What did you learn in school that you've never used?

ICANN · 16-04-2012 05:40PM

German
Genetics
Saving things onto floppy disks

Gee Bag · 16-04-2012 05:42PM

Duggy747 wrote: »

How to dissect a rat.

That'll probably come in handy at dinner time after this years budget

marty1985 · 16-04-2012 05:42PM

44leto wrote: »

I Know I know

1014

The battle for Clontarf.

It's good but it's not right. October 14 is what we were looking for, October 14. But you don't go away empty handed, you get a free mug. Give him a big hand ladies and gentlemen, 44leto, there he goes, alright. What a sport.

phasers · 16-04-2012 05:43PM

Overheal wrote: »

And yet it is, you're just balancing an equation by selecting things you want to buy and using them as your variables.

In that case, I've been doing algebra since I was 3.Will this get me into MENSA?

Stark · 16-04-2012 05:44PM

Religion and Irish.

carolmarx · 16-04-2012 05:57PM

I've used all of it.

I'm very good at table quizzes.

gubbie · 16-04-2012 05:58PM

phasers wrote: »

In that case, I've been doing algebra since I was 3.Will this get me into MENSA?

The code for nearly anything you use probably had some form of algebra in it

I haven't used any History. And I haven't left a note for someone in French in a long long time.

GaryIrv93 · 16-04-2012 06:00PM

Irish. And most facts I've learned come useful only in a game of Trivial Pursuit :rolleyes:

phasers · 16-04-2012 06:00PM

gubbie wrote: »

The code for nearly anything you use probably had some form of algebra in it

Ah that doesn't count, it's not like I code that stuff myself

southcentralts · 16-04-2012 06:28PM

My phone has the internet now

I spent 12 years in school learning what I forgot in a few months and did not use since. While 1% of the knowledge accessible within something I carry around with me all the time, is more then I could learn in a lifetime.

We have the technology today that "learning" as we know it is a little redundant. When you go into a job or job interview they look at your test results but not at your knowledge, and will not expect you to remember complex formulas such as X = minus b +or- the square root of b squared - 4AC all over 2A, they will allow you to look it up online ( almost got it all out but unsure about what was underneath ( 2a), but what a stroke of luck, I happen to have internet access and only had to type "b squared +/" and Google already had the whole thing ready for me ).

But I guess we must sort the wheat from the chaff somehow.

starviewadams · 16-04-2012 06:28PM

Irish
History of art
Science
Any maths stuff besides the basic stuff ie: adding/subtracting/multiplication/division etc.
French
History
Religion

Carter P Fly · 16-04-2012 06:35PM

Chemistry, Biology... wait... All of it except english.

kincsem · 16-04-2012 06:38PM

Attic Greek

I can still say my "ho, he, to".

Feeona · 16-04-2012 06:42PM

Type. I now have a monkey to do it all for me kjdpaiuhd;iJHPG w yug[r

ball · 16-04-2012 06:42PM

How to ask to go to the toilet in Irish

IM0 · 16-04-2012 06:53PM

the better question is what DID I use

BBDBB · 16-04-2012 07:03PM

Feeona wrote: »

Type. I now have a monkey to do it all for me kjdpaiuhd;iJHPG w yug[r

^^"To be or not to be?"

maglite · 16-04-2012 07:06PM

phasers wrote: »

To be honest I don't use anything I learned after Primary School.
.

Sure....

Galwayguy35 · 16-04-2012 07:12PM

Gee Bag wrote: »

What life was like for auld wans on the Blasket Islands a century ago..............

......................Damn you Peig!

She was the most depressing aul biddy in history. Noone wanted to hear about her miserable existence let alone have to know it for the Leaving Cert.

foxinsox · 16-04-2012 07:17PM

44leto wrote: »

I got six slaps and 50 lines

"The battle of hastings was fought in 1066"

For talking and not paying attention during that lesson.

Nobody in my entire life has ever asked me when was the battle of Hastings. I have still a lot of time left, perhaps, "now 44leto for 1 million euros when was the battle of Hastings..............

The Great Fire of London started in 1666

No slaps but 100 lines

calfmuscle · 16-04-2012 07:23PM

Irish, French, geography!

But most of all I can remember standing at the top of the class being asked to name not just counties but the capital town of each county!!! ffs what a waist of time.

Also times tables, I still dont know them.

Overheal · 16-04-2012 07:34PM

phasers wrote: »

In that case, I've been doing algebra since I was 3.

Yes, algebra is pretty basic. It's fundamental for everything else you do in math especially. For anyone to say they don't use algebra is basically a misunderstanding of what it is. That will pretty much be the whole story of the thread. Chemistry? If your stomach is full of acids (lets see, espresso, pepperoni pizza, etc) - It's pretty uncomfortable, and gassy. Would you know that a little milk, or alkaline water will help you pH balance?

What's really going to hurt me later, is reading back on this thread at comments from folks who seem proud that they don't use a lot of the skills they learned in school.

Religion and CSPE though, what a load of bollocks.

We have the technology today that "learning" as we know it is a little redundant. When you go into a job or job interview they look at your test results but not at your knowledge, and will not expect you to remember complex formulas such as X = minus b +or- the square root of b squared - 4AC all over 2A, they will allow you to look it up online ( almost got it all out but unsure about what was underneath ( 2a), but what a stroke of luck, I happen to have internet access and only had to type "b squared +/" and Google already had the whole thing ready for me ).

It's more about knowing how to use it, not memorizing what it is. Not only that but if you're one to google everything in your profession you're going to fall far below expectations, which is a good way to get canned especially if your coworkers can do three times as much work as you can.

IM0 · 16-04-2012 07:37PM

Duggy747 wrote: »

How to dissect a rat.

I'm just aching to open something up

*twitch*

you were the housemate in the duggy thread werent you :eek:

languagenerd · 16-04-2012 07:47PM

A lot of JC Geography - except for a pub quiz, I can't imagine any situation where I'll be asked about the composition of soil or the formation of clints and grikes in the Burren since :P

Maths - Differentiation, proof by induction and most of probability (though that's probably just because I don't go around flipping 300 coins to see how many heads and tails come up!)

Cross-stitching - TY fun, God I was hopeless at it.

Most of Chemistry and Accounting, because I didn't go into Science or Business.

That said, I don't regret learning any of it, it's good to have a well-rounded education. How else do you find out what you're good at/what you like? And you never know when you might need it!

4zn76tysfajdxp · 16-04-2012 07:51PM

Overheal wrote: »

It's fundamental for everything else you do in math...

Maths.

Caliden · 16-04-2012 07:53PM

laplace transforms

phasers · 16-04-2012 08:21PM

Overheal wrote: »

Yes, algebra is pretty basic. It's fundamental for everything else you do in math especially. For anyone to say they don't use algebra is basically a misunderstanding of what it is. That will pretty much be the whole story of the thread. Chemistry? If your stomach is full of acids (lets see, espresso, pepperoni pizza, etc) - It's pretty uncomfortable, and gassy. Would you know that a little milk, or alkaline water will help you pH balance?

What's really going to hurt me later, is reading back on this thread at comments from folks who seem proud that they don't use a lot of the skills they learned in school.

That's all grand, except I didn't learn any of that in school. It may have been expanded upon to an unnecessary level, but everything you mentioned I already knew. My parents taught me about that stuff or it was so basic I figured it out on my own. What I learned in secondary school was stuff about the area of a curve and the names of people who discovered chemicals or other stuff that isn't relevant to daily life. The thread is about what you learn at school, not general aspects of subjects that you encounter in daily life.

I don't think anybody is particularly proud about not having used any of the pointless things we were taught. I'm not. It's just a fact. Tbh I feel like my time was wasted in secondary school from an educational perspective.

Besides that, I have friends who went on to do science courses and the first thing they were all told is "forget everything you learned for your leaving cert because it's outdated and just plain wrong." FFS like.

byhookorbycrook · 16-04-2012 08:23PM

Cobol.

Dravokivich · 16-04-2012 08:38PM

Re-wiring a plug.

I know how to, just haven't had a need to. Seemed like such an important thing as well...

lividduck · 16-04-2012 08:41PM

Roman Catholic Rules

What did you learn in school that you've never used?

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