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| Thread ID: 25432 | 2002-10-03 08:27:00 | Arithmetic | Tom B. (864) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 85738 | 2002-10-03 08:27:00 | Tweak e's latest news contains another example of the strange arithmetic that is being taught today. I was taught that "times" meant multiplication, that is the answer is more than the original. Now we continually read how something is 7 "times" smaller, or 7 "times" cheaper. My teacher said it was 1/7th the size. how do you interpret the statement "it is 7 "times" cheaper and lasts 7 "times" as long"? How do you indicate that this object is as big as 7 of those? Just a thought. Tom B. |
Tom B. (864) | ||
| 85739 | 2002-10-03 08:55:00 | 7 times cheaper basically means that if the original was $70 then the new one is $10. 7 "times" $10 is $70. I don't see what the problem with that is - "times" is a stand-in term for multiplication, and it fits in this statement. Mike. |
Mike (15) | ||
| 85740 | 2002-10-03 09:01:00 | It means the old one is 7 times more expensive than the new one, or the old one is 7 times larger than the new one Its a matter of the subject being the old one, not the new one. If you are going to have the subject as the new one, its 1/7th the price or size. Its usually wrong, admittedly because they have the wrong subject. |
godfather (25) | ||
| 85741 | 2002-10-03 19:38:00 | Nothing new, it's "always" been that way, just another vagary of the English language designed to make it harder for learners of the language to understand. :) | Terry Porritt (14) | ||
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