Remember when Barbie said “Math class is tough” and she was yanked from the toy shelf? It turns out she was right:

Only those who learned their multiplication tables by rote in class feel confident with mental arithmetic
WOMEN may most often be the ones holding the domestic purse-strings, but according to a new survey they are nearly twice as likely as men to struggle with mental arithmetic.
One in three women – 34 per cent – said they had trouble working out sums in their heads, against 18 per cent of men, while more than half said they struggled to answer maths questions posed by their children.
According to the survey, by accountancy firm KPMG, more than a quarter of British adults reported difficulties adding up prices in their heads while out shopping.
However, the survey revealed that people who attended school in the days when children were forced to recite multiplication tables and do mental arithmetic tests on a regular basis have benefited from the effort, as it showed that older generations were more confident in their maths abilities than those aged 25 to 34.
But while they may have hated sitting through those double maths lessons, nearly half of the 2,000 adults questioned for the poll – 47 per cent – said they wished they had learned more maths at school.

I got as far a calculus in college but I barely remember anything. I did memorize the times table and so did my kids, so I can do simple math quickly and easily in my head but my husband handles the math questions because he is gifted in math. He had some pretty advanced math classes in college. So, I guess my math skills are probably average. How about you? (The guys can answer too 🙂
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