'One of the most vivid arithmetic failings displayed by Americans
occurred in the early 1980s, when the A&W restaurant chain released a new hamburger to rival the McDonald’s Quarter Pounder. With a third-pound of beef, the A&W burger had more meat than the Quarter Pounder; in taste tests, customers preferred A&W’s burger. And it was less expensive. A lavish A&W television and radio marketing campaign cited these benefits. Yet instead of leaping at the great value, customers snubbed it.
Only when the company held customer focus groups did it become clear why. The Third Pounder presented the American public with a test in fractions. And we failed. Misunderstanding the value of one-third, customers believed they were being overcharged. Why, they asked the researchers, should they pay the same amount for a third of a pound of meat as they did for a quarter-pound of meat at McDonald’s. The “4” in “¼,” larger than the “3” in “⅓,” led them astray.'
(GOTTA spread this around. XPosting, from Education. Why do Americans stink at math?)
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/27/magazine/why-do-americans-stink-at-math.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpSumSmallMediaHigh&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
= new reply since forum marked as read
Try explaining to someone why a 4"x4" photo will not enlarge to an 8"x10" proportionately. I spend a lot of my life just blinking. It clears my head. Better than shaking people and screaming MATH in their faces.