On Sun, 27 Jun 2004 19:06:23 -0500, Fletch F. Fletch wrote
(in article <3iJDc.22137$aJ3.21959@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>):
> Gray Shockley wrote:
>> On Sun, 27 Jun 2004 09:54:18 -0500, Fletch F. Fletch wrote
>> (in article <ucBDc.8453$Xn.146@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>):
>>
>>> toto wrote:
>>>> On Sun, 27 Jun 2004 05:28:54 GMT, "Fletch F. Fletch"
>>>> <notme31415@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> toto wrote:
>>>>>> On Sat, 26 Jun 2004 17:43:33 GMT, "Fletch F. Fletch"
>>>>>> <notme31415@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> How many people do you figure are on the earth that don't know
>>>>>>> their times tables to say twelve, but can factor a quadratic?
>>>>>>> I'm guessing it hovers around zero.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> How many people actually need to be able to factor a quadratric?
>>>>>
>>>>> Pretty much everyone in math, science, or engineering I would
>>>>> guess. Econonmists too. I'm sure I'm forgetting a bunch. Of
>>>>> course, that is still a small minority.
>>>>>
>>>> Not really.
>>>>
>>>> You don't have to factor quadratics yourself in any of those fields.
>>>> You need to understand how to solve such equations (and in fact,
>>>> people who work in the fields you mention, may need to understand
>>>> how to get solutions to cubics or higher powered equations), but
>>>> people who work in these fields don't solve the equations by
>>>> factoring for the most part.
>>>>
>>>> For one thing, many of quadratics are not factorable. We teach
>>>> factoring in Algebra I in high school or before, but it really is
>>>> not necessary in the concrete, only in the concept so that
>>>> student's can understand the explanation of how the quadratic
>>>> formula was
>>>> derived.
>>>
>>> I was using the term factoring loosely. I really meant finding a
>>> root, solving, etc.
>>>
>>> In any event, the answer is 42. If I could only remember what the
>>> question was.
>>
>> Why?
>
> I was making a lame reference to The Hitchhikers Guide to the Universe.
>
> Slainte,
> Fletch
>
>
[chuckle]
And I was telling you what the question is. [dux]
++ Gray //
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