georgerussia 0 #26 December 31, 2009 Quote *In Massachusetts, there's a special program to reacquaint teachers with math. The man who runs the program says half of teachers can't answer basic questions involving fractions and has concluded that many elementary teachers are "phobic" about math. On a map training back in Russia our sergeant asked a question, like, what is the result of 2/3 - 1/2? Only half of the class actually replied something meaningful, and only three people out of 25 had it right. What was wonderful was the explanation of our sergeant - like "you idiots, you have a bottle of vodka which is 2/3 full, now imagine drinking half of what you have, what is the result?" He apparently didn't know that 2/3 - 1/2 is not equal to 2/3 divided by 2. Quote Two years ago, I would have had to lay out a doomsday scenario to draw attention to this ticking time bomb. Well, the bomb’s gone off. People who were bad at math could hardly have been expected to see through the consequences of an adjustable-rate mortgage, or to make a sound bet on their future earnings potential. Honestly I don't believe this was the case. Those I talked to perfectly admitted they wouldn't be able to afford those properties unless getting interest-only mortgage with neg.amortization. They, however, clearly had no intention to keep them, their rationale was "if it goes up, I'll sell it and make some money. If it goes down, I'll give it back to the bank and walk away". It was a risk-free investment for them. China, however, has some very good mathematicians though. Maybe we should export math there as well.* Don't pray for me if you wanna help - just send me a check. * Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
loumeinhart 0 #27 December 31, 2009 QuoteWe sure see a lot of this around here: WHY AMERICAN CONSUMERS CAN'T ADD That's an interesting post and it points to the fact that many Americans are perhaps too quick to make a sizeable financial decision without reading the fineprint and/or simply trusting the salesperson's word that the decision is in their best interest. In other words, it's ok to take an interest-only or ARM mortgage loan if the property is intended as an investment and will be sold in 2 years. So many folks have taken the MAT treasury option that relies on future equity to subsidise the principle payment and they are now stuck with a mortgage they cannot pay off. In Ohio, this is disclosed but homebuyers the past 5 years seem to have ignored the so-called fineprint. Never ignore the "fineprint" - because that's what you're signing up for. __________ I'm an advocate of disclosure and personal responsibility. All credit/housing transactions in Ohio have had full disclosure since I can remember. If you didn't read the fine print, then it's your fault. And if you didn't "understand" the fine print then you shouldn't have signed the papers :) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 2 #28 December 31, 2009 QuoteQuoteAnyone who cannot cope with mathematics is not fully human. At best he is a tolerable subhuman who has learned to wear shoes, bathe, and not make messes in the house. ~Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love "The capacity for getting along with our neighbor depends to a large extent on the capacity for getting along with ourselves. The self-respecting individual will try to be as tolerant of his neighbor's shortcomings as he is of his own." -Eric Hoffer "Nuclear physics ain't so new, and it ain't so clear." -Pogo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 2 #29 December 31, 2009 QuoteMany times when I worked in the car business people couldn't understand why the payoff on their trade-in was being added back in to the total amount of the deal. It is?? Fuck. QuoteU-R-GAY Wait, who's gay? Quotemost of those people voted Obama What? Obama's gay? Quote2/3 - 1/2 is not equal to 2/3 divided by 2. It's NOT??? Fuck. This thread has me so goddam confused. I'm going back to bed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
champu 1 #30 December 31, 2009 QuoteQuoteQuote"Heckuva job, NEA...heckuva job" Personal responsibility.... does that ring a bell???? No shit And most of those people voted Obama Well, to tie this thread a little more constructively to Obama... How many people with no health care have actually researched options available to them, pricing out what certain plans would cover given what they might need it for? How many people with health care are actually aware of what it does and doesn't cover, can tell you readily what they're paying for it, and that there aren't better plans available to them? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,147 #31 December 31, 2009 True Story. My wife the Math Professor taught a "Business math" freshman course last Fall. One exam question was: What is return on $1 invested at 2% per annum, compounded continuously, for 3 years. Answer from 1 young aspiring Warren Buffett: $8x10^12 (that's $8 trillion for the innumerate here). ... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kelpdiver 2 #32 December 31, 2009 Quote True Story. My wife the Math Professor taught a "Business math" freshman course last Fall. One exam question was: What is return on $1 invested at 2% per annum, compounded continuously, for 3 years. Answer from 1 young aspiring Warren Buffett: $8x10^12 (that's $8 trillion for the innumerate here). take home, or in class? That kind of answer sounds like a bad use of google, or watching Futurama. (Fry had his $1 savings account at 2% for 1000 years. Fortunately inflation didn't exist) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,147 #33 December 31, 2009 Quote Quote True Story. My wife the Math Professor taught a "Business math" freshman course last Fall. One exam question was: What is return on $1 invested at 2% per annum, compounded continuously, for 3 years. Answer from 1 young aspiring Warren Buffett: $8x10^12 (that's $8 trillion for the innumerate here). take home, or in class? That kind of answer sounds like a bad use of google, or watching Futurama. (Fry had his $1 savings account at 2% for 1000 years. Fortunately inflation didn't exist) In class. Kid claimed it was "calculator error" and asked for partial credit. He was met with the stony face look.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kelpdiver 2 #34 December 31, 2009 Quote In class. Kid claimed it was "calculator error" and asked for partial credit. He was met with the stony face look. could offer partial credit equal to 1 - % of error! (If the kid can calculate that) The use of the calculator in school from early on may be a subtopic here. It certainly helps save time in science classes, but it quickly becomes a crutch, and removes the reason for practicing ballpark calculations in your mind. This brings to mind a Xmas sale at Macy's last week. Jewelry, as one might imagine in this economy, is being heavily discounted, as least from their fictitious "normal retail price". Everything has a 50% discount, then a preXmas 10% discount, then a 20% discount for Macys card holders. How much is the discount? Some might falsely imagine it to be 80%, rather than 64%. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 2 #35 December 31, 2009 Quote $8x10^12 Wait - it's not?? Damn. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,147 #36 December 31, 2009 Quote Quote $8x10^12 Wait - it's not?? Damn. I think you'd better sell the mansion, the yacht, and the jet... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 2 #37 December 31, 2009 Quote Quote Quote $8x10^12 Wait - it's not?? Damn. I think you'd better sell the mansion, the yacht, and the jet You mean yours, right? Cuz me no gottee. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
