Some Skills are Being Lost

@maggs224 (2320)
Alicante, Spain
August 14, 2016 5:05pm CST
I was reading @Susan2015 The Scanner Wasn't Working Properly and this post made me think of my old mum. Over sixty years ago my mum was working in the local Home and Colonial store. Mum used the big old fashioned Brass till to ring up the sales. Of course back then the till wasn't old fashioned as most shop tills were like that. She was responsible not just for totting up the bill she also had to serve the people. Most of the items in the shop were loose and so mum had to wrap and weighed individually each item purchased. Mum would often hold a running total of the bill in her head as she did it. I would bet on my old mum's mental arithmetic skills against any of today's fancy scanners. My mum would add the bill up in her head as she was doing it. At the end of filling your order she would ring up the total on that big old brass till. Mum would do all this without the aid of a calculator or any other aid except perhaps a pencil and piece of paper. Mum's mental arithmetic skills were amazing. She could tot up a total in her head faster than I could enter them into a calculator. I have never known her to be wrong when it came to doing calculations in her head. Many of today's youngsters have learned to rely on gismos and electronic devices. These devices do their calculations for them. I am the old fashioned sort of person that pay for things in the supermarket with cash. If it looks like I am going to end up with a load of change I work out what I need to get a note for my change. For example, say I am paying with a twenty and the bill is 15euro 25c. I will offer the extra 25 centimos so the cashier can give me a 5 euro note instead of 4. 75 which will be all coins. Even something as simple as this calculation can make many a cashier panic. Especially young cashiers who can't work this out and so still insist on making the change. If I can give it to them before the money goes into the till the till can work it out for them and they are OK with that. As I said some skills are being lost. :(
8 people like this
7 responses
@Jessicalynnt (50525)
• Centralia, Missouri
15 Aug 16
I do well with giving people their change. you just start with whatver the bill was, say 15.34, and they gave you a 20. I would give them a penny (15.35), then a nickle (15.40), then a dime (15.50), then 2 quarters (16.00), then 4 ones, (20), and yes I always counted it outloud as I went. The machine later told me what to give, but for the longest time I started at the bottom and built up to the needed change. you give me more than what was owed, I just add up higher, lol
1 person likes this
• Centralia, Missouri
16 Aug 16
@maggs224 I want to say for the longest time it wouldnt tell us the change, and I remember people using paper, I found this way easier, and more accurate than paper
@maggs224 (2320)
• Alicante, Spain
16 Aug 16
@Jessicalynnt That is because you are smart Jessa and know what you are doing. Giving change your way you can't go wrong, that is if you can do it your way in the first place lol...
1 person likes this
• United States
15 Aug 16
my papaw 'twas that way, doin' all that figurin' 'n his head quicker'n most folks could e'en write such down. quite a feat i thought coz he ne'er learnt to read no write. the younger bunch these days can't do math without a gadget, heck many're graduatin' from college with masters degrees 'n can't e'en tell time'n a real clock. ya know, the ones with hands'n 'em? jest shameful :(
1 person likes this
@maggs224 (2320)
• Alicante, Spain
16 Aug 16
@crazyhorseladycx I know what you mean, my daughter was talking about one of my grandson's friends that couldn't tell the time on a real clock that was the traditional hands on clock face. Until she said that I just assumed that kids still learned to tell the time like we did. Most of the town hall clocks still have proper clock faces don't they.
1 person likes this
• United States
16 Aug 16
@maggs224 pitiful, aint 't? we taught the grands how to tell time'n a 'real clock', but i dunno if'n they retained such. 's to yer query? i dunno if'n they do're not, hon. 'tis been a long time since i've been'n town hall here. most places though've digital clocks 't seems. so much lost coz 'f modern technology 'n folks refusin' to learn how to do fer 'emselves :(
@hereandthere (45671)
• Philippines
15 Aug 16
i'm bad at math, too. but while waiting in line, i do round up the prices of each item in my cart so i have an idea of the total amount, whether to have a 500 bill or 1000 peso bill ready. i also prefer to receive a whole note rather than change, and the cashiers here usually ask for the small cents, like, do you have 25 centavos, 1 peso, or 5 pesos?
1 person likes this
@maggs224 (2320)
• Alicante, Spain
16 Aug 16
@hereandthere Some will ask here, but usually it is the older cashiers that do that. Like you by the time I get to the checkout I have a good idea of just how much my shop is going to cost me and have close to the right amount ready.
1 person likes this
@sabtraversa (12441)
• Italy
14 Aug 16
I like to do simple mental arithmetics and I sometimes play brain flashgames online, but yes, we have machines performing stuff for us. The comforts change, so do our needs and skills. Maybe we acquire new skills. Some people are awkward when it comes to write by hand, especially in cursive, but they type at light speed. I sometimes see some teens standing on electric hoverboards. Maybe in future humans will lose their ability to walk, but standing on those things still requires a lot of balance.
1 person likes this
@maggs224 (2320)
• Alicante, Spain
14 Aug 16
@sabtraversa I must admit Sabrina that I have never seen anyone on an electric hover-board, except Michael J Fox in one of the Back to the Future films. I know that I would not possess the balance for riding on one of those things. I still like to write by hand for some things, but things like MyLot and other online things I much prefer the keyboard as it is much faster and has a spell check to pick up my spelling mistakes lol...
1 person likes this
@sueznewz2 (10409)
• Alicante, Spain
14 Aug 16
Yeahh I know what you mean maggs... Math isn't my strong suit ..but looking at the faces of some of the cashiers when that happens is funny...
1 person likes this
@maggs224 (2320)
• Alicante, Spain
14 Aug 16
@sueznewz2 You can run rings round most of the cashiers these days Sue
1 person likes this
@Plethos (13618)
• United States
14 Aug 16
i was never good at math that uses the alphabet instead of numbers. im really good at rounding up to the final total. figuring out taxes also makes my head hurt.
1 person likes this
@maggs224 (2320)
• Alicante, Spain
14 Aug 16
@Plethos I am not a big fan of Algebra either, and I have always had my taxes taken out before my money hits my bank account so I never had any figuring out to do lol...
1 person likes this
@CinnamonGrl (7083)
• Santa Fe, New Mexico
14 Aug 16
I agre that skills are being lost. Calculating such things helps keep th emind agile. Imagine standing at a cash register that says "cheeseburger" "taco" "hot dog" or whatever on the keys. That is what is going on now. I think it's craziness. What was so awful about adding up numbers?
@maggs224 (2320)
• Alicante, Spain
14 Aug 16
@CinnamonGrl Some of the latest tills don't have the item written on the key they have a picture of the item. Don't get me wrong I would rather have my stuff scanned than trust most people to add the stuff up. Normally when I am shopping I am keeping a running total in my head and so I know the rough ball park figure to expect at the cash out. I also check my bill to make sure the items have been put through at the right price.