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Author
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Topic: Grammer Nazi's of GC I blame you
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Mac D
BlabberMouth, the Next Generation
Member # 2926
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posted August 02, 2006 13:58
I took my placement test today. I rocked the hizz-ouse in Reading and writing but sucked a big fat lemon in math.
What is up with that. I am always so good at math and suck at reading and writing. I blame the grammer nazi's here on my great score's in the 2 subjects I should have bombed. But why the decline in math skills?
I have been out of high school now for 10 years (Yes I'm showing my age) After high school I had a job in the finace department of the largest casino in MN. I could add, subtract and multiply in millions with no problems. Maybe because I did it on a daily basis but have not done that in many many years.
Also, WTF is up with fractions? We should all just addopt percentages and decimal places instead of this very dated practice. I would much rather say 33% of the pie was eaten over 1/3 (Yes I know 1/3 doesn't translate very well into a decimal and that it is 33.3333333 ...... ect. ect. percent) But converting them is most of the frustration. Not to mention computers don't really understand fractions. And computers are everywhere. But most of the math questions in the test where in fractions ![[Mad]](mad.gif)
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Tirthas the Geek
Mini Geek
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posted August 02, 2006 14:06
Don't you mean "Grammar?"
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Ashitaka
SuperFan!
Member # 4924
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posted August 02, 2006 14:11
FRACTIONS MAKE DOING MATH IN YOUR HEAD EASY. YOU SHOULD MAKE SURE YOUR CHILDREN CAN ADD SUBTRACT MULTIPLY AND DIVIDE WITH OUT CALCULATORS. foR FUN TEACH THEM TO DO SQUARE ROOTS IN THIER HEAD. YEA, I KNOW I USED ALL CAPS. WATCH ME USE SOME EXCLAMATION MARKS.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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dragonman97
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posted August 02, 2006 14:16
quote:
Originally posted by Tirthas the Geek:
Don't you mean "Grammar?"
No, I'm quite sure that was deliberate... the entire subject is poorly composed. ![[Wink]](wink.gif)
(There's an apostrophe that doesn't belong, and a missing piece of punctuation.)
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TMBWITW,PB
Member # 1734
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posted August 02, 2006 14:20
Computers understand fractions just fine. They just do it in terms of one number being divided by another which is fairly straighforward. While I wouldn't say it in all caps, I do agree that fractions make math in your head easier. How would you rather convert from Fahrenheit to Celcius: (ºF-32)(5/9)=ºC or 0.55555555(ºF-32)
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GrumpySteen
Solid Nitrozanium SuperFan
Member # 170
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posted August 02, 2006 14:31
You lose what you don't use and, honestly, most jobs outside of science and technology fields will almost never require the use of anything beyond rudimentary math and algebra.
My own job, for example, results in me having to understand Fourier transformations and integration/differentiation of waveforms. Because I deal with these things on a daily basis, I have no problem at all with them. On the other hand, I couldn't remember the quadratic equation right now if my life depended on it.
But I'd also bet that I could derive it in a couple of minutes given paper, pencil and the threat of death for motivation. ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
TMBWITW,PB wrote:
How would you rather convert from Fahrenheit to Celcius: (ºF-32)(5/9)=ºC or 0.55555555(ºF-32)
Hmm... in my head, I actually do ((ºF-32)*20)-(ºF-32)*2))/10=ºC
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Tirthas the Geek
Mini Geek
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posted August 02, 2006 14:32
quote:
Originally posted by dragonman97:
No, I'm quite sure that was deliberate... the entire subject is poorly composed.
(There's an apostrophe that doesn't belong, and a missing piece of punctuation.)
And Finance is misspelled.
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Mac D
BlabberMouth, the Next Generation
Member # 2926
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posted August 02, 2006 14:36
Nope, Wasen't deliberate. I still can't spell.
Grammar ..... Grammar, I will have to remember that.
And it was all multiple choice.
But I did find a HUGE mistake that was on most questions. Not just one or 2 mind you. But every questions with a list.
It is supposed to be.
First item, second item and third item.
But every time they made a list they put it as.
First item, second item, and third item.
Did you catch it? Yes they put a comma before the "and" with the third item. It was driving me nuts. I didn't know who to tell about the mistake. More then likely the company that made the test. But I have no clue who that is.
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The Famous Druid
Gold Hearted SuperFan!
Member # 1769
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posted August 02, 2006 14:44
quote:
Originally posted by Mac D:
More then likely the company that made the test.
More than likely !
</pet-peeve number="73">
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TMBWITW,PB
Member # 1734
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posted August 02, 2006 14:48
quote:
Originally posted by Mac D:
It is supposed to be.
First item, second item and third item.
But every time they made a list they put it as.
First item, second item, and third item.
Actually, both are considered grammatically correct these dasys.
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"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye."
—Miss Piggy
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dragonman97
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posted August 02, 2006 14:48
Peebs,
Actually, you're wrong. Computers _do not_ understand fractions. Computers work in binary, and somewhere over time, you may have heard the term 'floating point' used. Unless it's a business application*, most numbers that use decimal places use 'floating point' variables, which actually store numbers in a very funky way, involving negative powers of 2. (It's not funky if you've studied, but that's the most succint way to put it. )
*Hopefully, otherwise you can end up with Office Space/Superman situations. ![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
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There are three things you can be sure of in life: Death, taxes, and reading about fake illnesses online...
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Tirthas the Geek
Mini Geek
Member # 2864
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posted August 02, 2006 15:12
quote:
Originally posted by TMBWITW,PB:
quote:
Originally posted by Mac D:
It is supposed to be.
First item, second item and third item.
But every time they made a list they put it as.
First item, second item, and third item.
Actually, both are considered grammatically correct these dasys.
Yup. Just looked it up again to be sure.
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I already used my best sig on Slashdot.
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Sxeptomaniac
Member # 3698
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posted August 02, 2006 15:25
quote:
Originally posted by TMBWITW,PB:
quote:
Originally posted by Mac D:
It is supposed to be.
First item, second item and third item.
But every time they made a list they put it as.
First item, second item, and third item.
Actually, both are considered grammatically correct these dasys.
I was taught the latter method in school, so it threw me when I first found out that dropping the comma before the "and" is preferred, and that some consider my method wrong.
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TMBWITW,PB
Member # 1734
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posted August 02, 2006 16:24
quote:
Originally posted by dragonman97:
Peebs,
Actually, you're wrong. Computers _do not_ understand fractions. Computers work in binary, and somewhere over time, you may have heard the term 'floating point' used. Unless it's a business application*, most numbers that use decimal places use 'floating point' variables, which actually store numbers in a very funky way, involving negative powers of 2. (It's not funky if you've studied, but that's the most succint way to put it. )
*Hopefully, otherwise you can end up with Office Space/Superman situations.
I stand corrected.
Incidentally, I just watched Superman III. I forgot just how bad that movie was. ![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
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"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye."
—Miss Piggy
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Xanthine
Solid Nitrozanium SuperFan!
Member # 736
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posted August 02, 2006 17:33
Algebra in general is easier if you can handle fractions. Believe it or not, calculators aren't always handy, or even necessary.
I don't use the quadratic equation much either, even though the need for it comes up at the oddest times. I had to solve the Henderson-Hasselbach in the middle of the night a couple years ago. Now that was fun. ![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif) .
Needless to say, I wrote the answer in the manual so I'd never have to do it again.
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And it's one, two, three / On the wrong side of the lee / What were you meant for? / What were you meant for?
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nerdwithnofriends
Uber Geek
Member # 3773
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posted August 02, 2006 18:02
It's honestly situational thing, I think. When it comes to engineering- e.g., 'real-life' applications, Decimals are preferred because they are more easily understandable and translate into real, practical measurements.
However, when doing an advanced calculus problem, you are probably going to want to leave 74364291π/23 as a fraction all the way through whatever problem you are doing, and then convert to get an answer with as little floating-point error as possible.
Fraction math is easy to do, so long as you leave things in fractions. The only hard part is converting to/from decimals.
I change my mental math mode often, again depending on what I do. Normally, I do the best of both worlds and use decimal numbers, but manipulate their integer and real parts separately.
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maybe.logic
Alpha Geek
Member # 5014
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posted August 02, 2006 22:40
yup i agree with nerdwithnofriends, leave (if you can) fractions alone they dont like being touched.
quote:
I don't use the quadratic equation much either, even though the need for it comes up at the oddest times. I had to solve the Henderson-Hasselbach in the middle of the night a couple years ago. Now that was fun.
lol, I can still remeber the painfull days of college when I had to do thoose things over and over again. I had a chinese tutor, apparantly (according to my other chinese contacts) repeatably writting out and solving these equations better cements yout knowledge of them... no shit but there is a point where you stop (I swear she was a bit sadistic though)
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Thorned0Fortress
Geek
Member # 4435
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posted August 03, 2006 04:39
quote:
I was taught the latter method in school, so it threw me when I first found out that dropping the comma before the "and" is preferred, and that some consider my method wrong.
Yep, that's how I was taught:
"Swimming, surfing, and shotput."
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drunkennewfiemidget
BlabberMouth, a Blabber Odyssey
Member # 2814
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posted August 03, 2006 06:01
dman's absolutely right about the computer storing of floating point values thing .. if you saw how a computer stored floating point numbers, you'd wanna barf.
Check this out:
code:
$ perl -we 'print 5.1 - 5;'
0.0999999999999996
And I prefer including the comma before the and. Because its the last item, it doesn't preclude it from being a member of an otherwise comma delimited list.
But I understand both are correct, and it doesn't bother me if someone uses them as such.
The most annoying grammar/spelling mistakes (to me) are:
- should of instead of should have.
- its vs it's
- to, too, and two
- lose vs loose
- apostrophes where they don't belong.
Apostrophes go before the s if you're talking about POSSESSION, and not putting it on a pronoun (ie, his, its, theirs, hers).
If its just a plural of something, then there's no apostrophe.
And it only goes on "it's" if it's a contraction of "it is".
How's that for a grammar lesson?
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Ashitaka
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posted August 03, 2006 07:13
quote:
Originally posted by Xanthine:
Algebra in general is easier if you can handle fractions. Believe it or not, calculators aren't always handy, or even necessary.
I don't use the quadratic equation much either, even though the need for it comes up at the oddest times. I had to solve the Henderson-Hasselbach in the middle of the night a couple years ago. Now that was fun. .
Needless to say, I wrote the answer in the manual so I'd never have to do it again.
Well, since the topic of this thread is grammar...
It is spelled Hasselbalch.
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Stereo
Solid Nitrozanium SuperFan!
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posted August 03, 2006 07:57
Ashitaka: spelling is not grammar...
As for the apostrophe, I learned it this way: apart than for the possessive, it is used to replace the characters skipped in a contration.
can't - ' for "o"
It's - ' for "i"
'90s - ' for "19"
etc.
(Oh, yeah, and there's the difference between the foot sign ' and the correct apostrophe/single closing quote sign ’. But I'm lazy about that one.)
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GrumpySteen
Solid Nitrozanium SuperFan
Member # 170
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posted August 03, 2006 10:21
drunkennewfiemidget wrote:
Because its the last item
and then wrote:
The most annoying grammar/spelling mistakes (to me) are:
- should of instead of should have.
- its vs it's
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
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chromatic
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posted August 03, 2006 10:47
quote:
Originally posted by Mac D:
Yes they put a comma before the "and" with the third item. It was driving me nuts.
"I'd like to thank my parents, God and Ayn Rand."
-- reportedly from the dedication of a book
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drunkennewfiemidget
BlabberMouth, a Blabber Odyssey
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posted August 03, 2006 12:02
quote:
Originally posted by Steen:
drunkennewfiemidget wrote:
Because its the last item
and then wrote:
The most annoying grammar/spelling mistakes (to me) are:
- should of instead of should have.
- its vs it's
You're absolutely right.
In my defense, it's more a case of when they put the apostrophe when it doesn't belong.
Besides, don't you know the Internet rule that states 'any rant about grammar or spelling will inevitably contain a spelling or grammatical error that's being ranted about'?
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