Same happens if you shop in markets. The seller adds up in their head as you buy the different things, then gives you the correct change. So, I agree that the use of calculators is annoying for simple transactions, but their use is not universal, with plenty of people doing calculations in their head all day long.
An interesting observation I like is when people cite the amount of violence in the US and blame it on American television, but Canadians watch the same shows and Canada has a fraction of their violent crime rate. Maybe as Robin Williams says "Canadians, you're so f#cking nice...eh."
Yes, I think its businesses that are enforcing it, which I think they are perfectly correct in doing so, which I think you will see occuring everywhere in the world everyday. Justjoe has an entertaining and interesting story, but I dont think related to why people around the world use calculators and other machines when processing transactions.
Maybe that teller thinks the same way about foreigners who cant think to speak Cantonese to him/her.
Last edited by Loz_2; 11-11-2011 at 11:16 AM.
one of my very dear subordinate confessed to me once that the only mental calculations she can do is 2+2, apart from that she has to use calculators for every single calculation, including those like 100 X 10.
My dad never let us use calculators, he is great at Maths, sometimes I wonder why I never inherited his skills of mental calculations.