become very adept at a certain skill (computation, programming etc.)
On the other hand, I have substantially fewer peers who are of "Western" intellect, but they are also the ones who are truly brilliant. They tend to perform comparably or better on exams than the "Eastern" intellectuals, but spend less than a quarter of the time learning the subject. Instead, they spend the rest of their time being Renaissance men, becoming brilliant at other majors that are tangential to their own. For example, a brilliant Physics major who is also a genius at electrical engineering and piano playing.
There are Americans who are of "Eastern" intellect and people from "the East" who are of "Western" intellect, but by and far the "Western" intellectuals are from the US (regardless of race/ethnicity).
Personally I think America needs to stop trying to push people towards college education. The vast majority of such institutions are absolutely useless in undergraduate education (think anything along the lines of Arizona State, Penn State etc.) and serve as a bastion of excessive indulgence in vice. Their sole reason for accepting undergraduates is to milk money to support their research departments.
Instead, the vast majority of students should just pick up a vocation after high school. Even computer programming counts.
7 x 13 = ?
Successful BST transactions with forum members thebigeng, SPalladino, Zoidmeister, coin22lover, coinsarefun, jwitten, CommemKing.
At the 'world cubing' rubiks cube competition Saturday in Amherst Ma, kid drops three dimes on the floor. I picked them up and asked him if he wanted them. "They're just change" he said. 30 cents for me I guess, helped pay for the $14 parking fee.
Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb, Ricko
Bad transactions with : nobody to date