A few minutes after logging in to email, a new message popped up. Opening it, there was an advertisement for a specialty item, a display that you attach to a camera allowing you to see what the camera sees, only without the awkward strain of smashing your eye against the eyepiece. This is not something that most people want, or most people even know exist, but it is still a desirable piece of equipment for those who spend long hours squinting through eyepieces. And it was on sale!
Or was it?
If you can almost instantly see the problem presented by the advertisement, count yourself lucky. An increasing percentage of the population can’t do basic arithmetic without the aid of a calculator (or a smartphone that includes a calculator). Even more alarming, a very large portion of the planet isn’t even aware of the need to question why something that is regularly $1,799 shouldn’t cost $1,299 after knocking $700 off the price.
Given this alarming trend, it is even more alarming that a large segment of the public thinks the Common Core initiative is a plot by the federal government to impose unreasonable education standards on the American people. This ignores entirely that Common Core is a “state standards initiative,” not a federal program, and it is aimed squarely at addressing the very basic education problems demonstrated by this unfortunate advertisment.
Yes, it is a typo. But a typo sent out to thousands of customers is a problem, not only for the company sending out the advertisement, but for the customers and the general public at large.
