Home > Education > A tax on people who are bad at maths

A tax on people who are bad at maths

November 7, 2007

I’ve become accustomed to sad reports of innumeracy in my country, to say nothing of encountering cash register clerks who freeze with terror if I give them $20.02 for a bill of $13.77 But misery loves company.  Apparently the handbasket in which we are riding also has room for our major allies in the War On Terror: Pathetic innumeracy, this time from Great Britain.

“On one of my cards it said I had to find temperatures lower than -8. The numbers I uncovered were -6 and -7 so I thought I had won, and so did the woman in the shop. But when she scanned the card the machine said I hadn’t.

I phoned Camelot and they fobbed me off with some story that -6 is higher – not lower – than -8 but I’m not having it.”

That sobbing you hear must be from UK school teachers.  Of course, since the article is about Brit lottery players we shouldn’t expect that particular demographic to be good at ‘maths’ in the first place.  In any case, the contest has been pulled.  Apparently their phone clerks were spending too much time saying “Well all right then, suppose I dig a hole two meters deep; let’s call that minus two meters…”

Categories: Education
  1. trailrider
    November 8, 2007 at 09:18 | #1

    I really enjoy doing the change thing with young clerks.

  2. November 8, 2007 at 12:15 | #2

    I don’t know if I should laugh or cry.

  3. November 8, 2007 at 12:16 | #3

    I’m afraid of the maths. Me think maths is outs to get me.

  4. Abhilasha
    November 8, 2007 at 14:12 | #4

    WOw….that was incredible….

    Loved the “I am not having it”

  5. Mrs SEB
    November 8, 2007 at 14:23 | #5

    Sigh, I think “cry” Webs.

  6. November 9, 2007 at 23:50 | #6

    You know, folks who understand math sometimes become uppity citizens who refuse to buy the politician’s spin on the numbers.  Get too many people like that in the electorate and there’s no telling what they’ll do—they might even start holding the pols responsible or something.  Scary.

  7. November 12, 2007 at 22:55 | #7

    Thank god the government is in control of education.  My parents would have insisted that -6 was greater than -8.

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