Slide rule

Are math skills really necessary?

I’ve written about this several times over the years, but it’s time to write about it again. I’ve retold the story four times this month including once to two elementary school teachers. Too many people still don’t understand.

Several years ago, I was in a conference room with about 30 engineers and managers. Someone was doing a PowerPoint presentation at the front of the room. I was following along when he put up a questionable slide. I muttered softly to myself, “That can’t be right,” but it was overheard by the people near me. So, I had to go to the front and explain that, if this is this and that is that, the answer can’t be right.”

They pulled out their calculators and laptops and started punching away. They were all coming up with different answers, and it didn’t seem to bother anyone. Finally, the senior manager asked, “Ron, how did you know that couldn’t be right?” So, I explained that, when I went to school, we used something called a slide rule. It would give us the answer in three significant digits. We still had to do the problem in our head to approximate the answer so we would know where to put the decimal point. Let’s say the answer was 379. Should it be 3.79 or 37.9 or even 0.0379?

Once you form that habit, you always do the problem in your head to approximate the answer. In this case, I knew the answer had to be between 2 and 6, thus 3.79.

“Can you teach us how to do that?” If I didn’t have a conscience, I could have made a fortune, but sadly, I had to explain, “No, I’m sorry. They would have to go back to grammar school and learn it as a kid with the flash cards, etc. You see, this is easy for kids to learn but very difficult for adults. It’s like learning a foreign language. When we sent people to work overseas for a few years, their kids would learn the language in a matter of months, and the parents never learned except for a few pleasantries.

“No doubt there are exceptions. Some adults can learn anything at any age, but in my experience, they’re few and far between.”

They didn’t like my answer. “Our people are making these mistakes all the time, and it’s costing us a fortune. What do you suggest we do?” “Hire some older engineers to check your work.” What else could I say?

My honesty cost me any future business with them, and as I understand it, they no longer exist. It’s too bad, as they made some nice high-tech components that were in demand, but they couldn’t produce them competitively and reliably. Mistakes can be very expensive in manufacturing, as they can be in other industries as well. I don’t know for sure, but I think all those jobs (about 200) went to China.

Back to the two teachers, who had started the conversation saying it was a waste of time teaching math to kids. We were in a checkout line, and when I gave the cashier a little extra money to make the change come out better, she couldn’t handle it. The manager was nearby and came over, but he didn’t know what to do either.

So, I taught them how to make change by counting up from the cost until they got to the amount tendered. Then, I asked the teachers why they couldn’t teach that in school. They were embarrassed and promised to have their superiors contact me so I could convince them to teach real math to kids. Well, I’m not holding my breath.

People who can’t make change from a dollar are at a serious disadvantage, not just in trying to earn a living but also for life in general. Calculators and computers are great, but press one wrong button, and you’ve got a wrong answer. If you have no feel for what the answer should be, you’ll never know.

Mistakes are costly whether you or your employer are paying for them. In either case, they never continue for very long.

Ronald J. Bourque, a consultant and speaker from Salem, has had engagements throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. He can be reached at 603-898-1871 or RonBourque3@gmail.com.