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In the U.S. we're currently suffering through "Common Core" teaching methods (I'll leave it to you to google "Common Core".
Most of you remember the way we were taught to do subtraction:
32
-12
___
20
This is the way Common Core teaches the same problem:
12 + 3 = 15
15 + 5 = 20
20 + 10 = 30
30 + 2 = 32
____
20
I understand how they got there, but I DON'T understand how that's a better way to do it. 
Maybe it's because a minus sign promotes negative thoughts about math...
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
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You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
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When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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It is almost as though they are deliberately enstupidising children.
---------------------------------
Obscurum per obscurius.
Ad astra per alas porci.
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur .
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Quote: It is almost as though they are deliberately enstupidising children.
Good thing you are already educated.
There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
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That's pronounced edumacated.
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Edumaciated?
You'll never get very far if all you do is follow instructions.
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Ahh... I always miss the "I" in the middle... must be silent.
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Quote: enstupidising
This is my new word of the week.
What? No, I don't care that it isn't a real word! It should be!
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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If we don't dumb our kids down who will work for and shop at Walmart?
Along with Antimatter and Dark Matter they've discovered the existence of Doesn't Matter which appears to have no effect on the universe whatsoever!
Rich Tennant 5th Wave
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John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote: I understand how they got there
I do not. How does this work ? And how does it scale to 156473-3 ?
~RaGE();
I think words like 'destiny' are a way of trying to find order where none exists. - Christian Graus
Entropy isn't what it used to.
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You count up from 12 to 32, using easy incremental steps
12 + 3 = 15, then 15 + 5 = 20, etc util you get to 32.
So it could be done shorter as well:
12 + 8 = 20
20 + 10 = 30
30 + 2 = 32
------------
8 + 10 + 2 = 20
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Jacquers wrote:
You count up from 12 to 32, using easy incremental steps |
And what exactly is this "Incremental steps"? Who says you cannot count up from 12 to 32 like this?
12 + 20 = 32
» 32 - 20 = 12
or
» 32 - 12 = 20
and as such
20 - 12 = 8
(How do I know that? Well take 32. 3 X 2 = 6 + 2 = 8) 
I mean even easier still is take the original problem 32 - 12 = ?
3-1=2_ 2-2=_0
» 32 - 12 = 20 
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How is that easier than the simpler way of just saying 32 - 20 = 12. Idiots.
"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair.
Those who seek perfection will only find imperfection
nils illegitimus carborundum
me, me, me
me, in pictures
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Is this a real thing? It looks a lot like one of those math troll threads that occasionally appear on .. a certain site.
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O Lordy yes, it is a real thing. My wife teaches the gifted in elementary and I have seen this stuff. I think it comes from Singapore or somewhere like that (I saw a book about the method and it had some far away country in the title). Little by little people are starting to question the value of it.
Mercifully, my youngest is in the 8th grade and has only had a small sampling of the mathematical madness.
I think it all comes from people trying to publish for their Ph.D.s. Create a "new and improved" math concept as your thesis.
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One of the guys at work was talking about this the other day. They are teaching his 6 year old to do math this way. Seems messed up. But with large numbers that is exactly how I do it in my head. There are probably better ways to do it though.
All in all, seems really messed up to me.
Jack of all trades, master of none, though often times better than master of one.
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John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote: I understand how they got there, but I DON'T understand how that's a better way to do it.
Maybe it's because a minus sign promotes negative thoughts about math...
Side stepping my "Why is there an S added to Lego but missing from Maths rant"
And just wait until they move on into programmer roles in the future. Just imagine the length and breadth of their algorithms and functions to accomodate their Common Core stuff.
Luckily you'll be retired by then, I hope I am too or at least in another industry.
Michael Martin
Australia
"I controlled my laughter and simple said "No,I am very busy,so I can't write any code for you". The moment they heard this all the smiling face turned into a sad looking face and one of them farted. So I had to leave the place as soon as possible."
- Mr.Prakash One Fine Saturday. 24/04/2004
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Common sense says: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
That's what we got here: failure to apply common sense.
"Old" style mathematics got a couple of guys on the moon, lots of stuff in space and all these computers/devices we like so much. That means at least some of the old style calculations got it right.
Change for the sake of change is just plain stupid.
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Filip Dossche wrote: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
You have seen the educational levels of the average American right?
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I'm in the US and luckily they are not doing that where I live.
There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
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It is determined largely by partisan political motivations. To keep it lounge-safe, I'll just say that where you are is a different political side than the national political side that is giving/taking money from local political bodies for accepting or rejecting this political agenda.
There... I didn't argue about politics.
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I think the idea is to move from the lower number to the larger number in small steps that are each easy to do:
3 + 5 = 8,
8 + 10 = 18,
18 + 2 = 20
Yay! There is the answer!
The old way way was obviously way too complicated where you have to do:
The "ones" column: 2 - 2 = 0
The "tens" column: 3 - 1 = 2
...and then you wrote the "tens" answer followed by the "ones" answer to get 20
Yay! There is the answer!
Of course, you could make it even easier by only incrementing the lower number by 1 until you reached the larger number and then counting how many times you had to do that. 20 Yes! That should be the new method! Much simpler!
Or, for future programmers using nice round, easily remembered numbers:
12 + 4 = 16
16 + 8 = 24
24 + 8 = 32
____
20
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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Quote: Of course, you could make it even easier by only incrementing the lower number by 1 until you reached the larger number
You can borrow my fingers if you need to. 
There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
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Quote: You can borrow my fingers if you need to
No thanks; I hate to think where they might have been!
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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I'm flattered to be in your dreams but really, this has got to stop.
There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
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