Gray Shockley wrote:
> 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 //
I even screwed up the title. Imagine if I had taken the book with me to a
different galaxy as a guide. Perhaps then I would learn the diff between
universe and galaxy.
How many roads must a man travel?
Slainte,
Fletch
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