wrote in message
oups.com...
I remember my dad explaining it to me at the time. I think I eventually
grasped it. I was 9 years old at the time.

I explained the concept [of negative numbers] to my dad when I was
about 9 years old. I don't think he ever really understood.

That would be the reason why you alway ended up owing him your pocket money

--
Col

Bolton, Lancashire
160m asl

Graham P Davis wrote:
Paul C wrote:

On Wed, 07 Nov 2007 06:28:28 -0800, Richard Dixon
wrote:

People may whine about "dumbing down" of forecasts these days but from
the sounds of this report, when we get some sub-zero temperatures,
this dumbing down seems wholly justified:

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co....card_confusion

Richard

"I phoned Camelot and they fobbed me off with some story that -6 is
higher - not lower - than -8 but I'm not having it.

"I think Camelot are giving people the wrong impression - the card
doesn't say to look for a colder or warmer temperature, it says to
look for a higher or lower number. Six is a lower number than 8.
Imagine how many people have been misled."


It's worrying enough that such a person doesn't seem to know which way is up
but I was more worried to find that my bank gets similarly confused. I was
checking my bank statement the other day and, for the first time, noticed
that payments into my account were listed in the credit column and
withdrawals were in the debit column. Luckily there's not an error in the
arithmetic.



Daylight robbery !

--
Joe Egginton
Wolverhampton
175m asl

Quoting from message
posted on 7 Nov 2007 by Graham P Davis
I would like to add:

It's worrying enough that such a person doesn't seem to know which way is up
but I was more worried to find that my bank gets similarly confused. I was
checking my bank statement the other day and, for the first time, noticed
that payments into my account were listed in the credit column and
withdrawals were in the debit column. Luckily there's not an error in the
arithmetic.

That's normal business accounting, payments in are credited - i.e.
added, and withdrawals are debited - i.e. subtracted; no problem, of
course the arithmetic was correct.

--
..ElaineJ. Briallen Gifts/Cards catalogue at http://www.briallen.co.uk
..Virtual. Corn Dollies, Cards, Coasters, Mousemats, Kids' Tshirts
StrongArm Jones' Pages at http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/ejones
..RISC PC. Corwen, North Wales; Steam Traction;CMMGB&Yukon Volunteers.

Elaine Jones wrote:

Quoting from message
posted on 7 Nov 2007 by Graham P Davis
I would like to add:

It's worrying enough that such a person doesn't seem to know which way is
up but I was more worried to find that my bank gets similarly confused. I
was checking my bank statement the other day and, for the first time,
noticed that payments into my account were listed in the credit column
and withdrawals were in the debit column. Luckily there's not an error in
the arithmetic.

That's normal business accounting, payments in are credited - i.e.
added, and withdrawals are debited - i.e. subtracted; no problem, of
course the arithmetic was correct.


Elaine, are you an accountant, or are you just making the same lay-person's
assumption as I used to as to the meaning of credit and debit? It was only
when I started using accounting software that I found I'd got it the wrong
way round. I didn't wholly believe it at first but had it confirmed when I
checked in a hundred-year-old set of education books which contained
instructions on double-entry bookkeeping.

According to what I found, the credit column of an account should contain
withdrawals and the debit column, deposits. My previous bank avoided the
confusion by using the column headings "deposits" instead of "debits"
and "withdrawals" instead of "credits".

--
Graham P Davis, Bracknell, Berks., UK. E-mail: newsman, not newsboy.
"What use is happiness? It can't buy you money." [Chic Murray, 1919-85]

On Wed, 07 Nov 2007 19:19:47 +0000, Graham P Davis
wrote:



It's worrying enough that such a person doesn't seem to know which way is up
but I was more worried to find that my bank gets similarly confused. I was
checking my bank statement the other day and, for the first time, noticed
that payments into my account were listed in the credit column and
withdrawals were in the debit column. Luckily there's not an error in the
arithmetic.


The bank is perfectly correct.

The statement you receive is an extract from the bank's accounts, seen
from THEIR point of view, not yours.

When you pay money in to the bank the bank's indebtedness to you is
increased. From their point of view you become more of a creditor and
your account is duly credited.

When you withdraw money from your account the bank's indebtedness to
you is reduced (if, for example, you were already overdrawn then from
their point of view you become more of a debtor). Your account is duly
debited.

If you were to keep your own accounts they would be a mirror image of
the bank's. Double entry and all that!

"Paul C" wrote in message

The bank is perfectly correct.

The statement you receive is an extract from the bank's accounts, seen
from THEIR point of view, not yours.

When you pay money in to the bank the bank's indebtedness to you is
increased. From their point of view you become more of a creditor and
your account is duly credited.

When you withdraw money from your account the bank's indebtedness to
you is reduced (if, for example, you were already overdrawn then from
their point of view you become more of a debtor). Your account is duly
debited.

If you were to keep your own accounts they would be a mirror image of
the bank's. Double entry and all that!

I can't see why the bank would record your transactions any other way.

Most people think that when you pay money into your account it has been
credited. Take money out and you have debited your account.

Why display these transactions any other way?

Paulus

paulus wrote:


"Paul C" wrote in message

The bank is perfectly correct.

The statement you receive is an extract from the bank's accounts, seen
from THEIR point of view, not yours.

When you pay money in to the bank the bank's indebtedness to you is
increased. From their point of view you become more of a creditor and
your account is duly credited.

When you withdraw money from your account the bank's indebtedness to
you is reduced (if, for example, you were already overdrawn then from
their point of view you become more of a debtor). Your account is duly
debited.

If you were to keep your own accounts they would be a mirror image of
the bank's. Double entry and all that!

I can't see why the bank would record your transactions any other way.

Most people think that when you pay money into your account it has been
credited. Take money out and you have debited your account.

Why display these transactions any other way?


As Paul has said - and thanks for explaining it to me, Paul - if you keep
your own accounts, they are a mirror image of the bank's version. Hence, in
my accounts, a payment into my account goes into the debit column and a
withdrawal appears in the debit column.

Just shows how, when you assume you know what a word means, you can get
confused by the correct, technical usage. Dragging the subject back to
meteorology, as I've said elsewhere the phrase "scattered showers" may mean
something to the metcaster and probably means the same to the listener but
actually means nothing. Similarly, what is meant by "autumnal weather"?
Unless it's amplified as being stormy weather or quiet, misty weather, the
phrase is meaningless. So why do the clowns on TV and radio persist in
using it?

--
Graham P Davis, Bracknell, Berks., UK. E-mail: newsman, not newsboy.
"What use is happiness? It can't buy you money." [Chic Murray, 1919-85]

On 12 Nov, 11:37, Graham P Davis wrote:

if you keep
your own accounts, they are a mirror image of the bank's version. Hence, in
my accounts, a payment into my account goes into the debit column and a
withdrawal appears in the debit column.

Well, now I am really confused.

Well to echo what Graham is saying, Autumnal Weather would in fact, in its
truest sense, be anything that happens in Autumn, and is a rather vague
phrase. It could, if you remove the suggested meaning, be used to cover
anything from sunshine through to a blizzard. The whole idea behind the use
of that phrase is that we all have the same thing in mind about what
Autumnal Weather should be. But in reality, it varies.

Mike

"Graham P Davis" wrote in message
...
paulus wrote:


"Paul C" wrote in message

The bank is perfectly correct.

The statement you receive is an extract from the bank's accounts, seen
from THEIR point of view, not yours.

When you pay money in to the bank the bank's indebtedness to you is
increased. From their point of view you become more of a creditor and
your account is duly credited.

When you withdraw money from your account the bank's indebtedness to
you is reduced (if, for example, you were already overdrawn then from
their point of view you become more of a debtor). Your account is duly
debited.

If you were to keep your own accounts they would be a mirror image of
the bank's. Double entry and all that!

I can't see why the bank would record your transactions any other way.

Most people think that when you pay money into your account it has been
credited. Take money out and you have debited your account.

Why display these transactions any other way?


As Paul has said - and thanks for explaining it to me, Paul - if you keep
your own accounts, they are a mirror image of the bank's version. Hence,
in
my accounts, a payment into my account goes into the debit column and a
withdrawal appears in the debit column.

Just shows how, when you assume you know what a word means, you can get
confused by the correct, technical usage. Dragging the subject back to
meteorology, as I've said elsewhere the phrase "scattered showers" may
mean
something to the metcaster and probably means the same to the listener but
actually means nothing. Similarly, what is meant by "autumnal weather"?
Unless it's amplified as being stormy weather or quiet, misty weather, the
phrase is meaningless. So why do the clowns on TV and radio persist in
using it?

--
Graham P Davis, Bracknell, Berks., UK. E-mail: newsman, not newsboy.
"What use is happiness? It can't buy you money." [Chic Murray, 1919-85]