OT: Simple maths question

I heard this on a gameshow: "Answer quickly, what's half of 99?" - Allegedly most people say 44.5. Why? I said 49.5. I halve 100 then take another half off. Or you could halve 90 then add half of 9. Either way, how can people make this mistake?

Reply to
Jimmy Wilkinson Knife
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Because they can't do sums (it's not maths, it's arithmetic).

Reply to
Tim Streater

Many people are dumb. I took half a hundred and took off another half.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

Exactly what I did. I was surprised when John Richardson (the OCD and clever comedian) got it wrong, but then maybe that was staged.

Reply to
Jimmy Wilkinson Knife

How do these people get by? I wonder if they all get short changed? On= ly the other week Aldi tried to give me =A310 less change than I should = have got - although he did seem a bit confused, he was new there.

I'm not pedantic, I call them all maths.

-- =

Yorkshire man takes his cat to the vet. Yorkshireman: "Ayup, lad, I need to talk to thee about me cat." Vet: "Is it a tom?" Yorkshireman: "Nay, I've browt it wi' us."

Reply to
Jimmy Wilkinson Knife

Another reason to use the self service checkout if paying cash. Or pay by card.

Very interesting that these 'genuine' mistakes at the checkout are almost always in favour of the store.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Half of 66 is 33; half of 88 is 44; half of 99 is...

Reply to
Max Demian

For those who don't understand the difference between odd and even numbers that they should have been taught in year one of arithmetic.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Four-and-half-ty, four and a half

Reply to
Chris Green

I don't see it as another reason and not a reason at al really. Or pay by

I've not found that but then again I canlt remmeber the last time such a th ing happened.

But I did have a simialar feeling to the sainsbury guy on the murger with A DAS who was singing "I'm in the money" I got an emal from TFL. Oyster saying due to an error I have been overcharg e and will recieve £0.02 next time I check in with my Oyster card. Now if I'd been paying cash I would have noticed.

But I doubt you'd notice if they charged you £2 for a tins of beans at a automated checkout, would you.

Reply to
whisky-dave

They probably aren't but how many when given £10 too much are going to make a fuss about it?

Reply to
dennis

You don't mind getting short changed when paying cash, then?

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

If I use cash I know what my bill comes to and I give enough to get as litt le change as possible. Yesterday I handed over 3 pound coins two 10p pieces, 2 2p pieces and a 1p pices as I got my lunch at rhe students union as they now charged £3 .25 for a meal deal. I didn't need to count my change as I wasn't due any. AT the co-op when I d o use cash they have commented on the fact that I always have the correct c hange,m which I do. I kn ow how much I will spend and I have that in my poc ket in cash before I leave the office as I have a draw with loose change in it. Last week after clearing out last years projects I gained another 50p in 1 p pieces as a student had left 50ps worth with his project set out as 5 equ al weights of 1p stuck together with blu-tak.

I'm not a student I don't go there to buy a mars bar with a £20 note. infact one student came to me asking if he could get me something from the shop as he wanted to use his card and they don't accept cards unless you sp end £5 or more, so he got me a 500ml bottle of water and just gave it to me. So using his card cost him an extra quid or so, not something I'd choose to do.

If I do get change from the corner shop I usualy put the odd few p in the c harity tin rather than collect copper coins.

Reply to
whisky-dave

a numeracy quiz if anyone is interested.

formatting link

Reply to
dennis

I just check my change, but I use self service anyway as it's faster, bu= t not all supermarkets have those. My Asda does, but Morrisons only hav= e them for people with mini baskets, and Aldi and Lidl don't have them a= t all.

Or more likely the checkout worker. It seems to be a standard thing, no= t noticing you've given them a =A320. Some people actually say 20 out l= oud when they hand one over.

-- =

Police arrested two kids yesterday, one was drinking battery acid, and t= he other was eating fireworks. They charged one and let the other one of= f.

Reply to
Jimmy Wilkinson Knife

Exactly, which when added together make 49 and a half. I still can't think of how to make ther glaring error above.

Reply to
Jimmy Wilkinson Knife

I actually add up like that sometimes. I'll come to an answer of twelvety three. It's interesting that some people immediately know what number that is and some don't.

Reply to
Jimmy Wilkinson Knife

That (halve 100 then take another half off) is what I would do. 44.5 doesn't make sense.

Reply to
Mark Lloyd

4.54.5 :-)

3*10+3 = 33

4*10+4 = 44 4.5*10+4.5 = 49.5

Where's the 44.5? (its not at Burger King :-))

Actually, I would start by "promoting" 99 to 100, divide by 2 (easy here), and correct for the "promotion". Essentially 99 / 2 = (100 / 2) - (1 / 2). It's the "distributive property", but much less complicated.

BTW, "mathematics" is NOT plural. Consider that you don't go into a store and say "one mathematic, please".

Reply to
Sam E

Which is equal to 49.5, as in 4.5 * 10^1 + 4.5 * 10^0 = 45 + 4.5 = 49.5

BTW, to get that REALLY correct, replace 10 with r and specify that r =

  1. r^1 = r and r^0 = 1.
Reply to
Mark Lloyd

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