tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11679714.post6887328722991207868..comments2024-03-28T11:36:22.391-04:00Comments on Half an Hour: 40,000 TalentsStephen Downeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06140591903467372209noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11679714.post-52700755849996842862010-02-27T08:44:07.633-05:002010-02-27T08:44:07.633-05:00Yes, Peter, you're right, I have once again go...Yes, Peter, you're right, I have once again gotten them backwards. http://www.coinnews.net/2007/07/22/weighing-in-the-precious-metal-difference/Stephen Downeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06140591903467372209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11679714.post-2138551123060089212010-02-27T00:39:17.741-05:002010-02-27T00:39:17.741-05:00I agree, except my recollection from school in the...I agree, except my recollection from school in the 1960s is that there are not "12 avoirdupois ounces to a pound". There are "16 avoirdupois ounces to a pound" and "12 troy ounces to a pound".Peter Albionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04373091197346888083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11679714.post-18802483673413288372010-02-26T10:09:20.332-05:002010-02-26T10:09:20.332-05:00And you would be ABSOLUTELY right.
The comment di...And you would be ABSOLUTELY right.<br /><br />The comment did survive moderation, because I think it's important to remember our egregious errors as well as our successes. I DID edit the entry, as you'll see going back to it, to reflect your changes.<br /><br />I do math largely as a process of remembering, rather than recognizing, as you describe it. It would be easy to blame my mathematical innumeracy on others, but the truth is I didn't study it enough in the past — and I concentrated on geometry when I did study mathematics, mostly flat-plane geometry.<br /><br />As a result, I don't just <i>see</i> 2.4 million. I don't <i>see</i> 96 cubic meters as a semi-trailer (though I wish I did, and I may now). <br /><br />My failures at math have been a consistent disappointment both to me and to my father, and I regularly embarrass myself in this way when I do math in a public or private arena.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com