On 27/2/09 18:08, in article , "K"
wrote:

Sacha writes
snip

We find the same with the youngsters here - they use calculators a lot of
the time whereas we oldies have whizzed off the answer in seconds.

Doesn't apply to all oldies. I remember many years ago in a store with
considerable reputation buying 1lb of something marked at 24p per
quarter - the sales person, a chap about 20 years older than me, tried
to charge me a sum which was well over £1.

No, of course not everyone over 25 can use good mental arithmetic because
some people are and remain, badly taught. But IME there is no doubt that
the older generation does have those skills and the younger generation does
not *on the whole*.

Can't see anything wrong with using a calculator if you also have the
skills to estimate the answer (and thus avoid silly mistakes). And
that's one thing my children were taught at school and I wasn't - haw to
find a good approsimation to the answer.

There's nothing wrong with using a calculator as long as you can use it
swiftly and well. The times I've seen someone - not here, necessarily -
stabbing the wrong button and having to start all over again! Mental
arithmetic is very useful but my skills go little further. We also have a
sort of home made ready reckoner for someone who has trouble with a customer
who buys 5 plants at e.g. £1.75. ;-)
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
Exotic plants, shrubs & perennials online