Comments on: When You’ll Ever Use Math

By: Aruna

Aruna — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 23:59:28 +0000

Oh …i just tried this with my 3rd grade son …and by golly..he blew me with his guess on his second try..

I had thought of 2.5 as my number and he got it. He could have lucked out but what excited me the most was that he gave me non-whole number as a possible answer. I don’t think I would have gotten it even with my 10th try. :-)

I am poorer by a few dollars but am glad that the money is still in the family! :-)

This was a fun exercise. Can’t wait to try it with my husband who we consider the math geek in our family.

By: Matt Vaudrey

Matt Vaudrey — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 16:05:05 +0000

@Fawn I like that; I’m borrowing that for my class.

I agree with John, your friends should have known better.

…but I’m still going to try this with my friends.

By: Fawn Nguyen

Fawn Nguyen — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 15:48:25 +0000

How fun! Reminds me of a bumper sticker I once saw: NOBODY promises you whole numbers. (I say this to my students all the time when they think their non-integral answers must be wrong.)

By: corn

corn — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 21:30:21 +0000

The 11:1 odds was intended to suggest the house was at a slight disadvantage, to persuade one that they had an opportunity for a guaranteed 10% return on their wager by covering the spread.

It relies on a trick though; it exploits the assumption that we have encountered similar situations before and share a common understanding of the problem’s domain. It’s also a language trick; we use the term “number” and “numeral” interchangeably which gives us confidence. Perhaps his point would have been better made had he written ‘e’ on his palm.

By: RudeDude

RudeDude — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 21:05:57 +0000

Integers for the lose!

By: Zach Elwood

Zach Elwood — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 19:46:08 +0000

I think you could have gotten away with at least 15:1, because most people would assume you know some psychological trick at picking a number that most people wouldn’t pick.

By: Mark Watkins

Mark Watkins — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 19:37:17 +0000

Would give them the dollar back if they complained about using a different set of axioms than you?

By: Dave

Dave — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 18:36:01 +0000

Sometimes it’s not about when you’ll use it; it’s about being ready for when someone will try to use it against you. ;)

Betting against a math teacher who wrote the rules of the bet? I’m picture Zac as just a nice guy who knew he was about to give you a dollar.

By: Rob

Rob — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 18:30:17 +0000

They really should have known that you were going to take the money on that one. I love that the 11:1 actually is part of setting the trap, whereas if you had given them even better odds (like 20:1), they might would been tipped off.

By: Bill Lundy

Bill Lundy — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 17:59:42 +0000

Dan,
I enjoyed this post! As much for what you didn’t say as what you did. I look forward to seeing you in Kingston (Ontario) this coming May.
Bill