number system
-
Around my office people use the calculator application on Windows. Recently there is a problem with that calculator, though. I talked to one of my co-workers and told him that 7 + 1 equals 10 according to the "new math." He said "no way." Then I fired up the calculator on his computer, switched to "Scientific", quickly pushed the "F7" key (without him noticing that), then punched 7+1. The result was 10. He was shocked. I then pushed the "F5" key (again without him noticing that), then punched 7 + 9. The result is again 10. He was astonished. The next day, he came to me and said he told his son about the "new math." And his son laughed. They could not repeat the result at home. He came to tell me that there is no "new math." I then demonstrated to him that the "new math" was indeed there. They still argue with me about this from time to time. I said the transition from "old math" to "new math" will not happen in one day. It will happen over a course of a few years. I then showed them by firing up the calculator application, and switched to octal mode, did some calculations, then switched to decimal mode, and do some more. The results were sometimes "correct", sometimes "wrong". I said this is how the transition works. It will work the "old math" sometimes, "new math" some other times. They were just confused. Of course the whole process I pushed the functions keys quickly while distracting them with something else. They never noticed the change in number system.
I have lately been wanting to submit a bill to the US Congress requiring Pi to equal "3", and abolish the rule requiring that triangles have only 3 sides, since the current rules discriminate against four-sided triangles. Given the current (absence of) logical thought in Washington these days, they might actually consider it...