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Numeracy, Financial Literacy, and Financial Decision-Making
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Looking at the other questions, they just chose distractors* so that it would be fairly easy for those who are familiar with the concept to select the correct choice.Mandelbrot wrote: »since they give you a choice of answers (an increasing and possibly unwelcome development, since it leads to guessing). And as you say, of the choices available, only one makes any sense.
*distractors are the wrong alternative answers, often selected to be credible but incorrect answers based on partial calculation or common mistakes.0 -
gadgetmind wrote: »First you learn how to do it by hand, then you learn about the tools that can help you perform the task. Whether it's clever or not, I don't really care, but it is essential.
Essential for what?! If I want to make fire I don't need to know how to rub 2 sticks togther, I get some matches or a lighter.0 -
Essential for what?!
Essential to get a deep understand of what you're doing and why.
Once you have this understanding (of anything, not just compound interest) then it frees you from being a dumb consumer of pre-packaged knowledge and lets you play "what if" in far more creative ways.I am not a financial adviser and neither do I play one on television. I might occasionally give bad advice but at least it's free.
Like all religions, the Faith of the Invisible Pink Unicorns is based upon both logic and faith. We have faith that they are pink; we logically know that they are invisible because we can't see them.0 -
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gadgetmind wrote: »Essential to get a deep understand of what you're doing and why.
Once you have this understanding (of anything, not just compound interest) then it frees you from being a dumb consumer of pre-packaged knowledge and lets you play "what if" in far more creative ways.
I can get far more creative using an Excel spreadsheet than trying to do manual calculations. It should be about learning how to use the correct tool for the job.0 -
I can get far more creative using an Excel spreadsheet than trying to do manual calculations.
Yes, me too, but I suspect that most who don't know how to calculate compound interest couldn't do it even if given a spreadsheet as the underlying approach is the same.It should be about learning how to use the correct tool for the job.
Only after learning the fundamentals, which is why for example kids are taught how to do arithmetic by hand before being given calculators, and why we teach them how to spell despite us now having spell checkers.I am not a financial adviser and neither do I play one on television. I might occasionally give bad advice but at least it's free.
Like all religions, the Faith of the Invisible Pink Unicorns is based upon both logic and faith. We have faith that they are pink; we logically know that they are invisible because we can't see them.0 -
Absolutely right. Ivader's logic leads people to drive into rivers and get stuck under low bridges because the sat-nav told them to. :mad:gadgetmind wrote: »Only after learning the fundamentals, which is why for example kids are taught how to do arithmetic by hand before being given calculators, and why we teach them how to spell despite us now having spell checkers.0 -
Sceptic001 wrote: »Absolutely right. Ivader's logic leads people to drive into rivers and get stuck under low bridges because the sat-nav told them to. :mad:
Wrong analogy, a more correct one would be we are both going the same way, end up in the same place but I got there quicker because I used the car instead of walking.0 -
Quote:
A new charity, National Numeracy, found that 49 per cent of working-age adults in England are so bad at maths that they have no more than the skills expected of a nine to 11-year-old and would struggle with graphs and charts.
How good are "National Numeracy" at statistics?
Why are 9-11 year olds "expected" to have skills that are equal or better than 49% of adults? Which 9-11 year olds?
If current 9-11 year olds are likely to already have skills equal to nearly half the adult population that seems rather impressive to me.0 -
Wrong analogy, a more correct one would be we are both going the same way, end up in the same place but I got there quicker because I used the car instead of walking.
So, should we forget all about teaching children to walk and stick them straight into a car?
Yes, you choose the right tool, but you need the full array of skills, including the ability to fall back onto mental and/or manual methods.I am not a financial adviser and neither do I play one on television. I might occasionally give bad advice but at least it's free.
Like all religions, the Faith of the Invisible Pink Unicorns is based upon both logic and faith. We have faith that they are pink; we logically know that they are invisible because we can't see them.0
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