Honda Car Forum

My niece recently graduated from a prestigious university. Talked to
her the other day, she was complaining that her new Honda was getting
only 14 mpg. Turns out she was dividing the miles driven by the total
gas tank capacity, not the actual amount of gas it took to fill the
tank. Took several minutes of explanation before she realized her
error. Apparently she was following the instructions of a friend from
school. All that theoretical calculus sure came in handy. Where's
the Gas Mileage 101 course when you need it...

"Steve" <lto@tin.inv> wrote in message
news:vjg0j1lqug8up9p7olhotsgqrde56tm6s1@4ax.com...
> My niece recently graduated from a prestigious university. Talked to
> her the other day, she was complaining that her new Honda was getting
> only 14 mpg. Turns out she was dividing the miles driven by the total
> gas tank capacity, not the actual amount of gas it took to fill the
> tank. Took several minutes of explanation before she realized her
> error. Apparently she was following the instructions of a friend from
> school. All that theoretical calculus sure came in handy. Where's
> the Gas Mileage 101 course when you need it...

That's allright. My step-granddaughter thinks that:
Paris-London is one city.
Brooklyn is a state.
Harvard University is in Harlem.
A quarter to the hour is 25 minutes to the hour (after all, a quarter is 25
cents).

And this is an honor student.

Steve wrote:
> My niece recently graduated from a prestigious university. Talked to
> her the other day, she was complaining that her new Honda was getting
> only 14 mpg. Turns out she was dividing the miles driven by the total
> gas tank capacity, not the actual amount of gas it took to fill the
> tank. Took several minutes of explanation before she realized her
> error. Apparently she was following the instructions of a friend from
> school. All that theoretical calculus sure came in handy. Where's
> the Gas Mileage 101 course when you need it...

I don't things have changed that much. When I was in college 40 years ago
there were a lot of kids who just didn't get math especially how to apply it
to real life situations. As a matter of fact these days primary and secondary
schools are teaching a lot more practical things than I learned 50 years.
Back then we were give all kinds of made up problems that had little to do
with real life. Today, they teach the young kids about money and making
change. The problems my kids get in grade school are a lot more relevant
than I ever had.

/dan

Steve wrote:
> My niece recently graduated from a prestigious university. Talked to
> her the other day, she was complaining that her new Honda was getting
> only 14 mpg. Turns out she was dividing the miles driven by the total
> gas tank capacity, not the actual amount of gas it took to fill the
> tank. Took several minutes of explanation before she realized her
> error. Apparently she was following the instructions of a friend from
> school. All that theoretical calculus sure came in handy. Where's
> the Gas Mileage 101 course when you need it...

They teach them that they should never judge another human, and that
everything is relative.

"Larry Bud" <larrybud2002@yahoo.com> wrote in
news:1127238439.855097.215780@g43g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com:

>
> Steve wrote:
>> My niece recently graduated from a prestigious university. Talked to
>> her the other day, she was complaining that her new Honda was getting
>> only 14 mpg. Turns out she was dividing the miles driven by the total
>> gas tank capacity, not the actual amount of gas it took to fill the
>> tank. Took several minutes of explanation before she realized her
>> error. Apparently she was following the instructions of a friend from
>> school. All that theoretical calculus sure came in handy. Where's
>> the Gas Mileage 101 course when you need it...
>
> They teach them that they should never judge another human, and that
> everything is relative.
>


Well, it's good for their self-esteem, you know. That's more important than
actual achievement, since if you try to make kids achieve, they might get
their feelings hurt.

--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

TeGGeR® wrote:
> "Larry Bud" <larrybud2002@yahoo.com> wrote in
> news:1127238439.855097.215780@g43g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com:
>
> >
> > Steve wrote:
> >> My niece recently graduated from a prestigious university. Talked to
> >> her the other day, she was complaining that her new Honda was getting
> >> only 14 mpg. Turns out she was dividing the miles driven by the total
> >> gas tank capacity, not the actual amount of gas it took to fill the
> >> tank. Took several minutes of explanation before she realized her
> >> error. Apparently she was following the instructions of a friend from
> >> school. All that theoretical calculus sure came in handy. Where's
> >> the Gas Mileage 101 course when you need it...
> >
> > They teach them that they should never judge another human, and that
> > everything is relative.
> >
>
>
> Well, it's good for their self-esteem, you know. That's more important than
> actual achievement, since if you try to make kids achieve, they might get
> their feelings hurt.

Yes, well that way, when their boss asks them a simple math problem,
and they show what a dumbshit they are, they won't feel too bad about
it!

"JerryL" <jlevine@adelphia.net> wrote:
>That's allright. My step-granddaughter thinks that:
>Paris-London is one city.
>Brooklyn is a state.
>Harvard University is in Harlem.
>A quarter to the hour is 25 minutes to the hour (after all, a quarter is 25
>cents).
>And this is an honor student.

Whew, at least she doesn't share your genes!

"Steve" <lto@tin.inv> wrote in message
news:vjg0j1lqug8up9p7olhotsgqrde56tm6s1@4ax.com...
> My niece recently graduated from a prestigious university. Talked to
> her the other day, she was complaining that her new Honda was getting
> only 14 mpg. Turns out she was dividing the miles driven by the total
> gas tank capacity, not the actual amount of gas it took to fill the
> tank. Took several minutes of explanation before she realized her
> error. Apparently she was following the instructions of a friend from
> school. All that theoretical calculus sure came in handy. Where's
> the Gas Mileage 101 course when you need it...

College is just a mechanism to teach you how to teach yourself, IMO --
college does not somehow magically makes you smarter.
All the stuff you learn is basically the equivalent of a stupid pet trick if
you cannot apply it.

Remco

>My niece recently graduated from a prestigious university. Talked to
>her the other day, she was complaining that her new Honda was getting
>only 14 mpg. Turns out she was dividing the miles driven by the total
>gas tank capacity, not the actual amount of gas it took to fill the
>tank. Took several minutes of explanation before she realized her
>error. Apparently she was following the instructions of a friend from
>school. All that theoretical calculus sure came in handy. Where's
>the Gas Mileage 101 course when you need it...
Doesn't sound like a problem with her ability to do the actual
calculation. She knew to divide, and divided correctly. Rather, her
problem seems to be in reasoning.

"Steve" <lto@tin.inv> wrote in message
news:vjg0j1lqug8up9p7olhotsgqrde56tm6s1@4ax.com...
> My niece recently graduated from a prestigious university. Talked to
> her the other day, she was complaining that her new Honda was getting
> only 14 mpg. Turns out she was dividing the miles driven by the total
> gas tank capacity, not the actual amount of gas it took to fill the
> tank. Took several minutes of explanation before she realized her
> error. Apparently she was following the instructions of a friend from
> school. All that theoretical calculus sure came in handy. Where's
> the Gas Mileage 101 course when you need it...

That's something that she should have picked up in grade three at the
latest.