It's not... what it looks like.

Ok, honor system. Take a pencil and a piece of paper. Write this on it:

3.157 / 0.125=

Calculate to the third decimal by hand. Then check the result first by hand (multiply) and then with a calculator. Judge yourself on a scale of 1 to 5 based on how confident you are that, based on your education and perceived skill, how effortlessly you managed to correctly calculate the result.

My verdict: 2
Because I'm quite certain that my brain is tricking me all the time into believing I still know basic mathematic (among other things), and when failing to deliver when I call bullshit and make an unannounced inspection. Twenty minutes, really?

Edit: fixed that thingy to a more international friendly thingy :)

What's the problem here...? :P

Did you calculate it? By hand I mean?

Nope. I don't even remember how to do this by hand. I'd get there eventually, but it'd take ages.

Yeah. This calculation is the same as 3157 : 125 , and it was quite easy, you know...

http://www.gog.com/forum/general/the_useless_skills_giveaway/page1

:D

Yes! Exactly. I had to make some stupid first grade exercises to make the leap. Ugh.

I did it ! Do I post the result?



EDIT: I grade myself at 4. I finished it in 8 minutes, about 4 minutes to do the calculation by hand, and an extra 4 to find the calculator on my PC(I never used it before LOL)

Yeah, that's probably what I'd end up doing: And then adding 125 together until I'd get there, with a rough estimate for the decimals :-P

The result is irrelevant. I had to re-learn these basics because I was so used to calculators, while still believing I had it in me all this time. I was shocked when I saw that I didn't.

0.125 x 25.256

My brain was like "lol how do I multiply?"

I'm studying math at a university.
I don't deal with numbers much, but that wasn't too hard, since, you know, 0.125 is kind of like a really simple number when it comes to it being the denominator. I've added a url-spoiler thing below.
[url=0.125 = 1/8 and. x/(1/8) = 8x, and ain't nothin' else goan touch my third decimal][/url]

My verdict is 4, I guess, since "huh, what's 7*8 again" :p

Or you could simply calculate 3.157 x 8, which is also easy.

True. I have problems with "dots", because I've done calculations by hand few years ago... :D