Monday, February 08, 2010

Unwarranted Fears


Not all, but many of us, of the fairer sex are socially conditioned to be bad at math.

I have spent the last fifteen years, shying away from basic addition and multiplication. When the cheque comes I coyly wait for someone, usually a man, to work out my half. To tip, I simply round up the GST & PST and add it in. I am always in awe when someone calculates the tip down to the last penny.

The first words out of my mouth when asked to do a basic calculation is, “oh I can’t! I am sooo bad at math!”

There is no reason I should be bad at basic math. True I am more of a right brained person, yet in high school, once I put my mind to it, I was fairly good at math. I scored a 90 on Grade 12 algebra.

So my mission, whilst I wait for my fabulous new life to appear (job, would be...etc.) is to throw aside my excuses, admit my fear of long division and that I have forgotten my multiplication tables, and to get back into it.

Because years from now, I don’t want to be passing this idiotic trait to my daughters.

Women of the world, rise up with me and let’s do some math!

10 comments:

Jdid said...

you can do it!

Dee said...

unless it's my money on the line, I just can't. I think the adrenaline of being possibly cheated makes my math skills better.

SimplEnigma said...

LOL @ GC.

Both my parents are good at math. My mom was a bookkeeper. Yet, like the green thumb, it apparently was not passed on to me.

Even though I work in a creative department, because it's for a financial company, I always get stuck calculating the check when I go out with friends for dinner. No matter how many times I protest, it always happens. But if it wasn't for that little bit of math, I'd do no math at all so I accept it...

Dive in, chica. The wonderful world of numbers awaits...

Unknown said...

Well i am an engineer, so I am comfortable with math. But ever since calculators were into my life my brain has gotten slow and now i draw for my calculator on my phone for the basic stuff at times! lol!

gishungwa said...

I admit that am one of those who whips out their phones and uses the calculator. We can do this!

Unknown said...

neeveeerr! **running to the hills**

glad to know its not just me like that.

oh I'm a lurker, just dragged me out for a bit with this one

Abeni said...

It has always been easy for me. So I am here to tell you ladies that you can kick butt.

Mad Bull said...

I'm one of those in-betweeners. I am not the best at calculating those things, nor am I the worst. I usually calculate 10%, then take half of that amount and attempt to add it back. If there are weird digits at the end of the amount that is 10% or the 5% amount, (like 73c or 89c), I will round that to the nearest 10c. It works for me...

Crankyputz said...

MB I have lately learnt the art of rounding...its a fabulous technique.

Pepper said...

oh ur soooo on ur own wit this one. good thing tips are not that serious when it comes to percentage in jamaica....jus leave a "smalls"