Another thing. Has anyone else noticed that it seems far more acceptable to admit to problem with maths compared with reading and writing? I have a friend at work who is in research, in a post which demands that she at least be able to do basic statistical tests, yet she is always asking me how to calculate percentages...

To me, thats the numerical equivalence of not being able to read books with "long words".

I remember Arts students at university talking about how they were terrible at maths and can't even do the simplest of calculations, but if a science or maths student mentions they have never read any shakespeare or whatever, they are looked down upon.

Does anyone have any idea of why this is?

Bagpuss