Author Topic: Arithmetic that makes you cringe  (Read 77836 times)

Kim

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Re: Arithmetic that makes you cringe
« Reply #50 on: 25 January, 2017, 11:30:24 pm »
True story in (long) post decimal Britain....

Customer: 100 rolls please...

Rolls cost 4p each.

Shop Assistant to friend: What's 4 times 100?


Can't be that long post-decimal if rolls anything costs 4p thobut.

Cudzoziemiec

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Re: Arithmetic that makes you cringe
« Reply #51 on: 25 January, 2017, 11:35:32 pm »
"Rolls of what?" was my first thought.
 :D ;) ::-) :facepalm: ;D
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Kim

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Re: Arithmetic that makes you cringe
« Reply #52 on: 25 January, 2017, 11:42:45 pm »
SMD resistors, maybe...

Feanor

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Re: Arithmetic that makes you cringe
« Reply #53 on: 25 January, 2017, 11:46:30 pm »
There are plenty of scams that rely on people not being able to do arithmetic.

That's £10:84, please.
OK, I'll give you £20.84, and you give me a tenner back.
Ah, I don't have the 84. So i'll give you this shilling and a thruppney, and you can give me a groat back, if I take back my original £20 and give you a tenner and a groat instead. And there's a sheckel in it for you too.

Err...

This is why modern tills are programmed to try deal with this kind of thing.

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: Arithmetic that makes you cringe
« Reply #54 on: 26 January, 2017, 01:12:14 am »
True story in (long) post decimal Britain....

Customer: 100 rolls please...

Rolls cost 4p each.

Shop Assistant to friend: What's 4 times 100?


Graves' rolls were 3p when I was a young Penniless Student Oafette in 1976, rising to 5p by 1981.
Trufax.

If this had been around 1978, decimalisation would have been 7 years previously...

Can't be that long post-decimal if rolls anything costs 4p thobut.

Re: Arithmetic that makes you cringe
« Reply #55 on: 26 January, 2017, 08:47:10 am »
Graves' rolls were 3p when I was a young Penniless Student Oafette in 1976, rising to 5p by 1981.
Trufax.

There's a Viz Top Tip along the lines of "keep all of your till receipts so that you can bore your grandchildren with greater accuracy in years to come"  Were you an early adopter of this advice, helly?  ;)

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: Arithmetic that makes you cringe
« Reply #56 on: 26 January, 2017, 01:16:43 pm »
Graves' rolls were 3p when I was a young Penniless Student Oafette in 1976, rising to 5p by 1981.
Trufax.

There's a Viz Top Tip along the lines of "keep all of your till receipts so that you can bore your grandchildren with greater accuracy in years to come"  Were you an early adopter of this advice, helly?  ;)

 :) ;) ;D  No.

I sometimes have a very retentive memory thobut.
I wasn't even particularly Penniless, though managing my own budget was was a new experience.
Sheffield was cheap, student grants were generous and having multiple sibs in Higher Education cut parents' contribution considerably.
I became adept at making a Little Money Go A Long Way, which was easy then.
This was useful when Parents Stopped All Money as I had been Naughty.

Rice Pudding Hallamshire Hospital 4p/bowl...

hellymedic

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Re: Arithmetic that makes you cringe
« Reply #57 on: 12 February, 2018, 09:04:28 pm »
From the lovely Bournemouth Echo.
Nursing home loses £8,000 per week which is '£32,000 per quarter'.

I thought there were 13 weeks in a quarter and 8,000 x 13 = £104,000.

Did she mean a (short) month?

http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/15987698.__39_It__39_s_a_shambles__39___NHS__39__new_patient_discharge_system_leaves_care_home_facing_closure/?ref=mr&lp=15

Pingu

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Re: Arithmetic that makes you cringe
« Reply #58 on: 29 November, 2018, 12:59:55 pm »
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/29/four-years-hottest-record-climate-change

Quote
Average temperatures around the world so far this year were nearly 1C (33.8F) above pre-industrial levels.

 :facepalm:

Re: Arithmetic that makes you cringe
« Reply #59 on: 29 November, 2018, 01:06:40 pm »
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/29/four-years-hottest-record-climate-change

Quote
Average temperatures around the world so far this year were nearly 1C (33.8F) above pre-industrial levels.

 :facepalm:

Probably should be grateful they aren't up 274.15 kelvin

Re: Arithmetic that makes you cringe
« Reply #60 on: 29 November, 2018, 01:13:03 pm »
Never trusted those Foreignheits.
"Yes please" said Squirrel "biscuits are our favourite things."

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Arithmetic that makes you cringe
« Reply #61 on: 29 November, 2018, 01:16:26 pm »
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/29/four-years-hottest-record-climate-change

Quote
Average temperatures around the world so far this year were nearly 1C (33.8F) above pre-industrial levels.

 :facepalm:

That is brilliantly daft.

Probably should be grateful they aren't up 274.15 kelvin

Anyone who watched the last series of Bake Off will have seen the little Amazon Alexa ads that bookended each commercial break. One of them had Our Intrepid Baker asking "Alexa, what's the boiling point of sugar?" to which Alexa replies "The boiling point of sugar is XXX degrees."

Now, leaving aside the fact that the question is nonsensical, since sugar doesn't have a boiling point as such, it really infuriated me that Alexa didn't specify the scale in her answer - I can't recall the exact figure quoted but I'm sure it must have been in Fahrenheit, which shouldn't be too surprising given that Alexa is Transpondian, but a) my old maths teacher would have given her a clout round the ear for such sloppiness, and b) it's the 21st feckin' century so use Celsius already. Anyway, I amused myself by imagining that Our Intrepid Baker guessed that Alexa was working in Kelvin and so put their sugar solution in the freezer to boil it...
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

ElyDave

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Re: Arithmetic that makes you cringe
« Reply #62 on: 29 November, 2018, 01:53:04 pm »
Of course sugar has a boiling point,

which must be specified based on the exact composition i.e. a solution of x% w/w sugar in water boils at YY deg C at ZZ pressure.
“Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him.” –Charles Dickens

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Arithmetic that makes you cringe
« Reply #63 on: 29 November, 2018, 01:55:23 pm »
Of course sugar has a boiling point,

which must be specified based on the exact composition i.e. a solution of x% w/w sugar in water boils at YY deg C at ZZ pressure.
Even then it's going to vary from batch to batch isn't it, what with sugar being a plant-produced compound and not just the same thing always?

Anyways, the original story is wonderfully silly.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Arithmetic that makes you cringe
« Reply #64 on: 29 November, 2018, 02:02:03 pm »
Of course sugar has a boiling point,

which must be specified based on the exact composition i.e. a solution of x% w/w sugar in water boils at YY deg C at ZZ pressure.

My understanding is that dry sugar granules don't have a boiling point as such - they just break down into caramel when heated.

Sugar solution is a different matter.

Perhaps it's a question of terminology. I'm coming at this from a cook's perspective, not a chemist's.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

mattc

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Re: Arithmetic that makes you cringe
« Reply #65 on: 29 November, 2018, 02:28:41 pm »
I'm not sure of the right terminology, but it may be that solid sugar does sublimation, not boiling*:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sublimation_(phase_transition)

*Of course it's more complicated than that - and this is all physics, not chemistry IMHO!
Has never ridden RAAM
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No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles

Re: Arithmetic that makes you cringe
« Reply #66 on: 29 November, 2018, 02:42:34 pm »
Quote from: https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-melting-and-boiling-point-of-sugar
Sugar does not melt or boil, it decomposes. For sugar to have either it would have to retain its molecular formula which it does not. When it is heated it is carmelized.

Caramel has a boiling point, so that's probably what Alexa's answer was. More specifically, the answer to the question: If you heat sugar in a pan at what temperature does the stuff in the pan start to boil?

But the solid->liquid stage is not reversible if caramelisation has taken place. If you cool molten caramel down it does not become sugar again.

Another thing that confuses matters is that as sugar is a solid (at normal temperatures) asking "what is the boiling point of sugar?" is like asking "what is the boiling point of ice?" It kind of makes sense but jars slightly.
"Yes please" said Squirrel "biscuits are our favourite things."

ElyDave

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Re: Arithmetic that makes you cringe
« Reply #67 on: 29 November, 2018, 02:47:55 pm »
I'm not sure of the right terminology, but it may be that solid sugar does sublimation, not boiling*:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sublimation_(phase_transition)

*Of course it's more complicated than that - and this is all physics, not chemistry IMHO!

It doesn't sublime, that is going straight from solid to gas, like CO2 (Dry Ice), it's a lot more complicated than that.

Apart from the descent into caramel, which then bubbles, if you have low enough moisture the sugar pyrolises and generates methanol as a byproduct, which is of course extremely flammable.  This is why sugar mills regularly go kaboom.
“Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him.” –Charles Dickens

mattc

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Re: Arithmetic that makes you cringe
« Reply #68 on: 29 November, 2018, 02:53:23 pm »
I am very much liking the phrase

the descent into caramel

It should be a film title, or perhaps An Audax ...
Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles

Torslanda

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Re: Arithmetic that makes you cringe
« Reply #69 on: 29 November, 2018, 03:20:36 pm »
The descent into Caramel should follow the struggle to Kirkstone and be cherished fondantly...
VELOMANCER

Well that's the more blunt way of putting it but as usual he's dead right.

Torslanda

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Re: Arithmetic that makes you cringe
« Reply #70 on: 29 November, 2018, 03:21:48 pm »
...and the climb must involve ganache-ing of gears.





I'll stop now
VELOMANCER

Well that's the more blunt way of putting it but as usual he's dead right.

ElyDave

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Re: Arithmetic that makes you cringe
« Reply #71 on: 29 November, 2018, 04:56:41 pm »
But the finish is a sweet relief, almost the icing on the cake.

IGMC
“Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him.” –Charles Dickens

Kim

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Re: Arithmetic that makes you cringe
« Reply #72 on: 29 November, 2018, 05:05:46 pm »
Now, leaving aside the fact that the question is nonsensical, since sugar doesn't have a boiling point as such, it really infuriated me that Alexa didn't specify the scale in her answer - I can't recall the exact figure quoted but I'm sure it must have been in Fahrenheit, which shouldn't be too surprising given that Alexa is Transpondian, but a) my old maths teacher would have given her a clout round the ear for such sloppiness, and b) it's the 21st feckin' century so use Celsius already. Anyway, I amused myself by imagining that Our Intrepid Baker guessed that Alexa was working in Kelvin and so put their sugar solution in the freezer to boil it...

Presumably Alexa allows the user to configure their preferred units, date formats, etc. like most other Babbage-engine user interfaces.

Also, if I was molishing an English-language TV advert for such a device, I might deliberately avoid specific units, so as to save half a second of expensive air time and avoid the need for different versions for different markets.

ian

Re: Arithmetic that makes you cringe
« Reply #73 on: 29 November, 2018, 05:45:39 pm »
Alexa lets you choose her temperature and distance units. I don't think she offers Kelvin or parsecs* though.

And yes, she should have said sucrose will melt/decompose (depending on the water content, moisture is how you get inversion, that's really the difference between making caramel and golden syrup).

*yes, yes, I know, but Han Solo is always going to be more right than you, so give it up.

ElyDave

  • Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society member 263583
Re: Arithmetic that makes you cringe
« Reply #74 on: 29 November, 2018, 06:16:39 pm »
Alexa lets you choose her temperature and distance units. I don't think she offers Kelvin or parsecs* though.

And yes, she should have said sucrose will melt/decompose (depending on the water content, moisture is how you get inversion, that's really the difference between making caramel and golden syrup).

*yes, yes, I know, but Han Solo is always going to be more right than you, so give it up.

invert sugar syrup also needs an acid to do the "inversion".  I'm not sure if golden syrup is inverted or not?
“Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him.” –Charles Dickens