For how long is it acceptable not to know your own phone number?
Surely in this age of programmed-in numbers, the answer is "forever"? I mean, when was the last time you ever actually needed to know a phone number off the top of your head? Yes, you should have them all written down somewhere in case you have some sort of terrible technological disaster and your mobile phone is destroyed etc, and yes I do admit that if there's anyone whose number you should know it's probably your own, but that doesn't mean you actually need to know them. Not when you probably have them stored in your phone which is probably a metre or so away from you.
I suspect I may have been mocked in my french class for several reasons this morning. First, for not actually knowing how to read out a phone number (as in, do you read out each number individually, do you group them into pairs, do you throw in a little pause after the first four numbers etc), second for getting french numbers and german numbers hopelessly mixed up (which I do alllll the time. German is totally my fallback language for numbers, and once I switch into german I find it very hard to get out of it), and thirdly for not knowing any of my phone numbers in Switzerland. I suppose I've had my mobile number for quite a while now (ie. let's not mention that one), but the landline number is pretty new (since May or something) and I really don't think it's shocking that I don't know it. I've given it to people about twice (both times after reading it out from my mobile phone or from my address book), and I've never called it myself, and I've certainly never made an effort to memorise it.
I have come across many people in the past who haven't known their own phone numbers. It's just not that unusual, and yet there wasn't a single person in my class today who didn't goggle at me like I was some sort of moron. Morons.
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4 comments:
19 months living in Switzerland and I still don't have any of numbers memorized. I have them in my mobile and on a piece of paper I carry in my wallet.
Part of the issue is that I am really bad with all numbers. I have dyscalculia, similar to dyslexia only with numbers instead of letters. But it is also because we no longer need to memorize such things due to mobiles and such.
I prefer to focus on remembering the numbers that I have to know which are not safe to carry around on a sheet of paper, such as my banking PIN and my social security number. If I force myself to memorize too many numbers, the most important numbers start to get mixed up.
I don't know my numbers either. I never call the home number (as I'm the only one who uses it) and I never call my mobile number.
Back in Australia I had one mobile number for 8 years so I have that one down, but since moving to Switzerland I've already had two. I managed to memorise the first after about 10 months. One month later it changed because of my new job. So that gives me five more months to learn my new number. About fair I reckon :)
ps. love the new photo with the blue umbrella.
The main reason to know your own number is when you are ordering home delivery or calling a cab, because they always want to know it. And it's even more important if you're calling from your mobile because then you can't look at your mobile to check.
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