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Home » Reader question » Reader Question: Is mental arithmetic a problem in Thailand?
Dear readers,
Yesterday I had a conversation with my girlfriend and we talked about 12 x 2.000 baht. She couldn't tell me the outcome and took out her phone to calculate it with the calculator. I also see in the shops that a calculator is used for the easiest sums.
Is education and mental arithmetic in Thailand so bad?
Regards,
Frank
Extremely bad…
Several times I had saved 500 Baht change by putting my coin money in a jar every day.
I thought nice, hand it in to 7-eleven..
Already had three times that only after counting three times, preferably together with someone else, they also reached 500...
I will not answer the question at the end, but mental arithmetic is not a subject for Thais.
A beer costs 90 baht, how much is 2 beers? And how much change will I get if I pay with 2 notes of 100 baht?
That is twice the calculator (we used to call it the pocket Japanese).
I fear, by the way, that it is no different with the Dutch youth, you know! I am of that generation
mental arithmetic already in primary school. When I do my shopping in a supermarket, I see the total amount to be paid, I give the necessary money and I already know how much change I will receive. I don't need the cash register for that.
Dear Gringo, we are of the same generation and mental arithmetic used to be a separate grade on the grade school report if I remember correctly.
I agree with you that mental arithmetic is also a problem in NL, but not as bad as in Thailand. A few years ago I was in a restaurant and had to pay something like THB 680. I gave a note for THB 1.000 and jokingly said give back THB 500. A little later the waiter came back with the change of … THB 500. I don't see something like that happening so quickly in NL.
For the record, I obviously paid the full amount and left a tip.
Moderator: The question is about Thailand.
The use of the calculator for the simplest arithmetic operations is common in Thailand, as anyone can see.
Other problems are related to this phenomenon.
The arithmetic operations are more difficult to visualize in the presence of a calculator. The fact that Gringo's two beers can be written as 90 + 90 = 2 x 90 = 2 x (100-10) = 200 – 20 looks algebraic, but is easy to imagine as
oooooooo O
oooooooo O
When a student works from such visualizations, he has tools in his hands that appeal to understanding and that can then be applied elsewhere.
Furthermore, calculators stand in the way of very useful estimations: whoever covers 18,8 km in an hour (almost 20) will cover almost 3 km in 60 hours; a football field of 62 by 96 meters will have an area of about 60×100 square meters and so on.
Checking typing errors is difficult without an understanding of quantities, lengths, etc
I have an example that most know, an ice cream man with such an ice cream truck with sidecar that regularly comes into the street.
I then take a stock of ice creams for the freezer, if I take more than 2 ice creams I have to tell him what it costs, he can't do mental calculations at all.
Sometimes when there are children in the street around him for an ice cream, I pay for the ice cream, then he is completely lost, then I have to tell him what the whole costs 55555.
Recognizable, I always get my bananas and papaya from an old lady nearby.
If I take more than 1 item she always asks how much I have to pay
The entire education system is bad in many, many schools in Thailand.
Only reading and writing seems to work.
There are also refresher courses organized by the government for a third grade secondary school diploma, for the elderly and young people who have left school early.
But apart from the fact that you then have a nice piece of paper, which makes it easier to get a job, there is still hardly any knowledge gained at the end of the course.
Moderator: Please don't generalize.
I have often noticed in Thailand: how terribly bad they are at mental arithmetic and insight into number size. Once on the scale in a hospital, it was still in pounds (0,4536 kg). Without blinking, the lady wrote “256” in the “kg” pre-printed box. Also seen in NL: 2 x 1 =…. ??? yes… 2… on the calculator.
My granddaughter is approaching 7, so did some mental math: 1+1 = 2, 2+2 = 4, 4+4 = 8, 8+ 8 = ? “I don't know, but 6 + 6 = 12”.
Then explained that 8 = 6+2, so… 6+6 = 12 and 2+2 = 4, 2+4 = 6, and put the “1” in front of it again.
In less than half an hour, sums like 79 + 12 were no longer a problem: 9 + 2 = 11, write down “1”, remember “1”. 7 + 1 = 8 + “1” from remember = 9 and voila: 91. (just checked the result with the calculator)
Next time: negative numbers, with that ruler with numbers on both sides starting at 0. Made one side red, the other green, and... a generation ago taught my sons the trick in minutes.
In my opinion, the main reason for counting often is;
Cash shortfalls are deducted from wages.
Yes Frank,
Very bad.
Went to eat ice cream at Swenssens, bought for 98 Bhat and had a 10% discount card.
The cash register was not working and the girl could not manage to deduct 10% from 98 Bhat.
When tears welled up in her eyes, I just said it.
If they just knew the times tables to 10, that would help a lot. Those who cannot count quickly become victims of legal and illegal scams. This is especially true when buying on installment and borrowing money unbridled.
Often the difference between 2% interest pj or pm is not clear to Thais. However, the Thai banks understand it just fine.
This is not a Thai problem. It is the same in the Netherlands and the rest of Europe. Simple things on a calculator or adding them up on paper. Pay attention, it is especially noticeable on a terrace where there are no electronic receipts
It stands or falls with how Thai is taught or Thai children are not dumber. With some energy and good will, you can take them miles beyond the cynicism and arogance of the barely-educated galangal, wherever they come from.
I think it just has to do with age.
My Thai wife is from 1961 and did not grow up with calculators, she had 3 years of primary school, but when we go shopping she tells me exactly how much we have to pay before we get to the cash register.
good education is for those who can afford it. The rest remain stupid and that benefits the former.
Dear Marcel
You are confusing 2 things, good education and intelligence have nothing to do with each other.
Although Thai education does not score high on the quality ladder worldwide, (mental) arithmetic is NOT a problem for the average Thai. I think the problem lies more with the average older European. We pride ourselves on being able to do mental arithmetic without any problem. The Thai is proud that his/her calculator works well.
Because my girlfriend is following a Broker course, I happened to do some math tests with her last night. Well, the laughing vultures roar.
After repeating the sum {5×15} 15 times (to stretch time), she made very complicated calculations that kept both hands busy. The outcome was delayed. And wait. And then …. WRONG!!!
Made a few more attempts with other sums, really simple ones, but it didn't get any better. And fractions, that's totally a party.
Anyway, we had a lot of fun. Asked the same test / sums today from a friend who is university educated as an accountant. Well, it was pretty much nose length that she beat my girlfriend.
People, let's accept - just like the criminal code - that we no longer have to / can learn everything by heart. The tools work just as well.
Haha yes exactly Glenno, I say Hey Siri and she asks where she can be of service to me. I pass my sum and get my answer.
Not being able to do mental arithmetic is apparently seen as stupid, but could it also be something of this time?
So much information comes in through the many social media channels and then choices have to be made about what is really important. Why remember everything when a machine can also do the work?
I know it can be cringe-inducing that 89-10 is calculated via the calculator, but the result is 100% correct.
There will probably be people who have / had all the prices of their merchandise in their heads, but I'm not going to bother with that. For business things my laptop is my memory and then I keep my own memory for more personal things so learn to live with the fact that the situation is different now.
A friend of mine told me before that the Thai are stupid people. He had lived there for 5 years and I assumed that everything he said was true. But I have to reconsider his opinion. My current wife and her sisters are highly educated and I am always amazed at how much they know. As for mental arithmetic, they don't need a calculator. My wife is very good at solving problems. Which used to be a real torture for me.
Bizarre.
I have already done some shopping together with several Thais and started calculating and I didn't notice that calculating is difficult for those moderately educated Thais.
I even think that they are very handy with their Iphone and can do much more with it than myself, while I also work intensively with it every day. With Google they can conjure up the right information in no time. I respect them as equally smart though.
Well, that's where the problem lies, as in most "western countries" people use the smartphone as memory and calculator, but are completely unknown with a computer, for example. I hope that the schools here will provide more computer education now that the government has announced that it will shift more to e-commerce, for example… And that people can do a lot with the smartphone is certain..
It's also part convenience. After all, a calculator quickly provides clarity. It is also a familiar thing.
It is also a tool to show the farang the correct amount.
But on all fronts you see the shortcoming that numbers are difficult as soon as an amount of eg 86 baht has to be paid and you give a note of 100 and 6 baht so that you get a 20 baht note back instead of a lot of change.
But at the freshmarket they know how to calculate from memory or on a notepad.
I have also experienced that I am often faster with mental calculations than some Thais with their calculator.
But I have to say that I had worked with Thai colleagues for more than twenty years, who had no problem with it. These colleagues had received a good education. Unfortunately, this is not the case with the vast majority of the population. That is why it will be relatively more likely that people will have trouble with it.
What strikes me is that those who also complain about the mistakes of others here also make mistakes themselves: mainly spelling mistakes. Almost every comment has an error, mainly in the incorrect placement of d, t and dt. And I'm not going to exclude myself from that... in my response you will probably also encounter errors. Maybe the Thais do that better than the Dutch... 😉
Indeed!!
We are of the mental math generation and because we still do it every day, at least when we have to pay for sure.
Maarrrrrrrr…… we also knew about 30/40 telephone numbers by heart!
Since the mobile phone, where those numbers are in, they fade from my head too!
Most likely you too?