I AM interested to read in Carlos Alba's report, Mental maths on the way back (May 1), that the Scottish Qualifications Authority (the Exam Board) may introduce a mental arithmetic section into Standard Grade maths.

It seems obvious to me that unless pupils learn how to graft with numbers on realistic problems the processes will not become their own - they will not acquire the correct feel for the operations and will be unable to spot when a so-called result is inappropriate.

We now live in a society in which change can be brought about in number-displays at the touch of a button. There are many of us earning our living creating such easy changes and one wonders about the extent of the divorce between the numbers displayed on the screen and the reality behind the numbers.

From what one hears, customers of the financial services industry can cite numerous instances of wildly inappropriate numbers. It used not to be so - numbers seemed to be processed with great care (but slowly) and errors brought apologies (from senior management).

My own recent experience tells me that number-changing at the touch of a button may have down-sized the industry; but it has created customers whose trust in the industry has been greatly eroded.

Recently, my pension was more than doubled after a single-figure percentage increase; an insurance company could not collect a direct debit for four months because it did not use the correct number at the bank (after four letters to me, asking why); a unit trust company sent me a letter thanking me for a deposit into one particular fund, but enclosed a receipt for the same deposit into a different fund; an insurance company took 13 weeks to produce a bonus statement because of a recent change (by them) of a policy number; an investment company failed to process an annuity because a policy number was an old one; and a building society failed to discover that a policy supporting a mortgage was an inappropriate one.

When change can be brought about so quickly it is all the more important that the persons bringing about the change have the ability to cope with it and interpret the new data correctly.

If the numbers-experience of such people has been based solely on calculator-generated operations perhaps they do not have a sound structure of mental processes and are easily overwhelmed by the mass of information which assaults them at their workplace.

I am worried by the contrast between the cheery, first-name greeting on the telephone when I call these companies and the reality that these persons may not have much of a clue what the numbers mean.

D MacFarlane,

31 Rubislaw Drive,

Bearsden.

May 2.