twas not the first math fail on millionaire by a celebrity .. (well, if you count Richard Hatch as a celebrity) .. this one is just about as cringe-worthy..
Part of the problem here might be that many schools teach a single "correct" way to do math. Like my school taught me the way to process that question was (1.50 x 5)/25. And that's when my brain would have freaked. But when he realized I was struggling with that style of logic, my father taught me his British format too, so it's then $1.50 = 6 quarters, and five times THAT is 30 quarters. The same way he taught me that 36x9 can also be broken into (30x9) + (6x9), rather than the carry-the-one style of multiplication that I had a hard time holding onto mentally. So hooray for options.
And then there's Regis's third way of reverse engineering the question. Which works too, if you have the cheat sheet.
Not that Heaton isn't painfully helpless in this situation -- but lots of schools teach a single approach to maths, going to far as to mark other processes as "wrong" on tests. It hamstrings kids. But I'm sure teaching to standardized testing has fixed all of that [/sarcasm].
@limber: I was totally turned off from math in 5th grade when we had a class on fractions and were asked to figure out what 1/4 of 200 was. I was the only one in the class to figure it out. But when I told the teacher how by thinking of 4 quarters in a dollar,8 in 2 making 50 1/4 of 200 she told me I was wrong. And don't get me started on "new" math, even my mother couldn't wrap her head around it and she's good at math.
@Michael Bauser: Well, we all have our weaknesses. You've cleverly pointed out mine: I find it challenging to boil down mathematical processes into clearly structured grammar.
You've apparently overcome your own challenge: how to converse while your head's up your arse. Typing's a miracle, isn't it?
@BitchyD: I had the exact same thing -- the teacher would take half points off because I got the right answer, but my process was "wrong".
I ended up just doing it my way, then writing notation that did it her way. It turned out that when she quizzed me about it, the answer "I just did that part in my head" actually worked more often than not.
"...she mentioned how "people who live in the middle of America, which is where I come from," are "nicer" and "smarter" than people who live on the East and West coasts..."
She will never be accused of being a "navel gazer," 'cause she doesn't have one.
@PaisleyPajamas: Also, sad that this craptastic show has now become even more repulsive by becoming a vehicle for striving celebs to show up and gain exposure. VOM.
I'm just hoping that her star (and with it her self esteem) falls enough so that she would consider dating me. I could care less about her politics. I just think she's hot and was way too good looking to be Raymond's wife. I'll do the currency exchanges when we visit foreign countries.
08/19/09
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08/18/09
Eh, could have been worse
08/18/09
08/18/09
Part of the problem here might be that many schools teach a single "correct" way to do math. Like my school taught me the way to process that question was (1.50 x 5)/25. And that's when my brain would have freaked. But when he realized I was struggling with that style of logic, my father taught me his British format too, so it's then $1.50 = 6 quarters, and five times THAT is 30 quarters. The same way he taught me that 36x9 can also be broken into (30x9) + (6x9), rather than the carry-the-one style of multiplication that I had a hard time holding onto mentally. So hooray for options.
And then there's Regis's third way of reverse engineering the question. Which works too, if you have the cheat sheet.
Not that Heaton isn't painfully helpless in this situation -- but lots of schools teach a single approach to maths, going to far as to mark other processes as "wrong" on tests. It hamstrings kids. But I'm sure teaching to standardized testing has fixed all of that [/sarcasm].
08/18/09
Time to go put on some tea while the cameras in my house let the government monitor my kids, I guess! Cheerio!
08/18/09
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08/19/09
You've apparently overcome your own challenge: how to converse while your head's up your arse. Typing's a miracle, isn't it?
08/19/09
I ended up just doing it my way, then writing notation that did it her way. It turned out that when she quizzed me about it, the answer "I just did that part in my head" actually worked more often than not.
08/18/09
08/18/09
08/18/09
08/18/09
08/18/09
She will never be accused of being a "navel gazer," 'cause she doesn't have one.
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08/18/09
I'm confused. Why am I living a shitty sci-fi nightmare?
08/18/09
08/18/09
@ChillbearLatrigue: Yea... thats sexy....