I must respectfully disagree. When my "server" at the Golden Arches
doesn't understand that "half a dozen" McNuggets is the same as "Six",
and she's in her early twenties, I have to cast certain aspersions
I don't think I agree with your Ron. McD. analogy when I believe you
simply broke the standard communication protocol in place for that
particular task.
As you stated, you asked for "half a dozen".. Ok.. You asked for your
peer to enter a cognitive task he/she wasn't ready for.
In my locale (namely France), when ordering that same item from that
same outlet, we usually ask for 'a box of six' (without even indicating
the items that are to go in the box) - because here, McNuggets are the
only items served in boxes. So the (unwritten) protocol is basically :
indicate the words 'box of' followed by a number being either 6, 9 or 12
(since these are the servings here) and you will get what you asked for
(Because I'm french, I'll ask for "une boite de six").
If you were to ask (and no - don't do it) for a 'cuboid container filled
with items of deep fried ground Gallus gallus flesh in a number being
equal to the product of the first 2 prime numbers', *even* if the clerk
knows exactly what each of these terms mean, you will most probably get
a puzzled look (and possibly get expelled if you go this far).
What I mean, is that I doubt that the person you were talking to didn't
know that 12/2=6, or that even 'half a dozen' is also 6.. it's just that
you weren't using the proper protocol for someone who is essentially
doing a brain-dead job to make a living (or possibly pay for college)
and who is probably thinking about something entirely different while
still doing this job as a secondary task requiring little cognitive
processing.
The best example I can give about this, is, that albeit being somewhat
fluent in the English language, it is usually fairly difficult for me to
order stuff from fast food joints in, say, the U.S. of A. - because I
don't know the right protocol.. (although it only takes me a couple
visits to (re-)grasp the primitives - and then extrapolate enough of the
protocol to get served in a timely fashion).
--Ivan
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