Sunday, October 21, 2007
I went to a symposium today, and got to talk with some friends after. I mentioned the math video of a few posts back (http://thesilkentouch.blogspot.com/2007/10/1506-denver-math-plans.html), and one of the guys told of an experience he'd had yesterday.
He was in a store, and his bill came to $12.82. He handed the girl exactly $12.82, and then remembered that he had a $3-off coupon, so he handed her the coupon. She turned to another cashier and asked, "Hey, how much is 12 minus 3?"
I laughed and told him that if he REALLY wanted to confuse her, on a $12.82 tab, he should hand her $23.02 (a twenty, three ones, two pennies).
I do that a lot, and they almost always try to hand the three dollar bills and the two cents (or whatever is over the large bill) back immediately. I say no, and they ask why I gave them so much. I tell them to do the math and then they'll see.
They do the math (well, they punch buttons on the register), are surprised at how it works out, and look at me like I'm some kind of genius.
Well, duh! I just know math.
.
1 comment:
I'm surprised at how little people understand math these days. I get it. I was in honors math and science since 7th grade. I did well until 10th grade Trigonometry. But D. sits and cries over his math homework at least 2 times a week. I get the same question every night. "What is 7 times 3?" The answer is NO, figure it out yourself, and NO CALCULATOR!
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