Because Everybody Is Entitled To My Opinion

"O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, . . . in wrath remember mercy" (Habakkuk 3:2).
"Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?" (Psalm 85:6)

Monday, November 12, 2007

Keep It Really Really Simple Stupid

Okay there is a problem in the UK with a scratch off lottery card game.Minus a grasp for figures explains;
Lottery operator Camelot has been forced to withdraw a scratchcard because players were too innumerate to understand it, according to the Manchester Evening News.
"Too innumerate to understand it" translation; dumb. One card holder was sure she was being cheated out of her winnings;
The story quotes player Tina Farrell, 23:
I phoned Camelot and they fobbed me off with some story that -6 is higher - not lower - than -8 but I'm not having it.
I think Camelot are giving people the wrong impression - the card doesn't say to look for a colder or warmer temperature, it says to look for a higher or lower number. Six is a lower number than 8. Imagine how many people have been misled.
So what are the rules that have everyone so confused?
To qualify for a prize, users had to scratch away a window to reveal a temperature lower than the figure displayed on each card. As the game had a winter theme, the temperature was usually below freezing.

But the concept of comparing negative numbers proved too difficult for some. Camelot received dozens of complaints on the first day from players who could not understand how, for example, -5 is higher than -6.
So either the country is number dumb in general or people with math skills don't buy lottery cards. At least in the U.S. They usually limit it to matching games. No room for error there.

No comments: