Can you pass eighth grade?

[Chuck~Taylor]

6 out of 8.

Theoretically, shouldn't you have done the best on this, considering you just went through eighth grade three years ago?

It's was actually 4 years ago and yes, I should've done the best. But come on man....we talkin' bout practice.

 

[HejiraHenry]

That pangea one has changed since I was in eighth grade
/quote]

Same here.

Stoopid triangle.

 

[buckweaver]

7 of 8. Grrrrrrr. What a pisser.

Geometry's a *****. (And to think, geometry was the advanced math class I did *best* in during high school.) God, I hate stupid, useless math. Because of this, I have tried to live my life around only adding and subtracting and multiplying, and I've been very successful at this, mostly through sheer stubborness. Consequently, my life is very happy sans geometry, algebra and, especially, trig and calculus. **** that ****.

I remember getting into a pissing match with my geometry teacher in high school and I finally said, "I'm never going to need this garbage in my real-life job!"

And y'know what? I made damn sure I wouldn't, either. That's why I became a writer. :

Flattery is the sincerest form of imitation. Err ... whateva.

Anyway, I had this argument with my mother 8,428 times. I had it with every math teacher from eighth grade to 11th grade. I had it with a science teacher or three. Probably a few other adults that I can't remember now.

But yes, I made damn sure I wouldn't need it, either. I consciously chose a career path that did not use any of that **** -- the same **** that I deemed "useless" at 14 has, indeed, been useless to me in my entire (brief) adult life.

 

[shotglass]

I'll say this much ... algebra helped me, as far as figuring column widths on pages and things like that. Batting averages in my head. ERAs.

Past algebra ... uh-uh.

 

[Cosmo]

Of course, you use the quadratic formula to figure out someone's VORP.

 

[Football_Bat]

I'll say this much ... algebra helped me, as far as figuring column widths on pages and things like that. Batting averages in my head. ERAs.

Past algebra ... uh-uh.

How did algebra help you figure out batting averages and ERAs?

Maybe division helped. (100 hits/500 at-bats = Mario Mendoza)

And multiplication, for the ERA.

But WTF does algebra have to do with it? ???

x = earned runs
y = innings pitched
x/y x 9 = ERA.

Solve for ERA.

It's not solving a word problem involving a train from Chicago, but it ain't rocket science either.

 

[shotglass]

I hear ya. But I do. On pages, I have to.

58-pica page, 18-pica column on right. What's left for each column of three remaining?

40=x+1+x+1+x+1 (1-pica gutter), 40=3x+3...etc.

 

[zeke12]

Buck --
I had a HS Algebra II teacher who would violently disagree with you regarding geometry.

He claimed it was all set up on a bunch of bogus premises and had no overall coherence. He would rant about this at least once a week.

Then he would diagram, on the board, a geometric proof showing that 2+2=3.

He was sort of crazy, but as an avowed geometry hater, I played along.

 

[ARD]

I hear ya. But I do. On pages, I have to.

58-pica page, 18-pica column on right. What's left for each column of three remaining?

40=x+1+x+1+x+1 (1-pica gutter), 40=3x+3...etc.

I made Harris do the work, except for the first part:
58-(18+1 for gutter)=39
Shift+backslash, sg, 3, w p39, hz 0, vt p1.2  ;D

Or, on my new system, Create Frame, 58p-19p. Having math built in is cool, esp. for those of us who are challenged in that area.

 

[BYH]

I bareliy passed algebra yet I spend most of my days figuring out ERAs and batting averages.

Hence, algebra is as useful as a set of balls on a tree.

 

[ARD]

6-for-8. I make the sign of warding away the evil eye toward the geometry question. And I thought Rodinia was probably where Rodan came from. I'd at least heard of Pangaea and Gondwana. ... And am I the only one who liked "Romeo and Juliet?" Mercutio has always been one of my favorite characters.

 

[farmerjerome]

****ing pangaea.

Four.

 

[Hank_Scorpio]

See? I don't want to know the damn formula. Just multiply, then divide, then equate. **** algebra. ;D

(Anyway, ok, I stand corrected. But I don't think of these things in terms of formulas. I don't think of anything in terms of formulas ... s'long as I can help it.)

Agreed. I don't need any formula to figure out batting averages or ERAs. That's really simple multiplication and division.

I have no idea why anyone would need to know what a + b * 1a =

 

[hondo]

Give Bush 2 more years and answer all 8 questions "God is good," and you're in like Flynn to ninth grade.

Gee...guess we should be glad Al Gore lost, since he scored lower on his college boards and had a lower GPA at Harvard than Bush did at Yale.

You can look it up..

By the way 7-8 from this kid.

 

[shotglass]

See? I don't want to know the damn formula. Just multiply, then divide, then equate. **** algebra. ;D

(Anyway, ok, I stand corrected. But I don't think of these things in terms of formulas. I don't think of anything in terms of formulas ... s'long as I can help it.)

Agreed. I don't need any formula to figure out batting averages or ERAs. That's really simple multiplication and division.

I have no idea why anyone would need to know what a + b * 1a =

Well, the first thing a good algebra class would teach you is WHY anyone would need to know what a + b * 1a =.

Without providing you real-life applications, sure, it's going to seem like there's no use for it.

 

[Buck]

The fact that you don't understand that you are using a formula does not change the fact that you are, actually, using a formula.

Zeke, I'd have to see this proof, There has to be a flaw in the proof if he's making 2+2=3.

On a side note, I had a writing professor in college who used a proof to prove that Hunter Thompson's narrative voice = Bugs Bunny.
It was an entertaining class. I also smoked a lot of pot in college.

 

[zeke12]

As did I. Which is why I majored in English and journalism, like a good little stoner.

 

[Montezuma's Revenge]

Got 6 of 8 right, but the two I missed were the triangle one and the Romeo and Juliet question. That being said, we hadn't studied Romeo and Juliet by the end of eighth grade (not until 10th) and the triangle math we definitely didn't do until high school.

I whiffed on the same two but also had a couple lucky guesses to get 6 of 8.

 

[zimbabwe]

6 of 8. Triangle one was easiest (even though I suck at math -- pretend you are computing area for quadrilateral (lXw) and then divide by two). Had no idea what started WWI. For some reason, remembered Meiosis.

And now, I am off to the bar to ask women to engage in sweaty meiosis.

 

[RedCanuck]

I also missed the Romeo and Juliet one (I'm not sure why, I knew that play really well) and the last one.  We learned the Pangaea theory, but never any other ones.