The other day I was at a farmer’s market with my husband. We were hungry and chose two apples, put them on the scale and the twenty-something managing the stand said the cost was $3.25 (yes, they were hearty apples but I was still shocked by the ‘no-inflation’ price!)

My husband handed over a $10 bill. The clerk started making change. I then said: Wait please, I have a quarter.

She said: No thanks. I’ve already calculated the change — and proceeded to give us 3 quarters and 6 dollars, instead of 7 dollars and no coins.

My point today? We need math. We all need to struggle through it (and I really struggled) because we need everyone to be able to make change — regardless of whether the payment offered changes.

Why? First off, it keeps our skills and brains sharp at ever age. Second — I guarantee that other countries aren’t saying: Don’t worry about the math skills. Just rely on calculators.  

And why aren’t they saying that? Because you need math skills to make a calculator in the first place. AND, You need math skills to be able to create the AI that the writers, directors, autoworkers + others are all worried will steal their jobs.

Reading, writing + arithmetic are essential skills. To compete in a world that is getting more competitive by the moment, we all need to be challenging our brains to learn and expand. This isn’t just for the kids, its beneficial to all of us.  

To believe otherwise is handing the future to “the man” in unfathomable ways that far too many neglect to consider while surfing TikTok and IG stories.

What do you think?

PS: This from someone who’s least favorite subject was math — unless it had a $ sign before the number! 

I’m @DianGriesel aka a perception analyst & strategist; creative attitude disrupter & adjuster; author of The Silver Disobedience Playbook & TurboCharged; and the blogger known as @SilverDisobedience  More info on my websites (search my name) Silver Disobedience® is a registered trademark.