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... I've noticed the same thing ...[^] 
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Some years ago I read a short SF story where everyone had a pocket device that answered all their questions. One day some guy showed how you could work out the answers to questions without using the device. He was quickly disposed of as being a dnagerous influence. Watching the Samsung Flip ads on TV recently I don't think it will be long before a wholegeneration will not be able to do anything for themselves in terms of using their brains. Quite worrying really.
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When I was at school, we weren't allowed to use calculators - slide rules were OK, but calculators were a big no-no; Sinclair had a couple you could buy, but you had to have serious pocket money to afford one. We didn't ...
After a few years, the year below was allowed to, and it quickly became obvious there was a big difference between the two: with a slide rule you worked out the magnitude yourself, and you had a good feel for how accurate the result was. But the year below? They believed the answer, even if it was plainly obvious that the magnitude was wrong (because they missed out a decimal point) and that there was no way you#d get a 7 digit accuracy number from a two digit input: 3.7 / 9.3 isn't going to be 0.39784946236 in the real world, it's going to 0.40 because your tape measure doesn't go down to thousandths of a millimetre!
And social media / AI is doing the same thing: dumbing down the user because they don't have to think about the problem just believe what you get given ...
I'm sure it will all work itself out in the end, but you do have to wonder if Boeing's recent troubles would have existed if "old style engineers" has been involved instead of a generation that assumes correctness and moves on.
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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OriginalGriff wrote: When I was at school, there were no calculators. A twelve inch wooden ruler, a set square and a protractor were enough.
... and when we got home in the evening our father would kill us and dance on our graves ... 
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You had a protractor? We had to make do with a stretched cotton thread!
... and if the cotton broke, the teacher would cane us with the ruler, and then when we got home our father would beat us to death, resurrect us, and send us to bed without any supper!
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.
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Methinks Boing-Boing’s problems are not engineering problems, but rather management problems 
"If we don't change direction, we'll end up where we're going"
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Richard MacCutchan wrote: ...I don't think it will be long before a wholegeneration will not be able to do anything for themselves in terms of using their brains.
That ship has already sailed.
"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." - James D. Miles
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David Crow wrote: That ship has already sailed.
I already said in college (a couple of decades ago) that if I had to ever use something designed by some classmates... I would rather don't do it.
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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I have felt the same about certain co-workers in the past.
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What about a former classmate as your new doctor?
"In testa che avete, Signor di Ceprano?"
-- Rigoletto
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That would be difficult... I am engineer not medic 
But yeah... I know what you mean  
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Richard MacCutchan wrote: I don't think it will be long before a wholegeneration will not be able to do anything for themselves in terms of using their brains.
Try to pay cash and get the correct change at a drive-through fast-food place. Last time my dad and I went (2 weeks ago) we both watched the cashier try to count the coins and I swear it took 3 people before they came back to us - and they still got the amount wrong.
And I find this sort of thing is happening more and more frequently.
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On the other hand, my children are more, much more brilliant in math than me...
Or, possibly, I am very very dumb.
"In testa che avete, Signor di Ceprano?"
-- Rigoletto
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Well, "giving change" is just additions and subtractions. Not particularly difficult math.
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My rate of failure is impressive, even on simple operations.
"In testa che avete, Signor di Ceprano?"
-- Rigoletto
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Now, I cannot believe an engineer could do that.
Being a physicist, of course I can.
"In testa che avete, Signor di Ceprano?"
-- Rigoletto
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CPallini wrote: Now, I cannot believe an engineer could do that.
I was 16 back then, not engineer yet
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Reminds me of a time at a restaurant, my bill was $31.50 or the like, I gave the person $51.50. They typed something in wrong on the register, "I said, don't worry just give a $20 and I'll be on my way..." but NNnnoooo! 15 minutes later somebody found a calculator, apparently they didn't trust the one on their phone or mine, they couldn't do the math on a piece of paper, nor did they believe my explanation of how to give change. The look of surprise when they determined I was correct was priceless ![Elephant | [mastadon]](https://codeproject.freetls.fastly.net/script/Forums/Images/elephant.gif) them. The "money" person at an establishment can't count change that's terrible.
"the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment
"Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst
"I don't drink any more... then again, I don't drink any less." - Mike Mullikins uncle
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This one stuck with me.
A long time ago I used to work near a shopping mall, and often went for lunch at the food court with coworkers.
There was a cashier who recognized us from many previous visits. Whatever I ordered one day came down to $6.66 (just to give you an idea of how long ago that was...) I had $7, but I always try to minimize the number of coins I have carry, so I gave her $7.16 (that was before Canada get rid of the penny). As I handed that to her, she looked at me with this exasperated look on her face, let out a sigh, and said, "why do you always have to make it complicated for me?"...
I told her, "I do try to make it simple for you." There was this long pause. She punched the transaction into her cash register, and I swear she looked like she had just witnessed some magic trick when she finally realized she only had to give me 2 quarters in change.
I never stopped "making it complicated" for her.
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dandy72 wrote: I never stopped "making it complicated" for her.
In the hopes of sooner or later it sinks in. One would think the 'money' person at said business should be the most skilled at the money (the purpose of the business to begin with). More than once I've been given too much change back, I've told the person this and had to darn near argue with the person before they realized their mistake. Only once did they utterly refuse to believe me, at which point I kept the extra cash and walked out.
"the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment
"Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst
"I don't drink any more... then again, I don't drink any less." - Mike Mullikins uncle
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I always tell it once, depending on the reaction of the person, I tell it a second time or not.
I know people doesn't like to be told about errors, but there are reactions that cross the line 
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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jeron1 wrote: Only once did they utterly refuse to believe me, at which point I kept the extra cash and walked out.
That's when I'd say "if you ever open a bank, I want to be your first customer."
Of course that's only if they can only make mistakes in your favor. Otherwise I'd want nothing to do with that bank.
OTOH, I know someone who worked as a cashier in a tiny local store. One day they had a sale. Customer bought two items, one at 30% off, the other at 40% off.
Cashier totaled the two items, then applied a 70% discount...
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dandy72 wrote: applied a 70% discount..
 Is that store still in business?
"the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment
"Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst
"I don't drink any more... then again, I don't drink any less." - Mike Mullikins uncle
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I don't believe so.
But that cashier had been fired long before that.
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