New Math

One of the issues when you been blogging long long long like me an ya getting older wid each passing day is that ya tend to forget whether you wrote about a particular subject or not. That is why I repeat myself about all the people at TIFF the other day and ah not sure whether I repeating myself or not but we was talking about this yesterday so here goes.

Lemma see how to start this doah?

As time goes on, it sees like is more an more information to absorb an remember. Doan let me tell allya bout the what feels like 50 or so passwords I duz got to remember for computer and bank and work and almost everything under the sun. An I also doan know if wunnah notice it but the pickney these days seem smarter and more brazen than we were in the days of yesteryear. Dem born wid wii and playstation an touchscreen, duz jump out de womb wid an ipad attached to dem hand, an can operate computer better than some a we old fogies who grow up pushing old bicycle tires roun de road, pitching marbles and playing marble cricket (actually mi never play marble cricket but the old people always used to talk bout it so I mention it) and board games.

Ah mean all a dem now accustom to touch screen computer an ting an duz be shocked when things not touch screen but when we was little the only thing wud happen when ya touch the screen is ya might get a lil static shock. Ah lie?

I see my son learning things about science: recycling, types of clouds and water cycle, in first grade, that mi neva learn til musse mi was a big pickney in high school. But that is what it is now, everything fast fast fast cause is more info to absorb in de same or a shorter space a time. Wont be surprised if dem doing college level tings by thee time he reach third grade.

So given that all a we duz feel these young people and pickeny duz musse have bigger brains and dem smart smart smart from birth an in some  cases is true dem can fathom complex things we couldnt wrap we head around fa years like how to program a dvr (cause vcrs now obsolete dem say) an ting so but in many cases is a complete falsehood. All dem juss as stupidee or even more stupidee dan we an I feel for dem.


One of the problems with more info is that certain things fall through the cracks and certain things you don't get to practice as much as you need to and so you don't really get a feel for certain info which can be fatal if the missing stuff is fundamental.

Also a glaring issue with the young people (yes ah old an some grey in mi beard now so I can rail on about young uns is their total dependence on computers to the neglect of even their common sense. Ah mean google and computers are great amazing tools but some of these kids just think everything they read online is the truth and that computers are always right. They also don't think about what the underlying theories are by which a computer spits out information and hence are prone to accept everything a computer tells them as gospel.

Dat was juss de preamble ya know. Now here's where the real story starts.

Mi went in a used bookstore about two Christmases ago to buy a few lil children's books for gifts. Ah buy 4 books and I think two was 3 dollars each and two was about 5 or 6 dollars each. Ah went to the cash register an the young girl ring in mi purchases.

"$62 dollar an 47 cents!" she tell me.

I look at she shocked and tell she no that got to be wrong. Young girl look at me "$62 dollar an 47 cents! that is what the cash register say" she tell me.

I look at the items and tell she well unless tax is about 300% on these 4 lil books this cant be right.

Girl insists that is what the machine says.

I pointing out to she. 3 +3  is 6 and 5 + 5 is 10 and 10 + 6 is 16 and there is no way 16 dollars plus 15% tax could be 62 dollar even if de dollar devalue, de prices in yen, an um is new maths and we using calculus subtracting algebra raised to the power of geometry. No way star!

But she still insisting this is what the machine say.

Lawd!

Eventually de manager had to come look at the ting cause I aint nuh poppit an I din giving she no 62 dollar for 16 dollar in merchandise.

Turns out she hadn't finished the previous transaction correctly so and was adding my total to whatever else was still in there which ya know I can deal with as a simple mistake. But what got me is her adamant stance that whatever the machine say was right when lil common sense would tell ya 3+3+5+5 could never never never be $62.