The downside of automotive technology

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Ok, so she can't convert decimals to fractions.  Unless she's going to be an engineer or a mathematician or sommat, what does it matter?  Why would a pastry chef or an auto mechanic or a trauma surgeon need that particular skill?  Why would a poet need to know how to smelt ore?  Why should a radiologist need to know iambic hexameter?

Boru

I'm not necessarily looking for agreement from you.  I'm just pointing out that we can't be sure of what else is lost when rudimentary mathematical literacy is lost. When I was young a lot of rebellious teenagers who didn't like to go to school and were thinking about dropping out, asked questions exactly like the questions that you are asking here. I guess those mid-20th century rebellious teenagers were ahead of their time (even though they could convert a decimal to a fraction).

*shrug*  Most people in the world couldn't foresee the ramifications of the loss of hunter/gatherer skills, but we seemed to have coped pretty well.

My point is that what we call 'basic life skills' changes constantly, always has done. I refuse to get all fatootzed that little Johnny can't solve second order differentials in his head the way grandad could.

Boru

Boru