Basic math escapes some people

[gsdx]

I had to go buy a new belt for my upright vacuum cleaner beater bar. With tax, the belt came to $4.51. I gave the young guy behind the counter $10.51.

He gave me back $5 in change.

"That should be $6 change, not $5." I gave him the receipt he'd just given me. As he looked at it, I said, "$10.51 minus $4.51 is $6, not $5."

He punched it up on the calculator on the counter and said, "Well, look at that. You're right."

Maybe they should buy him a new cash register which tallies the change for him.

 

[Corny]

the trick is so easy ..

somebody has to pay $4.51
he gives you $10.51

you start giving him his change, start counting at $4.51, give him change as long until you reach the amount of money that he gave you.


no subtraction (which sadly confuses some people), just addition

 

[Audio Tech]

Ever since "schools" allowed calculators in math class.....

Well, need I say more? I had to actually LEARN in school.

 

[gsdx]

Ever since "schools" allowed calculators in math class.....

Do they even teach basic arithmetic in schools anymore?

 

[Swellegant]

I remember this one time, when I was working in an espresso shop, our very fancy cash register went kaput and all hell broke loose... it was one of the kind where you push a button for the item and it figured the total and the tax and the change for you. I ended up working the register all day because I was the only one who knew off the top of my head what all the prices with tax were and could make change without a calculator. It was very sad.

People who run cash registers aren't always the sharpest tacks in the box.

 

[mbamike]

It must be that NEW math I heard about.

 

[winterknight]

Mathematics =/= arithmetic.

 

[winterknight]

You mean to tell me that 5 - the color Blue does not = a dangling participle!?!

I'm telling you that, once you much get beyond basic arithmetic, mathematics rapidly stops being about numbers. The greatest mathematicians in the world will all gladly tell you that they can't add two and two without a calculator.

For instance, the largest actual number that appears in the whole of the 100-page text of the proof of Fermat's Last Theorem: 5.

And that's only because there were some special cases he couldn't deal with using 3.

 

[Callum]

Well, I worked at a coffee shop in high school that had registers that did not calculate change. It was difficult at first (admittedly) but it became natural after a while. 1.67$ for an item, paid with a toonie, 33 cents change etc.

Perhaps he's just new.

 

[T-Rexx]

... the largest actual number that appears in the whole of the 100-page text of the proof of Fermat's Last Theorem: 5.

And that's only because there were some special cases he couldn't deal with using 3.

Not true, Winter. The largest number in Fermat's Last Theorem is "100."

It's at the bottom of page 100 of the theorem.

 

[Bored]

Maybe, just maybe, it was an honest mistake?

 

[gsdx]

Maybe, just maybe, it was an honest mistake?

No. He would have figured it out when he was looking at the receipt if it was a simple mistake. He needed the calculator to figure it out.

 

[MMMonsterBoy]

the trick is so easy ..

somebody has to pay $4.51
he gives you $10.51

you start giving him his change, start counting at $4.51, give him change as long until you reach the amount of money that he gave you.


no subtraction (which sadly confuses some people), just addition

I like this trick! If I can understand it, then anyone can

 

[winterknight]

wtf r u talking about....lol i have no clue what your saying....*brain shuts down. exits out of thread*

∀ε>0 ∃δ>0 ∀x(0<|x-c|<δ ⇒ |f(x)-L|<ε)

 

[gsdx]

∀ε>0 ∃δ>0 ∀x(0<|x-c|<δ ⇒ |f(x)-L|<ε)

I'm going to guess it equals '42'.

 

[winterknight]

I'm going to guess it equals '42'.

Actually, it doesn't equal anything.

But there is a song about it.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LyDys_IwMY[/ame]

 

[MTLDude]

I'm going to guess it equals '42'.

When in doubt, 42 is the best bet, unless you are in the Star Trek universe, where it is 47...

 

[justsimon]

The bookstore I work at uses a calculator for totaling sales and bookwork, never for calculating change. We're not allowed to close when the power goes out... unless it gets too dark.

 

[sabot3ur]

sometimes working register for full time shifts is mentally exhausting. I got like ten dollars over in change about a week ago and just let the cashier know. if they were making these mistakes on the regular they def wouldn't have a job

 

[gsdx]

Could just been a brain fart or a long day.

It was 10 o'clock in the morning.The store opened at 9:30. The guy was genuinely surprised when the calculator confirmed his mistake. If anything, he needed to wake up.