Still on my hobby horse concerning arithmetic and mathematical literacy, I want to tell you about a personal experience. When my children were young, one of them fell and hit his eyebrow against the coffee table in our lounge. This resulted in a deep and painful cut of about 30 mm. He obviously needed medical assistance, so we bundled him into the car and took him to the emergency department of the local hospital.
Vivian MacFadyen
The young doctor was very caring and decided that it was necessary to stitch the wound. He 'weighed' the young chap on their scale in pounds. The anaesthetic dosage was specified in cc/kg. This required some simple arithmetic to convert pounds to kilograms. The conversion factor of 2.204623 was determined from a reference table, and the pounds were converted to the 6th decimal place by multiplying by 2.204623…?...Yes, you are right; division would have arrived at the correct answer! The amount of anaesthetic would have been sufficient for a person with a mass of five times that of the boy. This error could have resulted in severe complications. Fortunately, I was in the emergency ward, noticed the error and the disaster was averted.
In our profession, we are faced with mathematical problems daily, and it is extremely easy to apply a formula incorrectly. Errors can result in financial loss and/or injury or fatalities. Without the benefit of experience and the time to develop a sense of what can be expected, there is no 'feeling' for appropriateness.
With the recent lack of emphasis given to Mathematics and Physical Science in the high schools, it is both dangerous and possibly unfair to expect youngsters entering this industry to be able to apply arithmetic correctly. They have been disadvantaged by the system, and need monitoring and where necessary remedial training. We should make provision for this need and at the same time exercise appropriate caution.
Read more...SAIMC: Johannesburg branch SAIMC
SAIMC
Jenine Jansen van Vuuren from Comtest delivered a presentation at the SAIMC Johannesburg technology evening, focusing on electric vehicle charging stations and the key metrics that govern their functionality.
Read more...SAIMC: Durban branch SAIMC
SAIMC
At the monthly meeting of the Durban branch of the SAIMC, Smunye Memela, project manager and switch gear specialist at Gubhuza 3 Trading presented on the subject ‘From sensors to insights: predictive maintenance in action’.
Read more...SAIMC knowledge sharing event SAIMC
SAIMC
SAIMC will host a technical knowledge-sharing session by Hendrik Spies from SICK Sensor Intelligence, who will share his insights into ‘From Condition Monitoring to Predictive Maintenance: The Digital Journey’.
Read more...SAIMC Durban
SAIMC
: At the SAIMC Durban monthly meeting, James Adams from Adroit Technologies presented to a full house on the subject of ‘The intelligent factory: AI, digital twins, zero-defect production, and cybersecurity in modern automotive manufacturing’.
Read more...SAIMC: From the office of the CEO SAIMC
SAIMC
AI has become part of our productivity platforms, our operations and our decision making environments. The SAIMC NPC Power Hour series is one such initiative.
Read more...SAIMC: Johannesburg branch SAIMC
SAIMC
The March SAIMC Johannesburg technology event was proudly hosted by Matech and focused on business intelligence made simple.
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, the publisher and its agents cannot be held responsible for any errors contained, or any loss incurred as a result. Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to alter or cut copy. Articles submitted are deemed to have been cleared for publication. Advertisements and company contact details are published as provided by the advertiser. Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or veracity of supplied material.
printer friendly version