Dear John and All, I have interspersed some remarks.
> People in North America can not even do the simplest of math. They NEVER > calculate any form of fuel consumption, whether it be L/100 km, km/l or mpg. > They find out what the mpg rating is from some other source and when asked > just repeat that same number. Sadly this is also true in Australia. I recall a survey of adult numeracy that was carried out in the mid 1990s. This survey revealed that some 60�% of adult Australian could not add three items from a lunch menu (such as $4.60 + $5.90 + $4.45) to check that the total was correct. This level of innumeracy moved up to around 90�% when the people were asked to add 10�% on to this bill for a tip or to take 10�% from the bill as a discount. > It makes no difference if their car doesn't get that number, or their car is > older and doesn't perform as it once did. Once xxx mpg, always xxx mpg. > And to calculate the fuel needed to drive 250 km, they don't care and would > never do the calculation. Either 'would not' or could not' do the calculation? I think that people simply get a number memorised and then use it for all purposes. It is not unlike baby masses in pounds and ounces; you simply remember one number and then no further calculations (that are very embarrassing to an innumerate person) are required. I suspect that the solution to this problem is the same as the baby mass issue; once people know that the average baby is born at around 3.5 kilograms and that small babies are 2.5 kg and big babies are 4.5�kg then they can come to terms with their new baby's mass of (say) 3.6�kg. In fuel consumption terms you need to know: that a very small economical cars use about five litres of fuel to go 100 kilometres, that large uneconomical cars use about twenty-five litres of fuel to go 100�kilimetres, and that the average is about ten litres of fuel per hundred kilometres. > The same is true with women's dress sizes. Once a size x, always a size x. > Even if she has turned into a Buffalo. The clever dress makers, just change > the size 9 to match the customer. That is the beauty of FFU. If you don't > like the length of the inch, just change it to what ever you want. And don't forget the computer industry with their 90�mm disk at 3 1/2 inc and their short inches to measure screen sizes. Cheers, Pat Naughtin CAMS Geelong, Australia
