The problem is that people are never taught the tricks of arithmetic anymore. I worked in a store growing up, and I learned that the correct way to make change is to start with the purchase amount and add up to the amount given, e.g., 8.59, give a penny 8.60, give a dime, 87.0, give a nickel, 8.75, give a quarter, etc. I'm sure any "older" person who ever worked in a store knows this way to make change and no significant mental arithmetic is needed. Whenever I've simply demonstrated this to a younger person that needs to make change, they pick it up almost instantly.
In the age of calculators, however, there's just little point in point in passing many other arithmetic skills on. If you don't practice a skill outside of the classroom you simply forget it. Long division, for example, is dead just like film, which is why you should buy an *istD. Just to get up back on track. . . Steven Desjardins Department of Chemistry Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA 24450 (540) 458-8873 FAX: (540) 458-8878 [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 02/17/04 11:51AM >>> On 16/2/04, [EMAIL PROTECTED] disgorged: >I gave the clerk a ten dollar bill for an $8.59 purchase. She placed >3.50 change in my hand. I said, sorry, too much change, and tried to >hand it all back to her, but she figured feverishly for a couple of >minutes and proudly added another dollar to the pile in my hand. > >I was a little embarrassed for her, but still feeling honest I said >sorry too much change I think it should be a buck forty-one total and >again tried to hand her the money back. The clerk went back to >figuring with furrowed brow, hearing the crowd in line start a >murderous murmur, and after much figuring and the people in line about >to kill me she added *another* dollar to the growing pile in my hand. > >Hearing the train wreck of killer customers about to happen I smiled, >closed my hand and put the six bucks or so in my pocket, said >"Perfect, thanks" and left the building. > >Ethics question: if I had tried one more time to get the right change, >would it have been suicidal, considering the angry mob in line behind >me? She might have just handed you the cash register. Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=====| www.macads.co.uk/snaps _____________________________ Free UK Mac Ads www.macads.co.uk
