HOW TO STAY SHARP

You stay sharp by asking questions, by hanging around people working on answers.

But you know that.

I know you know based on analytics, which says we can’t all be morons.

Statistically speaking, of course.

Take smoking cigarettes for example.

Smokers in the past:

You’re looking good today, full of energy. Here, have a cigarette. Take a couple.

Smokers today:

If you need to smoke there is a four block boundary in all directions. That way you get some cardio steps in before killing yourself with cancer sticks. Enjoy.

 

What we’ve heard, and you’ve seen with your own eyes, is the decline of public smoking.

You see more people blow big vape clouds out of car windows than you do a regular smoker.

I’ve got one smoker I see regularly.

He’s a proud fat man, long hair dangling down from his growing bald spot, usually in pajamas and slippers, standing in the driveway of his apartment building.

My guess is he’s following the smoking ordinance. That’s why he looks like he just peeled himself out of bed.

The way he holds his cigarette, his smoking posture, tells it all: He loves smoking so much he throws adoring glances at the glowing tip.

Because you haven’t seen him, or don’t know anyone like that, is proof of smoking’s decline.

 

Numbers Don’t Lie, But . . .

The ‘Tobacco Trends Brief’ from lung.com is an example of two things.

 

1. People smoke less today.

2. Their numbers confuse the issue.

 

Long term, smoking rates have fallen 73% among adults, from 42.6% in 1965 to 11.6% in 2022.

 

I understand the message of smoking rates falling, and that’s all I need, unless I want more.

What I don’t want is the math, the 73% difference between 42.6% and 11.6.%.

Am I the only one subtracting 11.6 from 42.6, coming up with 31, calling it 73%, and more importantly, moving on.

Smoking cigarettes will kill you like it says on the pack, and the guy smoking next to you is killing you with second-hand, or lung, smoke.

Isn’t that message enough without the percentages?

Adding math gives the louder voices opportunity to yell, “SOURCE?”

 

Do The Math To Stay Sharp

Go ahead and do the math every time you’re confronted by numbers.

Add the tab for dinner out before paying.

Here’s the secret:

Round everything up to twenty and go from there.

Thirteen dollars appetizers with a seven dollar beer; fifteen dollar drink with a two dollar tip.

Add all the twenties together and it should come close to the total.

What about that tip?

Ten percent of $200.00 is twenty dollars. (10 x 20 =200.)

Ten plus ten is twenty, so add twenty bucks.

We can do this, right?

But, not everyone agrees. Now I see tip choices on the pay screen. 15%? 20%? 25%? Custom?

I see the math on the screen and on the bill, which makes things so much more convenient.

Tell me you trust the restaurant’s math before you check on your own.

It’s a small thing, but it’s a regular habit to cultivate.

In my tightest circle, we still carry coins and count out exact change, still ask for receipts, still write checks.

I’m the one explaining the ‘exact change’ wait to the cashier in the drive-thru.

They usually give an ‘isn’t that cute’ smile.

 

PS: Staying sharp in a world that would rather you dull down is a challenge. You’ll know whether you’re up to it, or not, based on the evidence that surrounds you.

 

PSS: If you find yourself in a clean garage, cabinets and counters running the length of the walls, with the cabinets full of wine, the counters loaded with books, the evidence looks good.

 

If you walk the earth oozing slime as evidence, like the creature from the black lagoon, it’s a different picture.