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Author: Subject: What are they teaching 'in' schools???
Jasper

posted on 4/7/13 at 11:10 AM Reply With Quote
What are they teaching 'in' schools???

Just been to my local sandwich shop and the young and well spoken lad that served me had to use a calculator to add up £4.50 and 80p.

Bloody hell, I was really shocked

Edited to correct my terrible mistake in the title....

[Edited on 4/7/13 by Jasper]





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cliftyhanger

posted on 4/7/13 at 11:21 AM Reply With Quote
More to the point, why are you spending nearly a fiver on a sandwich!
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iank

posted on 4/7/13 at 11:24 AM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by cliftyhanger
More to the point, why are you spending nearly a fiver on a sandwich!


Brighton prices





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dhutch

posted on 4/7/13 at 11:27 AM Reply With Quote
I've had a graduate engineer reply to an exhaust lagging supplier "I think you have specified too high a temperature range, and you please quote for 80-100 degrees" .

- Supplier had quoted for a 650deg product
- The lagging goes with in 6 inches of the manifold
- Ambient air temp is circa 50deg, underbonnet, could more like 70


I asked him what would happen if you threw water on the exhaust, expecting to talk him through the explanation that it must be over 100deg, he just said he didnt know.


Now admittedly this is not within the UK, but equally, he claims 6 years engineering experience.



Daniel

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Jasper

posted on 4/7/13 at 11:34 AM Reply With Quote
Sorry, that should have been £3.50 for the sandwich Free range chicken!!





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TimC

posted on 4/7/13 at 11:35 AM Reply With Quote
You can't deny that there is some considerable irony in you missing the word "in" from your topic title.

[Edited on 4/7/13 by TimC]






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Mr Whippy

posted on 4/7/13 at 11:46 AM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by TimC
You can't deny that there is some considerable irony in you missing the word "in" from your topic title.

[Edited on 4/7/13 by TimC]


Yeah noticed that too

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Doctor Derek Doctors

posted on 4/7/13 at 11:50 AM Reply With Quote
Maybe he was dyslexic? Or perhaps he had made a mistake earlier and had another grumpy customer having a go at him? Or maybe he just not very good at maths in his head?

I cant really see how you have managed to jump from someone you know nothing about needing to use a calculator to blaming the schools system.





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stevebubs

posted on 4/7/13 at 11:52 AM Reply With Quote
or perhaps he was Mr Tim, Nice but Dim...
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deezee

posted on 4/7/13 at 11:59 AM Reply With Quote
When I'm interviewing for engineering positions (civil / industrial) its pretty clear that the applicants know nothing outside of the course and even then its vague. Most refer to "I don't recall that, but I covered it in coursework" or "I'd just check on the internet".

My humble and limited experience leads me to conclude that they don't commit anything to memory and only know enough to pass a test that poorly reflects real world applications.

Its great knowing loads of algebra and getting an A in geography and media studies, but most don't even know imperial dimensions and are unable to think on their feet. Oh well.






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cliftyhanger

posted on 4/7/13 at 12:02 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by iank
quote:
Originally posted by cliftyhanger
More to the point, why are you spending nearly a fiver on a sandwich!


Brighton prices


Him or me?
I make my sandwiches, or if I am a good boy the lady wife makes them.
I take a flask when working on site too. Or teabags when working in school.

Me. tight? You bet when it comes to lunch.

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Jasper

posted on 4/7/13 at 12:02 PM Reply With Quote
Yeah yeah, ok, so I was so surprised I couldn't type properly......

I have just noticed a lot of this lately in shops with younger staff. This guy sounded well educated and the shop was very quiet, so not under any pressure. In fact he did the calculation twice just to make sure....

As I fast two days a week it's just not worth me making sarnies ......

[Edited on 4/7/13 by Jasper]





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jps

posted on 4/7/13 at 12:08 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by deezee
most don't even know imperial dimensions


Now I don't work in an engineering scenario - so this is an honest question - but is anyone still working to imperial dimensions in the UK in manufacturing/engineering?

A few years ago I worked in a warehouse for a few months picking loads for DIY stores - and 8'x4' was 'actually' 2440mm X 1220mm....

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TimC

posted on 4/7/13 at 12:08 PM Reply With Quote
I'm always surprised when people (it was my FD this week) can't 'annualise' weekly figures in their head. Seriously, how hard is it to add two naughts, divide by two and then add twice the number that you started with?






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tims31

posted on 4/7/13 at 12:11 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by jps
quote:
Originally posted by deezee
most don't even know imperial dimensions


Now I don't work in an engineering scenario - so this is an honest question - but is anyone still working to imperial dimensions in the UK in manufacturing/engineering?

A few years ago I worked in a warehouse for a few months picking loads for DIY stores - and 8'x4' was 'actually' 2440mm X 1220mm....


Yes, if you work with any American company in engineering then thats all they work in. Boeing in particular...





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coyoteboy

posted on 4/7/13 at 12:11 PM Reply With Quote
I often check very simple calculations in my calculator despite having multiple degrees in engineering and plenty of practical experience. It's more natural to do that because usually the calculations are a lot more complex than X+Y but the habit rolls over. But maybe this guy just struggled with quick maths in his head.

I have a friend who can multiply two 6 figure numbers in his head while having a conversation. He might ask why we're all so stupid that we can't do that, but he's no good at engineering!


quote:

Yes, if you work with any American company in engineering then thats all they work in. Boeing in particular...



Hmm in my experience they tend to work in mm these days, but I have had to deal with cm and inches in a number of projects.

[Edited on 4/7/13 by coyoteboy]






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mcerd1

posted on 4/7/13 at 12:21 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by deezee
When I'm interviewing for engineering positions (civil / industrial) its pretty clear that the applicants know nothing outside of the course and even then its vague.
well I've just done a job were the civil engineers (big national company) claimed not to be able to calculate the load that was goint to be applied to there new bases so I got the job to do the calc for them....

you might assume this ment it was very complex, but its just a big cylinder with a weigth and a bit of wind and the customer even specified the wind preasure

so that means: weight * 9.81 = vertial load,
and height * width * preasure * 1.2 (for a cylinder) = horizontal load
then half the height * the horizontal load for the overturning

still it keeps me in a job I guess





[Edited on 4/7/2013 by mcerd1]





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iank

posted on 4/7/13 at 12:26 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by cliftyhanger
quote:
Originally posted by iank
quote:
Originally posted by cliftyhanger
More to the point, why are you spending nearly a fiver on a sandwich!


Brighton prices


Him or me?
I make my sandwiches, or if I am a good boy the lady wife makes them.
I take a flask when working on site too. Or teabags when working in school.

Me. tight? You bet when it comes to lunch.


Him, iirc Jasper works in Brighton (didn't actually notice your location).





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coyoteboy

posted on 4/7/13 at 12:26 PM Reply With Quote
That's usually done when the person who "can't" just doesn't want to, or hasn't budgeted the time to. Or thinks the assumption of static wind loading in the environment required is possibly an under-simplification and doesn't want to get into the detailed design but also doesn't want to accept the liability for the design.






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twybrow

posted on 4/7/13 at 12:28 PM Reply With Quote
I always find it amusing (sad) when you hand a shop assistant the extra change when purchasing something - i.e. you buy an item for £4.20, and pay them a fiver, and 20p piece. They they count out the 80p change, and hand you back the 20p.... Genius.
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stevebubs

posted on 4/7/13 at 12:33 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by twybrow
I always find it amusing (sad) when you hand a shop assistant the extra change when purchasing something - i.e. you buy an item for £4.20, and pay them a fiver, and 20p piece. They they count out the 80p change, and hand you back the 20p.... Genius.


A few of them stop and think about it first, too....

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Agriv8

posted on 4/7/13 at 12:37 PM Reply With Quote
sorry Chapps going to have to stick up for the teachers a little SWMBO is one.

In the my wifes old school she spent most of here time teaching them English before she could get to the maths !!!

The one that could speak a little english were taught how to get the good test scores for the league tables !!


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mcerd1

posted on 4/7/13 at 12:38 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by jps
....is anyone still working to imperial dimensions in the UK in manufacturing/engineering?

yes, every day at the moment

luckly for me my dad has always worked in imperial units so I'm used to it, but some of the younger guys we've got here really struggle...

we still build alot of steelwork that was last re-designed in the 1940's - 70's and no metric drawings have ever been produced and no one wants to pay for them

and at the moment we making alot of structural aluminium and most of that comes in imperial or 'english' sizes (US made)
infact alot of steel is still made in imperial sizes its just given a metric name these days
(i.e. a 203x203x46 UC = 203mm x 203mm x 46 kg/m or 8" x 8" x 31 lb/ft universal column )

we do convert everything to mm before it goes to the workshop though - having both measuing systems on the same shop floor would be asking for trouble

[Edited on 4/7/2013 by mcerd1]





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mcerd1

posted on 4/7/13 at 12:46 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by coyoteboy
That's usually done when the person who "can't" just doesn't want to, or hasn't budgeted the time to. Or thinks the assumption of static wind loading in the environment required is possibly an under-simplification and doesn't want to get into the detailed design but also doesn't want to accept the liability for the design.

I would have agreed with you, but when you've submitted them a calc (in a nice clear format) and they come back asking lots of very basic questions it satrts to become obvious that they just don't understand it

by the sounds of things he was just pugging numbers into a spreadsheet and had very little idea of what they meant

[Edited on 4/7/2013 by mcerd1]





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coyoteboy

posted on 4/7/13 at 01:00 PM Reply With Quote
Oh dear. That doesn't sound good!






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