I was great at Maths , but no good at English
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Opinion Posts That Don't Deserve a Thread (Random Opinion or Questions)
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caesar88
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I dunno, you are pretty good at acronyms.
Going back to the late nineties, I ran a business where we employed a number of teenage university students. None of them had any idea what 20% of something was. In fact most of them couldn't even tell me what 10% of something was.
Hence my belief that those born beyond 1980 were pretty useless at maths.
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It saves having to spell
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"Good" odds are relative. If you have a two horse race with both participants of the same ability and one of them is priced at 9 to 1 (ie: less than your definition of good odds), I would suggest they are not only good odds, but amazing odds.
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As someone who paid their way through uni by pencilling for a bookie, I can tell you that “good odds” is any bet you take but then can’t lay off.
In such a scenario, punter got overs (or “good odds”), as evidenced by the fact that nobody else is prepared to accept your efforts to spread the risk.
And yes, I know, gambling is bad etc etc etc …. but that job paid for a 1988 skyline & plenty of boozy nights at the uni pub.
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Jewelsbon
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I was born well before 1980 and I remain hopeless at maths to this day
I am the opposite, great at English but struggle to add 2 & 2 together!
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I teach still. In primary now.I was born well before 1980 and I remain hopeless at maths to this day
I am the opposite, great at English but struggle to add 2 & 2 together!
I taught adults for 17 years in IT mostly but maths and literacy too. I am great at maths(numeracy), and english(literacy).
I love teaching this stuff. Fractions, Spelling, Comprehension, Syllables, Equations, Alliteration etc its fun.
caesar88
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It is fun for me and the students when it is done in a fun way. They learn better that way.Glad to know you aren't too... rusty, at this stuff.
I suppose no one knows why you drop the 'e' before you put the 'ing' on the end of a word?
I discovered the real reason.
But we still get on with life , good on youI was born well before 1980 and I remain hopeless at maths to this day
I am the opposite, great at English but struggle to add 2 & 2 together!
RubbaDuck
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Nothing wrong with selling the skills you have. I paid my way through uni tutoring HSC maths, physics and chemistry. As an Engineering student studying these subjects at university level it was an easy way to earn good money with bugger all affort. I had too much other work on my plate. In my defence I also tutored a mate for free.
It may surprise some that the one subject I dropped at HSC was English. I loved reading and creative writing but I detested the way HSC English Literature was taught. I disliked having to read set texts by a certain time. Any joy I managed to squeeze out of reading such 19th Century page-turners as Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage was quickly extinguished by having to write endless analyses of these texts to a prescribed formula. I gave up on English and stuck to the sciences, mathematics and computing. I continued to read fiction, but I read the fiction I wanted to read, when I had the time.
Both my mother and my sister majored in English Literature at Uni, my mum got her BA degree in her sixties. She too thought English Literature was formulaic but she used the system to her advantage, sticking to the study notes and often not bothering to read the texts. She told a story from her Uni days of a living author who was invited to read some of his poetry. He got into a stoush with a university lecturer over a line in one of the poems. The lecturer insisted the line could only be interpreted in a certain way, which coincided with the interpretation given in the study notes. The author took umbrage, claming he meant nothing by the line and wrote it simply because it read nicely and it rhymed. He suggested that whatever the lecturer was reading into the line was entirely her personal interpretation. The lecture justified her interpretation by referring to the study notes, which she herself had written. The lecturer dared not lose face in front of a packed lecture theatre. She all but demanded the author agree with her. There was an uneasy stand-off. Mum said she half expected a chalk fight at ten paces. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Draw!! (sorry). The author stormed out.
Older fans may recall the Vogon Poetry scene from The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy where Ford and Zaphod are given a choice between being thrown into space of explaining why they liked the Vogon captain's poetry. The stumble their way through their explanation, tripping over the sort of bland word salad balderdash one typically learns to use in English Literature classes, drawing to a confected conclusion. The Vogon captain seems unconvinced "So what you're saying is, beneath this mean callous heartless exterior, I just want to be loved?", he inquires. "Yes, yes, that's it" The captain calls for them to be marched to the airlock and thrown into the void. Had the guest author at the university been a Vogon, he might have had the lecturer marched to the nearest window and defenestrated, much to the amusement of the assembled students.
But I digress. My key messages are i) Any learning at any level is useful, use it, ii) There's no shame in selling what you do well, and iii) Vogon poetry is awful
RubbaDuck
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I went back to finish my schooling as a 23yr old, four nights per week at night school, finishing at 10pm, while still working full time, just to complete the subjects I needed to get into Engineering at Uni. Some great teachers made all the difference to me.
I am in awe of great teachers. My mum was a teacher, my sister is a teacher, my brother-in-law is a school headmaster and yet another sister is a former teacher, now a psychologist, who still works in schools. She helps kids to overcome barriers to learning. I have so much admiration for those who teach and genuinely love teaching.
The most noble thing anyone can do is to share their knowledge amd love of learning with others, to take the time to engender curiosity which leads to a deep desire to learn. Parents who take the time to teach and nurture their kids' curiosity, who work with teachers rather than against them. They're champions too.
I have a renewed respect for you Rusty.
RubbaDuck
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Every player misses set shots. They can't all be painted as pantomime villains.
RubbaDuck
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Because those who work hard on their maths can work simple arithmetical problems out a lot faster than a calculator can. At the very least it helps to be able to make a fair estimate, which comes in mighty handy for picking up miscalculations, either deliberate or accidental.It's a message board where everyone gives their opinion and then I say what is the right opinion.
And then we all move on to the next topic.
Rowbottom had a solid year in 2023.
Next topic, why do we spend like 12 years in Maths class when calculators exist?
Grand Uncle Horace
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Sure. It is the regularity from particular players, esp from close set shots
. Where have I said they are panto villains?
Why is he now Hill Wayward? Inc with Healy
the hypnotoad
Norm Smith Medallist
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haha, yep, very true ...
the hypnotoad
Norm Smith Medallist
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yeah, my mum was a primary school teacher and my dad a teachers college (which became uni) lecturer of education, i grew up in a household that respected education and its huge role in society, and because of that i was aware even as a kid back in the 70s how an element of society had no respect at all for education and teachers ...
sadly, not only does that continue but it has been weaponised by politicians, to the extent we have had generations of declining standards of education
it's largely why ignorance is one of few genuine growth industries
without education, poverty and all its attendant ills are perpetuated
Pretty sure it's the 2nd worst in the galaxy?
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RubbaDuck
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3rd worst
RubbaDuck
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True, you didn't say they were panto villains but I felt you were painting them as such. I'm pretty sure they're trying as hard as possible not to miss shots but the process of dropping a ball onto a boot and kicking it with sufficient force to see it sail between two sticks is fraught with opportunities to miscue. Add wind, nerves, crowd noise, opposition taunts, distractions, slippery palms, greasy ball, mud on boots , pressure from within, pressure from coaches, pressure from footy media and pressure from critical fans who make sure every shank is remembered. It's no wonder players miss. Then you get games like the draw against Geelong last year, where the whole team had the yips. Footy is played between the ears as much as between the goals.
The words Hayward and Wayward simply sound so similar that the nickname writes itself. It's easy, lazy and has very little to do with his kicking. If he was Will Brown would anyone refer to him as Bill Wayward? Of course not, but if a player named Billy Shonk missed set shots, many fans and some in the media would pretty soon dub him Willy Shank.
RubbaDuck
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Based solely on the ratio of Goals to Behinds over their careers, it seems Hayward is far from our most Wayward.
This list is illustrative but it's not entirely apples v. apples, as players tend to kick goals from different positions. McLean's ability to pack mark in the goal square gives him an advantage, while Reid takes many of his shots closer to 50m out. Wicks is an opportunist who often takes a half chance at goal amidst a good deal of chaos. Gulden likes to take long range shots on the run, often tight against the boundary.
The standouts for me are just how many shots Ugle-Hagan misses and just how bloody accurate Nick Larkey is.
Wicks 54%
Reid 55%
Gulden 57%
Papley 57%
Parker 58%
Amartey 58%
Franklin 59%
Hayward 60%
Heeney 62%
McDonald 62%
McLean 64%
Jamarra Ugle-Hagan 52%
Max King 57%
Harry McKay 58%
Joe Daniher 59%
Aaron Naughton 59%
Adam Goodes 60%
Tony Greene 60%
Gary Ablett Snr 60%
Brody Mihocek 61%
Charlie Cameron 62%
Charlie Curnow 63%
Tex Walker 63%
Barry Hall 63%
Ben King 64%
Eddie Betts 64%
Tom Hawkins 64%
Jeremy Cameron 64%
Jamie Elliiot 65%
Jesse Hogan 65%
Jason Dunstall 66%
Kyle Langford 67%
Luke Breust 68%
Oscar Allen 68%
Tony Lockett 70%
Nick Larkey 74%
This list is illustrative but it's not entirely apples v. apples, as players tend to kick goals from different positions. McLean's ability to pack mark in the goal square gives him an advantage, while Reid takes many of his shots closer to 50m out. Wicks is an opportunist who often takes a half chance at goal amidst a good deal of chaos. Gulden likes to take long range shots on the run, often tight against the boundary.
The standouts for me are just how many shots Ugle-Hagan misses and just how bloody accurate Nick Larkey is.
Wicks 54%
Reid 55%
Gulden 57%
Papley 57%
Parker 58%
Amartey 58%
Franklin 59%
Hayward 60%
Heeney 62%
McDonald 62%
McLean 64%
Jamarra Ugle-Hagan 52%
Max King 57%
Harry McKay 58%
Joe Daniher 59%
Aaron Naughton 59%
Adam Goodes 60%
Tony Greene 60%
Gary Ablett Snr 60%
Brody Mihocek 61%
Charlie Cameron 62%
Charlie Curnow 63%
Tex Walker 63%
Barry Hall 63%
Ben King 64%
Eddie Betts 64%
Tom Hawkins 64%
Jeremy Cameron 64%
Jamie Elliiot 65%
Jesse Hogan 65%
Jason Dunstall 66%
Kyle Langford 67%
Luke Breust 68%
Oscar Allen 68%
Tony Lockett 70%
Nick Larkey 74%
Grand Uncle Horace
Shake down the thunder
does not count ootfulls
does it adjust for set shots, distance and angle
meaninglless otherwise
Jewelsbon
Norm Smith Medallist
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It's only meaningless because you want it to be, if they showed Hayward at 40% you would be all over it.
Grand Uncle Horace
Shake down the thunder
it is simply unhelpful data, be it about Hayward or any other player.
same as in cricket we don’t keep decent data on wicketkeeper errors.
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