Fullerene Posted November 18, 2019 Share Posted November 18, 2019 4 minutes ago, Shotgun said: I can't find the article I read now. Maybe I just dreamt it one of my recurring school anxiety dreams. As you were. (Algebra's still shite though) I remember doing Maths at college. A lot of algebra was exactly as you say. Students had to memorise theorums and proofs and often these involved x and y and z. One lecturer changed an exam to a and b and c and some people could not deal with this. Also most examples involved numbers less than 10 so the definition of a mathematician was someone who could not count higher. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathematics Posted November 18, 2019 Share Posted November 18, 2019 Just now, welshbairn said: If you worked out what to tell a spreadsheet to do, surely you could do the same for a ten year old boy? Unless he used trial and error. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helpma Posted November 18, 2019 Share Posted November 18, 2019 15 minutes ago, Fullerene said: Don't be daft. Let x = f, y = l and z = g. Then write out the solutions that you already know. declare the problem is now trivial and walk away. FTFY 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helpma Posted November 18, 2019 Share Posted November 18, 2019 3 minutes ago, Fullerene said: Also most examples involved numbers less than 10 so the definition of a mathematician was someone who could not count higher. Mathematicians don't do numbers. They operate on a higher plane (often non-Euclidean). At least, thats what the ones I worked with told me. Maybe they just wanted longer coffee breaks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted November 18, 2019 Share Posted November 18, 2019 4 minutes ago, mathematics said: Unless he used trial and error. In another generation our brains will be mush and we'll be entirely dependent on computers and robots. I'm pretty well there already. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Ferrino Posted November 18, 2019 Share Posted November 18, 2019 25 minutes ago, coprolite said: You need to find the lowest common denominator, so you're in the right place Sex? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacksgranda Posted November 18, 2019 Share Posted November 18, 2019 6 minutes ago, welshbairn said: In another generation our brains will be mush and we'll be entirely dependent on computers and robots. I'm pretty well there already. My brain was fairly mushy prior to computers, tbqh. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arnold Layne Posted November 18, 2019 Author Share Posted November 18, 2019 8 minutes ago, welshbairn said: If you worked out what to tell a spreadsheet to do, surely you could do the same for a ten year old boy? 7 minutes ago, mathematics said: Unless he used trial and error. I just kept adding 4 white and 1 red until white was 75% of the total. Not very elegant. By the way, I'm not trying to provide my son with the answer. There's no point to that. Just trying to understand myself. Honest. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathematics Posted November 18, 2019 Share Posted November 18, 2019 7 minutes ago, Arnold Layne said: By the way, I'm not trying to provide my son with the answer. There's no point to that. Just trying to understand myself. Honest. Top parenting. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted November 18, 2019 Share Posted November 18, 2019 (edited) 17 minutes ago, Arnold Layne said: I just kept adding 4 white and 1 red until white was 75% of the total. Not very elegant. By the way, I'm not trying to provide my son with the answer. There's no point to that. Just trying to understand myself. Honest. I'd have thought that would please any Maths teacher of a 10 year old. Shows he's thinking rather than just following a formula, and then the teacher can show the easier way of doing something he already understands. My failure at maths was being unable just to follow instructions without asking why. That's my excuse anyway. You can jump hundreds of years of mathematical progress by just replacing a letter with a number, but if you don't understand the logic of numbers approaching infinity but never quite getting there, or the usefulness of the concept, then you might be able to do calculus but you shouldn't be allowed to teach it. Edited November 18, 2019 by welshbairn 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fullerene Posted November 18, 2019 Share Posted November 18, 2019 11 minutes ago, Arnold Layne said: I just kept adding 4 white and 1 red until white was 75% of the total. Not very elegant. By the way, I'm not trying to provide my son with the answer. There's no point to that. Just trying to understand myself. Honest. Down in Lancashire and Yorkshire they had their War of the Roses and made a big thing about red roses and white roses. Not sure if they still do but it is a good thing you asked us and not someone from down there. You might have come to some harm I suspect. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dorlomin Posted November 18, 2019 Share Posted November 18, 2019 1 hour ago, RH33 said: I have a son in P6 and I have no idea that means. Your street had a rather happy milkman about 11 years ago? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arnold Layne Posted November 18, 2019 Author Share Posted November 18, 2019 1 minute ago, welshbairn said: I'd have thought that would please any Maths teacher of a 10 year old. Shows he's thinking rather than just following a formula, and then the teacher can show the easier way of doing something he already understands. My failure at maths was being unable just to follow instructions without asking why. Yes, I see your point. But I imagine that homework is based on current class work. Therefore if he can't answer the question, the teacher can help him. If I provide an answer the teacher will assume he understands and he never will. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arnold Layne Posted November 18, 2019 Author Share Posted November 18, 2019 3 minutes ago, Fullerene said: Down in Lancashire and Yorkshire they had their War of the Roses and made a big thing about red roses and white roses. Not sure if they still do but it is a good thing you asked us and not someone from down there. You might have come to some harm I suspect. I work with some Yorkshiremen occasionally. Yes, the rose thing is still a big deal down there. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted November 18, 2019 Share Posted November 18, 2019 3 minutes ago, Arnold Layne said: Yes, I see your point. But I imagine that homework is based on current class work. Therefore if he can't answer the question, the teacher can help him. If I provide an answer the teacher will assume he understands and he never will. You could show him the slow way of working it out on paper without a spreadsheet. Then let the teacher show him the quick way. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arnold Layne Posted November 18, 2019 Author Share Posted November 18, 2019 2 minutes ago, welshbairn said: You could show him the slow way of working it out on paper without a spreadsheet. Then let the teacher show him the quick way. Yes, that's a good point. The problem is compounded though by the fact that he's at his mother's house tonight. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fullerene Posted November 18, 2019 Share Posted November 18, 2019 Maths lesson in North Korea. Yesterday in defence of our great republic I captured X capitalist pigs and locked them away. 80% were blond and rest were redheads Today in honour of our supreme leader, I valiantly captured yet more of these swines. This time 76 had blond hair and 48 had red. My patriotism knows no bounds. Now my prisoners are 75% blond and 25% redhead. So now the question , my dear comrades, is this. How many of these verminous shits had I captured yesterday? Long live the DPRK. Long live our glorious leader. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shandon Par Posted November 18, 2019 Share Posted November 18, 2019 1 hour ago, Arnold Layne said: My ten year old has this problem to solve I have X roses. 80% are white, the rest are red. I add 76 white and 48 red. Now 75% are white. What is the value of X? I have worked out the answer using a spreadsheet but he needs to show workings. Any ideas? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Pennel Posted November 18, 2019 Share Posted November 18, 2019 The answer is 42. It always is. It is. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Ferrino Posted November 18, 2019 Share Posted November 18, 2019 1 hour ago, Zen Archer Esq. said: Florist. I’ve had some insults in my life before, but..... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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