Sometimes I'm ashamed to be British

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around a recent incident involving a lottery game in the UK, where players misunderstood the winning conditions related to temperature values. Participants express their views on the implications of this misunderstanding, the quality of education in mathematics and science, and broader cultural critiques regarding British spelling and measurement systems.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants recount personal experiences with the lottery game, highlighting confusion over whether certain temperatures qualify as winning.
  • Others criticize the game's design and Camelot's response, suggesting that the misunderstanding may not be as widespread as implied.
  • Several comments reflect on the perceived shortcomings in British education, particularly in mathematics and science.
  • There is a recurring theme regarding the British spelling of words like "color" and the pronunciation of "schedule," with some participants expressing frustration over these differences.
  • Some participants propose that the Celsius scale contributes to confusion, suggesting that Kelvin or Fahrenheit might be more sensible alternatives.
  • Discussion includes humorous remarks about the lottery and the potential for scams, as well as the absurdity of the situation.
  • Historical references to the naming of aluminum and its spelling variations are mentioned, with some participants providing context about the decisions made by chemical societies.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a mix of agreement and disagreement regarding the quality of education and the implications of the lottery incident. There is no clear consensus on the effectiveness of the current educational system or the appropriateness of the measurement systems used.

Contextual Notes

Some participants note that the discussion reflects broader cultural attitudes and educational issues, but there are no specific resolutions to the claims made about the lottery game or the educational system.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to those exploring educational practices in mathematics and science, cultural differences in language and measurement, and the social implications of public gaming systems.

matthyaouw
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The Cool Cash game - launched on Monday - was taken out of shops yesterday after some players failed to grasp whether or not they had won.

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

...

"On one of my cards it said I had to find temperatures lower than -8. The numbers I uncovered were -6 and -7 so I thought I had won, and so did the woman in the shop. But when she scanned the card the machine said I hadn't.

"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.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1022757_cool_cash_card_confusion
 
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:smile: :smile: That's brilliant!

But, still, 50% of the British population should go to university :rolleyes:
 
That is terrible. I've long been campaigning to change the way maths and science are taught in british schools. Quite an over reaction from camelot though. I doubt there were that many people that couldn't grasp the game.
 
News flash: man tries to scam shopkeep, fails.

At least he tried :wink:
 
Yeah, the one's that scratched off -9 & -10 threw their tickets away, figuring they lost.
 
I can understand you being ashamed to be British. The Brits can't spell 'color', mispronounce schedule, and now they can't tell which number is higher or lower?!

I blame it on that darned Celsius system. If they used Kelvin, like sensible people, they wouldn't have had a problem.
 
Lousy game. I won -1,000,000 pounds.
 
BobG said:
I can understand you being ashamed to be British. The Brits can't spell 'color', mispronounce schedule
Let's not start this! :smile:

I blame it on that darned Celsius system. If they used Kelvin, like sensible people, they wouldn't have had a problem.
That's true; or we could use a nice sensible scale like Fahrenheit like you Americans! :rolleyes:
 
BobG said:
The Brits can't spell 'color', mispronounce schedule...


:wink::smile:
 
  • #10
cristo said:
Let's not start this! :smile:


That's true; or we could use a nice sensible scale like Fahrenheit like you Americans! :rolleyes:

At least it might result in some savings in energy. What's up with the temperature in labs always being set to 300 K? Haven't they ever heard of global warming?

I think standard temperature for all physics formulas should be revised to use 293 K.
 
  • #11
BobG said:
I can understand you being ashamed to be British. The Brits can't spell 'color', mispronounce schedule

And don't let's start with "Aluminum" either.
 
  • #12
Evo said:
Yeah, the one's that scratched off -9 & -10 threw their tickets away, figuring they lost.

news flash: Lottery Scams Customers, Succeeds :biggrin:

"I blame it on that darned Celsius system. If they used Kelvin, like sensible people, they wouldn't have had a problem."
And nobody would care about global warming if we used kelvin. I keep my lab at a balmy 300K, so an Earth increase of 2 degrees would be 0.67% relative to what I'm used to. Panic! :-p
 
  • #13
jimmysnyder said:
Lousy game. I won -1,000,000 pounds.

:smile: Hey, at least you didn't win -800,000 pounds; that really would have been bad. :biggrin:
 
  • #14
That would be a good lesson for all those that thought they won. Yes you've all actually won -£1.
 
  • #15
BobG said:
I can understand you being ashamed to be British. The Brits can't spell 'color', mispronounce schedule, and now they can't tell which number is higher or lower?!
Chi Meson said:
And don't let's start with "Aluminum" either.

You two can suck my Dictionary (Oxford English of course)! :wink:


Quibbles aside, I really do worry about the intelligence of people sometimes...
 
  • #16
Let's give them the benefit of the doubt, they only recently figured out what a billion is. And that's a positive number.
 
  • #17
matthyaouw said:
You two can suck my Dictionary (Oxford English of course)! :wink:

Actually, as a half-Brit / half-American, I have half a mind to call that element "Alumininium."
 
  • #18
Don't feel bad, I don't think they would even that that game in America. They know better than to even try.
 
  • #19
Chi Meson said:
Actually, as a half-Brit / half-American, I have half a mind to call that element "Alumininium."
When Davy discovered it, he named it alumium, then changed his mind, and went with aluminum. Later the British Chemical Society (or somesuch) decided to change the name to aluminium, in keeping with the general style that was used for naming other elements.
 
  • #20
In the meantime someone in america had trademarked the name Aluminium so they stuck with the original spelling.
The IUPAC standardised on Aluminium for everyone - although they also said we had to spell sulphur as "sulfur" so you probably shoudln't listen to them
 
  • #21
Kurdt said:
That would be a good lesson for all those that thought they won. Yes you've all actually won -£1.
I lost -£1,000,000 and sued the lottery for damages (they could have earned the same amount of profits without humiliating so many people).
 

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