Innumeracy is just like illiteracy, except it's with numbers and not reading/writing.
Went to Taco Bell for some cheap takeout; two tacos, one bean burrito, no sides, no drinks. Bright-eyed cashier blithely says $10.24". whaaaAAAAAT?? for THREE cheap items?
She finally figured out that it was wrong, new total was $6+. Still sounded high. Looked at the receipt; no, I didn't want the SUPREME burrito, wanted the BEAN burrito.
Second gal, assistant manager I guess, came out to fix it. Apparently she couldn't figure the difference between the two items, so she just refunded me a supreme, then sold me the bean.
The calculator was a wonderful tool when it came out, but now the downside really shows its face. The first gal didn't even recognize that the price was about three times what it should have been, and the second apparently couldn't do that advanced math. You know....percentages.
Not just the general public; even college students. In an attempt to generate some thinking, I asked a first-year chem student what 4x7 was. Poor gal just sat there. Dropped the course shortly thereafter. Some guys can't count past 10 unless they take off their shoes, and they're stumped past 20 unless they take everything else off.
And if anyone thinks that it's bad now, just wait until retailers figure out just how little consumers know about prices and money. You will see "Just 49 cents per can, or SAVE and get a dozen for just 7.50!!" in every possible anti-consumer advertisement. And as most transactions are electronic these days, people will toss the receipt into the trash, never knowing that the cashier charged $10 for the can of Coke HE'S drinking. And kept the change.
Best -- Terry