Noise and Numbers

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Every single year from 2nd grade (first year in public school) to now has always been full of complaints from teachers about the grade level being way too loud and having poor test scores. Even when I went to an all girls public school (I really didn't know how it was a good idea, I don't get along with my own gender.) the teachers had to call in the grade level to discuss our work habits! Every Monday, our grade has a 'team meeting' which is really 15-30 minutes of getting chewed out. I feel like yelling at the grade isn't going to work on them because we're used to getting collective punishment (which only works in the military where you can beat up your buddies, quote, my abba XD) and it wouldn't matter if they wouldn't shut up during class, or lunch, or in the hallways. The teachers are always going to treat you the same whether or not you behave so why bother? I don't talk in class because I don't always feel like it, but everyone else is running their mouth to their friends because they feel like it.

Over the years, I've gotten the attitude that 'If it doesn't have a number stuck to it, it doesn't matter' so on some days in some classes, I'll start badmouthing to see the reactions from the others. With the fights that sparsely, yet frequently occur, all I have to do is repeat some of their words and suddenly, every one realizes I'm in the room. Sometimes, when the teachers have gone somewhere for a very long time and the students start breaking cameras and fights, I'll stay quiet watching everything so that when the teacher does come back and yells at everyone to shut up, everyone freezes in horror (is it horror? or exasperation?) the teacher usually asks me if anything went wrong. When I start talking, everyone starts yelling, 'Don't be a snitch!' and what not, but what does it matter? Would they talk to me if I didn't tell on them? I know they won't as a solid fact, so I start giving a long list of people who were out of their chair, with cellphones, recording these people fighting. I'm not good with names, so I have to do a lot of pointing, XD.

If it doesn't have a number on it, it doesn't matter.... do you feel that way?

After a few years studying chemical engineering, working at internships in science and engineering and working with computers in my free time...yep, I do.

All important things have numbers attached to them these days. If it doesn't have a number scientist's can't study it, engineers can't built it and the internet doesn't know it exists. A few humans might think they know of things without numbers, but they will quickly find that they are seeing very different things from each other.

But I'm not sure what this has to do with your post. Care to elaborate?

Yes, that's part of it. A number is probably the most important label. What I talk about won't matter unless it's recording in some way( and it can be subjective) , but if I'm taking an inventory of apples, one glance at the numbers tell me that at one point there was 27 granny smiths, and that there still is 27 granny smiths.

But another part is how whenever I say that, my class mates say it does matter, but it's probably because of how I say it. I don't include the numbers part, I just say "What I do doesn't matter." so I'm not even giving them the whole concept.

I guess what I'm saying on the social side is that people don't realize how trivial some things can be.

You might be surprised how many things have numbers attached to them...and the numbers are there, even if they aren't explicitly recorded.