to not understand why some people thinks its funny/acceptable to not be able to do simple maths

[leandro]

I was talking to a group of women at playgroup this morning and one was talking about wanting to get a part time job. I said look at shop work and she said she'd like to but that she doesn't do numbers and so couldn't do it. Another one said I don't do them either and she has to get her husband to do anything mathematically related.
I don't get it, if you said I can't read then people would be so why is it acceptable to be hopeless at arithmetic.

Agree boys and girls can be equally good at maths. It becomes a male strong point a bit later in life (I wonder when!)
And again, going back to arithmetic versus maths, am I right to think standard multiplication and subtraction, division and basic fractions (like percentages) classify as arithmetic?

Another one here with a degree in maths yet can't do mental arithmetic. Always have to get out the calculator on the phone to spilt a bill.
Oh and I work as an accountant.
I worked in one shop once where the manager "didn't trust" calculators or the till and made us add everything up in our heads/writing out on a receipt.
Think she was one of a kind though...
Don't see why being unable to do maths should rule out a job in a shop...

While everyone reads MN every day, not everyone does lots of arithmetic every day. If you think you are not very good at maths you might avoid doing arithmetic and hence avoid practising. It becomes a vicious circle.

YANBU

If I'm reading correctly the OP isn't saying it's a terrible thing to be bad at maths (or anything else), it's about being almost, well, proud of being bad at maths. You just don't get people doing that about "arty" areas, and I totally agree with the people on this thread who've equated good-at-maths with not-very-feminine in the common perception. I'm seen as some sort of brainiac at work because I can find my way around a spreadsheet and and there are associations with that in wider culture (can't hold a conversation, somehow emotionally stunted, can't possibly have any interest in heat magazine the lighter side of life) that are quite unpalatable. There's nothing wrong with being bad at sums, I just wish people wouldn't embrace it like it somehow makes them a better person.

There seems to be different ideas here of what the definition for good/bad at maths is.

I think most people could improve their mental arithmetic and understanding of things like fractions with a bit of practice.

I think in many situations, knowing how to work something out and using a pen & paper or a calculator/excel is preferable to being able to do the sums in your head.

For example, buying a new carpet, knowing how to work out the area of the room, then using a calculator, is more important than being able to do the mental sums in your head.

I'm bad at maths due to dyslexia. I have never been able to remember telephone numbers never mind anythign else! I'm not on my own though - one in ten people is dyslexic. Thats a large amount of the population!

Many dyslexic ppeople have problems in some ares of maths, especially the multiplication tables, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio and statistics.

I blame the shit maths teachers I had throughout my education.

When people say problems with fractions, percentages what do they mean?

What kind of maths are you talking about ?
adding up ?
Being able to do countdown ?

or:
algebra
simultaneous equations ?
sin/cos/tangent ?
Pie r squared, area of triangle ?

those are all basics.

Mmmmm, I love a squared pie...

Its a cop out though, "oh I can't do maths, my brain don't work that way, my teacher was crap" etc. So maybe you'll never do advanced calculus but its not that hard to learn a few basics like working out your tax and stuff.

it isn't as bad as what some people think about breast feeding

It depends what you call basic.

Is it what's covered in GCSE or what most people need to get by in everyday life (those who don't a maths related job)?

Basic, useful stuff like your money and understanding your mortgage, loans etc. If you don't know, learn.

<a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=s1.hubimg.com/u/149376_f520.jpg&imgrefurl=hubpages.com/hub/The_Best_Steak_Pie_Recipe&h=342&w=520&sz=29&tbnid=vhkTFoblVLx-VM:&tbnh=86&tbnw=131&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsteak%2Bpie%2Bbest%2Bpicture&zoom=1&q=steak+pie+best+picture&hl=en&usg=__Wz8386nkrFEU9r5inxnQvKqIK6I=&sa=X&ei=zl5tTY3IMtKBhQfZlZWPDA&sqi=2&ved=0CCEQ9QEwAQ" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">pie

It's funny this should come up, I nearly posted similar the other day. I was trying to help my niece with her YR 10 maths homework. She has basically told the teacher she can't do any of it and has already written herself off as being a maths failure.

I was so sad because I didn't know how I could help her.
It made me feel like walking away from my job and inventing a way to teach numeracy to girls. How can anyone still peddle that crap that girls can't do maths ?

I can see why it doesn't come naturally to everyone, but surely that's all the more reason to learn at least the basics so you can measure up for curtains or take out a mortgage without getting ripped off?

(dribbles a bit)

useful stuff like your money and understanding your mortgage, loans etc

So percentages, fractions etc?

Most people wouldn't need simultaneous equations or trig but it's part of GCSE.

Greenlotus I love that your example of why girls need to be confident at maths is so they can measure up for curtains!

Sorry, I do sewing myself and it popped into my brain. Um, girls need to be good at maths so they can buy enough paving slabs for the patio?