The very many questions-not-worth-their-own-thread question thread XXV

[madviking]

Is it wrong of me to think that Gravity's Rainbow is the greatest book ever written?

yea, probably

 

[Chukchi Husky]

Are the oldest human remains only less than 5,000 years old?

 

[Thedrin]

Are the oldest human remains only less than 5,000 years old?

No.

Oldest remains are 195 000 years old. Oldest remains in the UK are 45 000 years old.

I like to imagine that you're carefully documenting every single fact this group you're involved with gives you, and that you're writing a book of everything that's demonstrably false.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

If Miles O'Brien is the Chief Operations Officer on DS9, why is he only a Senior Chief Petty Officer?

 

[Cutlass]

Because Star Trek writers never gave the smallest shred of thought to the ranks of people who aren't commissioned officers. And not that much thought to those who were.

 

[PlutonianEmpire]

A bit of a paranoid question, but the issues in Ukraine, are there any similarities with the 80's nuke movie "The Day After", excluding location (that conflict involved Germany, iirc)?

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Just how many Afghans are trying to enter Australia illegally to warrant a special publication from the government?

 

[bhsup]

Is this really a thing now in education? I am hoping it is just a joke, but knowing how the federal govt loves to stick its nose into education, I am not holding my breath.

 

[Mise]

Well, that's very close to how I do it in my head... I mean obviously not a simple one like 32-12, but something like 54-17, I won't do it the "old fashioned" way, I'll do it in a very similar way.

So I'll do:

17+3 = 20
54-20 = 34
3+34 = 37

I think their way is much closer to how I actually do mental arithmetic than the old way I was taught in school.

 

[bhsup]

Seriously? I mean okay I guess if that works for you, but it just seems such a bizarro way to do things.

I'd be like "So okay 14-7 is 7 and 4-1 is 3 so 37 is the answer."

 

[Synobun]

I multiply in the manner Mise does addition/subtraction. Works great mentally, but I don't see the merit behind writing it on paper.

 

[Mise]

I don't think I'd ever do mental arithmetic in the "longhand" way that we were taught in school. It just takes longer. Like you say Synsensa, one of them works in your head, the other works on paper, and I don't see any reason to stick to one or the other.

FYI, I do 14-7 as:

7+3=10
14-10 = 4
3+4=7

Having to remember every combination of "tens" minus every combination of "units" is a waste of my brainspace IMO.

 

[Kennigit]

32 - 10 - 2?

 

[Quackers]

32 - 10 - 2?

Seconded.
Also Maths master race checking in.

 

[Hygro]

Well, that's very close to how I do it in my head... I mean obviously not a simple one like 32-12, but something like 54-17, I won't do it the "old fashioned" way, I'll do it in a very similar way.

So I'll do:

17+3 = 20
54-20 = 34
3+34 = 37

I think their way is much closer to how I actually do mental arithmetic than the old way I was taught in school.

for 32-12 you can instantly see the answer is 20. But to not copy yours since you tainted my thoughts, here's how I'd do 43-25
I'd go literally in my head "three and five eight and forty is twenty so forty-five"

People say I'm kind of quick at it I find subtraction to be the slowest of all arithmetic.

Seriously? I mean okay I guess if that works for you, but it just seems such a bizarro way to do things.

I'd be like "So okay 14-7 is 7 and 4-1 is 3 so 37 is the answer."

If I were to err on the Mise method I would add 3 to both numbers and then subtract 6 at the end. I suspect that method is even quicker because it's easier subtraction. I might have to start practicing it in my head. But playing with 12s is easier than 15s so that picture example is poor.

 

[dutchfire]

The computational scheme obviously depends on the numbers involved. Doing a -b depends on the last number in a and b, if it's bigger in a then you simply subtract, otherwise you might use tricks.

 

[Hygro]

The computational scheme obviously depends on the numbers involved. Doing a -b depends on the last number in a and b, if it's bigger in a then you simply subtract, otherwise you might use tricks.

most certainly.

 

[Mise]

It sounds weird, but I "squeeze" the two numbers in my head. Not sure how to describe it. But 43-25 I squeeze them s.t. it takes 3 from the 43 to get to 40 and add it to the 5 that sits between 25 and 30. Now I squeeze the remaining 40 and 30, which is 10, and add it to the 8 to get 18. That's how I see it I guess. I'm not 100% sure on that cos, like, this is literally the most I've ever thought about how I do mental arithmetic...

"three and five eight and forty is twenty so forty-five"

I have no idea what's going on here lol

 

[Antilogic]

I had to read Hygro's thing a couple times before I understood it. The equals signs are implied in a few places.

Here's how I do the 43-25 calculation: 43-20 = 23, 23-5 = 18. Or in reverse order, 43-5=38, 38-20=18. I guess it's like Kennigit's method.

 

[Hygro]

It sounds weird, but I "squeeze" the two numbers in my head. Not sure how to describe it. But 43-25 I squeeze them s.t. it takes 3 from the 43 to get to 40 and add it to the 5 that sits between 25 and 30. Now I squeeze the remaining 40 and 30, which is 10, and add it to the 8 to get 18. That's how I see it I guess. I'm not 100% sure on that cos, like, this is literally the most I've ever thought about how I do mental arithmetic...


I have no idea what's going on here lol

Me neither. I got distracted started added them because I was trying to type out how I think about them and saw what I was typing. But basically I have a bunch of one digit number combo rules that extend in powers of ten so when I see those numbers I just smash em together and math happens.