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top 200 commentsshow 500

[–]SaintsAngels 589 points590 points ago

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A simple answer as to why it takes 20 minutes:

It took Marie 10 minutes to cut the piece of wood once to create 2 pieces. It will, therefore, take Marie 10 minutes to cut a piece of wood again. 10+10 = 20

Teacher: 10minutes/create 2 pieces (which is wrong), the correct "formula" is 10 minutes/cut. It takes 1 cut to get 2 pieces. So 10min/1cut *2 cuts.

[–]Lemon1412 1000 points1001 points ago

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And by the teacher's logic, 1 piece would take 5 minutes.

Meaning it takes you 5 minutes to look at a wooden board.

[–]venomdragoon 1216 points1217 points ago

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[–]HerroThar 192 points193 points ago

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Most relevant use of this image ever.

[–]z3rus 9 points10 points ago

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I never thought i'd live to see this day :')

[–]skucera 181 points182 points ago

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Stop trying to make choke on my cookie.

[–]mrcj22 167 points168 points ago

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[–]coltaaan 71 points72 points ago

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That is such an uncomfortable picture.

[–]RaginReaganomics 125 points126 points ago

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Folding your arms: the 1-step, instant boner-hiding solution!

because if you can't see it, it doesn't exist

[–]vaguity 78 points79 points ago

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no choke on my cookie for jakucha

[–]WhyAmINotStudying 28 points29 points ago

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That's not a cookie, jakucha.

[–]cresteh 8 points9 points ago

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Go study.

[–]fireshaper 10 points11 points ago

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, girl

[–]JMCSD 15 points16 points ago

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I think you a word.

[–]skucera 12 points13 points ago

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I you correct. Thank.

[–]lolwut19 9 points10 points ago

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I think I a Reddit.

[–]sc24evr 8 points9 points ago

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I wonder if you had this pic pre-chambered.

[–]venomdragoon 4 points5 points ago

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[–]KyleW17 11 points12 points ago

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Dr Pepper everywhere.

[–]Vic_Vmdj 60 points61 points ago

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But it DOES take 5 minutes to look at a wooden board!

[–]thatwasntveryraven 146 points147 points ago

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On weed.

[–][deleted] 36 points37 points ago

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First you have to consider if by cutting the wood you are violating the memory of a once-living entity.

5 minutes should cover it.

[–]kensomniac 12 points13 points ago

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Or, rather, they spend 5 minutes in contemplation in respect for the tree that gave it's life, and further respecting it by making most of its remains.

[–][deleted] 12 points13 points ago

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This is true. But then, after the first five minutes of contemplation, you must then allow another 15 minutes to slowly stroke the grain of the wood, appreciate how it feels, looks, smells. All the while whispering close to it, "I will ensure that your life was not taken in vain"

[–]MicroDigitalAwaker 8 points9 points ago

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On acid.

[–]thatwasntveryraven 21 points22 points ago

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He said 5 minutes, not 45.

[–]Tactful 5 points6 points ago

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He said 5 minutes, not 5 levels of increasingly nested consciousness.

[–]drewwebs 6 points7 points ago

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There's some crazy shit in there

[–]georgestephanopoulos 5 points6 points ago

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On math.

[–]BadLeroyBrown 11 points12 points ago

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[–]Vic_Vmdj 2 points3 points ago

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Also when sober.... don't you ever look at the beauty of a wooden board?

[–]03Titanium 13 points14 points ago

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Sometimes I look at the beauty of random objects. My TV remote captivated me once.

[–]thatwasntveryraven 9 points10 points ago

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are you a dog

[–]rabbidpanda 28 points29 points ago

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YES THIS IS DOG

[–]freeall 5 points6 points ago

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If it's my wood it usually takes 7 minutes.

[–]lilaregenbogen 15 points16 points ago

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This is actually from a Math Superstars sheet...They are graded by volunteer parents, not teachers.

[–]DessertPizza 9 points10 points ago

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I actually thought it was going to be 10 minutes again because for some reason I thought just as fast meant 10 minutes for 3 cuts.

how the fuck did I pass highschool?

[–]swedishfrog 4 points5 points ago

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Hey, maybe it's a really interesting board.

[–]staplesgowhere 45 points46 points ago

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Ah yes, the fencepost error, the bane of all programmers.

[–]eyecite 6 points7 points ago

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My retarded brain does this frequently. Thanks for giving it a name.

[–]Teraka 95 points96 points ago

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I think the question is ambiguous though, what if you cut it that way ?

[–]Eccentrica_Gallumbit 93 points94 points ago

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It's basic algebra, they make for a lot of assumptions. If you want to get technical, how do you know the density of the board isn't changing; or better yet, do they take into account the fact that the blade is wearing as it's cutting and likely slowing down the speed of the cuts?

[–]ravy 52 points53 points ago

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maybe she leveled up after she made the first cut, so now she's a +47 wood cutter.

[–]rotogimp 39 points40 points ago

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Perhaps she learnt a lot about sawing during her first try, making her much more efficient during her next try. Also happy rebirthday!

[–]ItIsActuallyWayWorse 9 points10 points ago

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But her arm is also likely significantly more tired during the second cut than it was during the first.

[–]guoshuyaoidol 8 points9 points ago

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What if there's a black hole nearby that is changing the perception of how fast the board is getting cut?!

[–]someguy945 16 points17 points ago

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This doesn't hold up against any logic. If the boards don't have to be equal sizes, she can just lop 2 corners off and be done in under a minute.

[–]a_can_of_solo 13 points14 points ago

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It's math not logic, she could be cutting though a Popsicle stick and it takes her 10 min

[–]chronodestroyer 13 points14 points ago

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Ugh, thank you for enlightening me. It's fascinating how I didn't see what the teacher did wrong.

[–]BALTIM0R0N 26 points27 points ago

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I had to take Algebra 1 three times, and even I didn't need that spelled out.

[–]Mattskers 22 points23 points ago

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Another problem I have is with the "if she works just as fast." This is why word problems can be so stupid. If "she works just as fast" couldn't that mean she'd only take another 10 minutes to cut the other board into 3 pieces?

If I "worked just as fast" at getting the front yard mowed as the back yard, even though the front yard is smaller, and it took me 30 minutes to do the front yard, wouldn't you then conclude from my wording that I did the back yard in 30 minutes too?

[–]nomsville 14 points15 points ago

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No. Assuming by "just as fast" we're referring to speed, you could mow a smaller area quicker going at the same speed you mowed a larger area.

If you have one of those lawn mowers that you drive around (can't remember the name) and it has a fixed speed of 10 mph, and the back lawn had an area 1x10 miles, you'd do it in an hour (roughly, taking out anomalies and such out of the equation). If the front garden was half the area, and you still mowed at 10mph ("just as fast"), it would take half the time.

That's how I thought of it initially. But you're right that it's too ambiguous. "just as fast" could mean making a task take as long as the last, i.e. 1 hour for both lawns.

[–][deleted] ago

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[deleted]

[–]D14BL0 9 points10 points ago

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Since a teacher didn't get it right, apparently it is very necessary.

[–][deleted] 6 points7 points ago

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Depends on the shape of wood and how she cuts it. If it's a square and it takes 10 minutes to cut in half, it would only take five minutes to cut one of those pieces in half if the cut was made perpendicular to the first one since it's half the length.

[–]Bloaf 8 points9 points ago

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I think you could also get the right answer this way:

The board starts out in 1 piece(s) and Marie makes it into 2, so the change in the number of pieces is 2-1=1

So it takes 10 mins to increase the number of pieces by 1. To make a board into 3 pieces requires a change of 2 pieces (3-1=2) so it would take twice as long.

[–]TheGreatAndPowerful 42 points43 points ago

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Or you could say: "what are you building?| "a deck" he replied "what are those short pieces you're cutting for? That's not how you build a deck!! You haven't even poured your foundation posts!! Get away from that jig saw! Gimme that!!

Look here's what you're gonna need. First you need t.......whisper whisper..."

And so the two men worked though the night completing what became the worlds most awesome deck. They invited both of their families over for Christmas Cajun Style and enjoyed gar fish and frog.

THE END

[–]junkmanuk 13 points14 points ago

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Where can I see this deck of which you speak, it sounds most desirable.

[–]TheGreatAndPowerful 11 points12 points ago

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If you build it they will come. To Cajun Christmas. With Gar Fish

[–]WhyAmINotStudying 6 points7 points ago

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Cajun Christmas with Gar Fish doesn't seem very appealing, but with a nice deck, I could see myself having a good time.

[–]TheGreatAndPowerful 4 points5 points ago

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You gotta have the gar. Get sum gar, some frog, some 'coon, lil rabitt

das how we do down home

[–]posts_hidden_ponies 11 points12 points ago

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[–]sleepyworm 6 points7 points ago

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I am very upset that I cannot see these ponies.

[–]scuba617 3 points4 points ago

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You can install the stylish script to see them here or view the source code of the post to see the hidden alt text using Reddit Enhancement Suite which also makes it very easy to promote Reddit Enhancement Suite

[–]posts_hidden_ponies 2 points3 points ago

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[–]airforcefalco[S] 175 points176 points ago

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I once graded a military test with a question that was a T/F type and was similar to "2 + 2 does not equal 4" to which one student, no joke, crossed out "not" on the test and put True on his answer sheet.

It was the only time someone ever got that question wrong.

[–]mariod505 47 points48 points ago

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A while ago I took the Army Corps of Engineers entrance exam which asked "Name the three most important equations in electrical engineering." So naturally, I thought of Maxwell's equations (which dictate all electromagnetic behavior). ...but since there are four of them, I wrote out the first three, and then showed how the third could be used to derive the fourth.

I found out later that I had gotten that question wrong. After some doing, I managed to find the answer sheet to discover the official answer was V=IR, I=V/R, and R=V/I.

This is why the US government doesn't build things anymore.

[–]scorcherdarkly 22 points23 points ago

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Oh my god...I don't know whether to laugh or to cry. And on more than one level. I mean really, what engineer looks at the three equations in the "right" answer and really thinks they are three separate equations rather than rearrangements of the same relationship? IT'S ONE EQUATION WRITTEN THREE WAYS! /headexplode

[–]zeppelinfromled 10 points11 points ago

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Aside from the fact that their three equations are actually just one equation, who writes tests about science that have questions involving opinion?

[–]ChelseasM 94 points95 points ago

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Wouldn't he technically be right if he crossed out the not though?

[–]Styfios 355 points356 points ago

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That's not how tests work.

[–]muaddib99 707 points708 points ago

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That's not how tests work. -->True

[–]D14BL0 79 points80 points ago

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Welcome to the Army.

[–]ExplainsTheObvious 48 points49 points ago

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He could just cross out every question and replace it with "this statement is true." It isn't normal to allow people to modify the questions in stupid ways.

[–]TylerKeys 18 points19 points ago*

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Or he could be a dick and replace it with "This statement is false."

EDIT: self-referential sentences, an example of a self-reference paradox, in case anyone who has been responding is not attempting to troll me.

[–]komfyrion 2 points3 points ago

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I'm gonna go with no.

[–]airforcefalco[S] 38 points39 points ago

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The tests are not supposed to be marked on at all. Also as others have explained if you were allowed to do this you could make every question to your personal liking which would defeat the purpose of testing.

[–]jessmeister 107 points108 points ago

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Tashkent is the capital city of Uzbekistan

I like gummy bears

True False

[–]airforcefalco[S] 52 points53 points ago

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Your opinion is wrong. -1 points

[–]fantyx 10 points11 points ago

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It's so wrong in fact that you not only get no points, but it cancels out right opinions you have on other subjects.

[–]junkmanuk 8 points9 points ago

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He was being a smartass. That betrays more about him than the answer itself does.

[–]airforcefalco[S] 8 points9 points ago

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It wasnt the only question he got wrong either.

[–]kronik85 2 points3 points ago

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or he decided not to face a question that included a double negative (sort of, but not really. whatever) that was the only way the question was "tricky"

[–][deleted] 45 points46 points ago

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This thread is full of candidates for " Are you smarter than a 5th Grader"

[–]robert_penis 31 points32 points ago

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Why? The answer is clearly "no"

[–]bommasaurus 58 points59 points ago*

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Actually, 15 minutes could make sense. Given that the board is square and that you always have to cut a piece in half (which was not mentioned). If cutting a square board in half takes you 10 minutes. Cutting one of the halves in two would take you 5 minutes. In that setting the least time to cut three pieces is 15 minutes.

[–]ZeroDollars 78 points79 points ago

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The picture clearly shows a plank of wood, but I like your outside-the-plank thinking.

[–]Already__Taken 9 points10 points ago

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*not to scale

[–]7nights 6 points7 points ago

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Plank does not equal board.

[–]gatorbuck 6 points7 points ago

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Or you could just cut the corner off of the two pieces to make a third piece. Answer: 11 minutes.

[–]graealex 9 points10 points ago

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If you take it that practical (i.e. cutting speed per length) then you would need more data on the original piece and the required dimensions of the pieces to cut.

However, no such data was given, instead a simple piece of wood is shown as a picture, and this suggests that you need 1 single cut to create two pieces of wood, and 2 equal cuts to create 3 pieces of wood.

[–]ProfessorPoo 7 points8 points ago

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Good god, get a miter saw!

[–]lordsmish 439 points440 points ago

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Hahahaha i get it Marie is a woman

[–][deleted] ago

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[deleted]

[–]airforcefalco[S] 105 points106 points ago

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To be fair the board was teak

[–]superbadninja 89 points90 points ago

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Impossible. One does not simply saw into more boards.

[–]lordsmish 114 points115 points ago

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Fuck teak make the board out of metal i'll chop through it with my MANLY BALLS.

[–]airforcefalco[S] 87 points88 points ago

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This cannot end badly.

[–]Rutagur 23 points24 points ago

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The teacher made the assumption that Marie had four arms and two saws

[–]isny 5 points6 points ago

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So Marie is also known as General Grievous?

[–]lordsmish 30 points31 points ago

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The teacher just assumed Marie wasn't a whiny bitch who had to take a 5 minute break to rest her tired vagina.

[–]wmonfalcone 43 points44 points ago

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All the gentlemen of reddit who whine about how no girls come here.... This is why.

[–][deleted] 31 points32 points ago

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A quick heads up, you've been linked to by r/SRS, a group of redditors who search reddit for posts they deem offensive, and then direct hostile traffic to that post. Not affiliated with any groups or causes.

[–][deleted] 57 points58 points ago

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Do you ever think that your comment/link actually provide more of a portal to promote SRS, than to try and ban it?

[–]Afterburned 20 points21 points ago

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That's the idea. All of the SRS related bots were created by SRS to direct traffic to their subreddit.

[–]mice_and_mirrors 14 points15 points ago

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You offended ForABetterReddit so bad he decloaked and revealed himself to be not a bot, but a guy with a morbid obsession. Nice work!

[–]str1cken 42 points43 points ago

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That's how I started going there!

[–]damakable 9 points10 points ago

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Also, to be fair it is kind of a dumb, sexist remark. The kind of thing that's harmless on its own but, since jokes like this can be found near the top of every damned comment thread, can start to wear on your nerves. I don't laugh at jokes like this, but groan and roll my eyes. And since my girlfriend is a carpenter, and if you said something like this in front of her you'd get the evil eye (and if you kept it up you'd be asked to leave the cooperative workshop, which deals with shit like this from its volunteers every day), I understand and admire SRS' viewpoint. Even though I also think they can be overzealous at times.

Oh, and SRS tries not to "direct hostile traffic" anywhere. SRS is not a downvote brigade. In theory, at least.

[–]nomdeanon 16 points17 points ago

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It's clear that SRS is simply a group of trolls, and ban_SRS is their public outreach.

[–]mice_and_mirrors 8 points9 points ago

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shh. don't tell

[–]mice_and_mirrors 12 points13 points ago

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Nice work agent ban_SRS

the gynocracy thanks you

ALL HAIL TIA

[–]Subotan 6 points7 points ago

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Not affiliated with any groups or causes.

...

ban_SRS

?

[–]1338h4x 4 points5 points ago

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If you're not affiliated with any cause, why is your username "ban_SRS"? And why do you leave countless replies talking about how evil we ae? Sounds like your cause is to get us banned!

[–]stylushappenstance 5 points6 points ago

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I read it as "a Marine" at first.

[–]hired_goon 7 points8 points ago

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can we all agree though, that marie is the worst sawer in the world? who takes 10 minutes to cut a board?

this is yet another problem that can be solved with power tools.

[–]spacelemon 6 points7 points ago

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have you ever used a hand saw? shit sucks

[–]ItIsActuallyWayWorse 11 points12 points ago

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Every time I've ever used a hand saw I wondered how anyone ever built a fucking house before power tools were invented.

[–]fsakes 6 points7 points ago

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if you wet the wood and bend it in half.. 1 cut will produce 3 pieces, which would take 10mins.

[–]ffxpwns 28 points29 points ago

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Could this be a viable option? It's what I first though of.

[–]JumpinJackHTML5 4 points5 points ago

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No, boards a long and narrow, like what you make a fence with. They aren't squares.

Second, there's a picture of the board in the problem, it looks nothing like your picture. The board in the problem is long and narrow. Look at the picture, look at how the saw is positioned.

Do you really think the person who put that picture next to that problem intended kids to think the "board" was really a flat and square piece of plywood that looked nothing at all like the picture?

[–]griffith12 23 points24 points ago

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"oh wait guys, lets assume that we are cutting a 2X4 lengthwise and it never says they have to be equal so.." shut the fuck up.

has anyone posting in this thread ever picked up a fucking saw in their life?

teacher is wrong, kid is right. QED.

[–]Protocol2319 4 points5 points ago

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Two cuts one girl.

[–]fargin_ice_hole 1 point2 points ago

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I'm wondering why it took Marie longer than 10 seconds to saw through the board in the picture.

[–]graealex 4 points5 points ago

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Because in the picture, the saw has no teeth, so she only cuts by creating friction heat.

[–]SalamiJack 3 points4 points ago

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Everyone factoring in length or width is thinking way too hard about the question. It's not a length or width question, it's a cut per time problem.

The teacher made an error because she is associating pieces per time, not cut per time. Two pieces in 10 minutes = one piece per 5 minutes. This is a logical fallacy the teacher is making because each piece is a subdivision of one board.

Thus if one 10 minute cuts makes two pieces, if you work at the same speed making another cut should take another 10 minutes, or 20 minutes overall. Any factor of length/width frankly makes zero sense to include in the problem statement. It just isn't there guys.

[–]theblackprofessor 22 points23 points ago

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People make simple mistakes all the time, it's not that big of a deal to those of you saying she should lose her job over this

[–]Suzushiiro 52 points53 points ago

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Yeah, the real question is, if called out on it does she go "d'oh, you're right!" and give everyone the points back or does she go "fuck you stupid kids, I'm the teacher, I'm right" like a giant bitch?

[–]ChaplainTappman 16 points17 points ago

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I think it's interesting that we immediately assume teachers are female. I did the same thing, but didn't realize until I saw this post.

[–]stupidlyugly 20 points21 points ago

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It's elementary school. Statistically speaking, it's pretty safe to assume the teacher is female.

[–]jmcqk6 5 points6 points ago

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I make the same mistake every time I see this picture. One would think I would have learned by now.

[–]threeminus 3 points4 points ago

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Well, it's statistically more common, which would encourage the assumption (according to 2005 NCEI statistics, 82% of public school teachers are female). In this case, I assumed it based on the rather feminine handwriting.

[–]Wizzoh 2 points3 points ago

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I thought the handwriting to be more of a giveaway than the occupation, myself, but maybe I'm just a writist.

[–]fiction8 2 points3 points ago

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Meh. Most of them are. It's the most likely scenario.

[–]Nickbou 17 points18 points ago

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Teachers are human and make mistakes. Sometimes these mistakes are simple errors, sometimes they are the result of the teacher not understanding the material him/herself. My best advice is to not back to the teacher into a corner as (like most people) he/she will get defensive.

Pro-tips:

  1. If you attempt to correct a teacher, do so in a way that allows them to gracefully admit the mistake and try to make it a learning moment for the entire class. This also makes the ego blow a little softer on the chance, however remote, that YOU are the one who is wrong.

    DO: "I'm not sure that's right." "I seem to remember the textbook saying something different." "Can you explain why the answer is x instead of y?"

    DON'T: "THAT'S NOT RIGHT!" "YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG!" "YOU'RE SITTING ON A THRONE OF LIES!"

  2. If you attempt to point out the mistake and:

    (a) the teacher refuses to acknowledge the mistake after 1 or 2 challenges AND

    (b) there is an opportunity for the teacher to correct him/herself during the next class

    then find a time to discuss this question in private with the teacher. The teacher will be more likely to think critically about their own work when there isn't the pressure of getting through all the class material and maintaining order in a classroom. It also helps the teacher retain their status as an authority figure which, for better or worse, needs to be the case in a classroom.

    Obviously for life and death information, there's no need to back down from your position as getting the information correct NOW is most important. This goes back to condition (b).

DISCLOSURE: I am not a teacher, but I was sometimes the worst teacher-correcter in my classes. It's only later in life upon reflection and private discussions with friends who are now teachers that I've realized I could have handled things better.

[–]skucera 14 points15 points ago

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I would laugh my ass off if a student shouted out in the middle of class "YOU'RE SITTING ON A THRONE OF LIES!"

[–]bsoile61 2 points3 points ago

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I am still pissed at my 3rd grade teacher for telling one of my classmates that he was wrong when he said that iron in food is the same as iron, the metal. She said no, some things have the same name, but they are different. Simple rule, if you don't know if it is true, don't say it. Especially if you are a teacher.

[–]ayriana 2 points3 points ago

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I find nothing wrong with saying "you know, I'm not sure about that- lets find out!" and then either looking it up then (teaching research skills) or after class if it's not relevant to what we're learning right that moment. I hate when teachers kill natural curiosity... of course there isn't a test for curiosity.

[–]user112358 15 points16 points ago

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I don't wholeheartedly agree with this. It is a big deal, but whether or not she should lose her job solely depends on her response to being corrected herself - no matter if it was done by a student or parent. That will tell the tale - not her actual mistake.

[–]skucera 17 points18 points ago

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My wife had a gradeschool teacher who put up the solar system in the classroom... backwards. As in, the sun was out by Pluto. Yes, this was so long ago that Pluto was still a planet. She told her the mistake, and got yelled at.

She went and looked it up in a book, and showed the teacher her mistake.

That teacher didn't like her the rest of the year.

[–]user112358 16 points17 points ago

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And hence the student learned immaturity is something that never goes away, and humility is not as commonplace as we'd hope.

[–]skucera 5 points6 points ago

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Well, I think the lesson my wife took away from it is that she was pretty damn smart, and teachers won't always tell you the right thing.

[–]posts_hidden_ponies 3 points4 points ago

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[–]bg-j38 13 points14 points ago

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this was so long ago that Pluto was still a planet

Ah those heady days of 2006. When Pluto was a planet and... so long ago I don't remember anything else.

[–]billin 3 points4 points ago

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I had a gradeschool teacher who I corrected in class about some detail of the Persephone myth. He immediately yelled at me to go out into the hall, where I sat, upset, for the rest of the class, not sure what I had done wrong. After class was over, he came over and had clearly calmed down a bit, but he still told me in no uncertain terms that I was not allowed to correct him about anything. Then, just to be a dick, he gave me extra homework about Greek myths.

Geez, I haven't thought about that in a long time. Reddit sure has a way of bringing up unpleasant childhood memories sometimes.

[–]danpilon 2 points3 points ago

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While I agree, this doesn't look like a simple mistake. The teacher even wrote out the (incorrect) logic for solving the problem. It wasn't a case of grading too quickly or whatever. This is someone who teaches children math, but can't even do the math they are teaching. Teachers should always be several levels higher than the students, especially in elementary school.

[–]plastiqmanb 14 points15 points ago

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Math teachers are not carpenters. However you could probably learn more from a carpenter teaching you math.

[–]rabbitlion 70 points71 points ago*

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A carpenter would claim two cuts take 5 minutes, and then charge you for 30.

[–]Tarkaan 20 points21 points ago

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And the boy´s dad says ¨Run out back and get me a switch!¨ And the boy says ¨Fuck you, that´s the electrician´s job!¨

[–]plastiqmanb 4 points5 points ago

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Bingo.

[–]Eccentrica_Gallumbit 2 points3 points ago

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Wrong, a carpenter would give you an estimate two cuts to take 5 minutes, not show up for 30, then bill you for 60.

[–]Axoren 2 points3 points ago

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Marie had already measured twice when she cut the first time, so she could shave off 5 minutes from the second cut.

[–]Hyperdude 2 points3 points ago

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The real question is why is it taking her so long to cut wood?

[–]cobknob 2 points3 points ago

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If it takes one woman nine months to have a baby, how long will it take two women to have a baby?

[–]TheOriginalMyth 2 points3 points ago

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TIL that it takes 5 minuets to cut a board into 1 piece

[–]exoscythe 2 points3 points ago

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If its a square piece then when it is cut in half the first time the width of the wood for each individual piece is also halved. One of the pieces is then cut along the shorter length. Because the shorter length is half what the original was it only takes half as long, therefore 10min for the first cut and 10/2=5 min for the second cut resulting in a total of 15 minutes to obtain 3 pieces of wood.
Regardless, this problem is worded very vaguely and the teacher shouldnt have marked the student's answer wrong as both answers are viable based on the given information.

[–]Bitchin_Wizard 9 points10 points ago

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can someone please talk about how wrong the teachers math is instead of what the actual math is? that shit is the joke.

[–]rueful_figure 27 points28 points ago

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To cut a board into two pieces you only have to make one cut, which takes this girl 10 minutes. To cut a board into 3 pieces you only have to make 2 cuts, one at 1/3 of the board and one at 2/3 of the board, if one cut takes 10 minutes two cuts should take double the time.

[–]th3virus 117 points118 points ago

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[–]kronik85 15 points16 points ago

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i like 10 more than 9... just has a more wholesome feel to it.

[–]Tastygroove 140 points141 points ago

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To everyone who commented and upvoted, it's new. Do you expect newcomers to read back through years of archives?

This is why there are upvotes. If the crowd determines it's fresh or worthy, it is.

The people you should be haranging are the ones who repost current news topics or hijack memes.

[–]Muffinabus 36 points37 points ago

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I can confirm that I have never seen this before, I found it funny, and thusly the repost had some value.

[–]Black_Apalachi 6 points7 points ago

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This is were I have difficulty with deciding how to vote. I completely agree with your sentiment and usually in this situation, I wouldn't vote either way. However I'm guessing you could accuse me of failing to vote accordingly by not downvoting...

[–]skarcasm 4 points5 points ago

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The best thing to do is just downvote it if it bothers you and move on. There's no need to spend time putting together a list like th3virus did.

[–]azembala 4 points5 points ago

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The most recent reposting of this was 3 months ago. This gives me an idea for an experiment to learn about the memory and attention span of Reddit...

[–]airforcefalco[S] 8 points9 points ago

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Do you know how long two months is when converted into internet time?

[–]Stare_Decisis 4 points5 points ago

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I wonder if anyone can give me an accurate equation explaining why this repost and others like it seem to make the front page?

[–]El_Corrector 1 point2 points ago

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It actually depends on HOW the board cut.

[–]biggeryellowvan 1 point2 points ago

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Oh it's a circular piece and cuts are radial, tada!

[–]twadebald 1 point2 points ago

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I think the key phrase here is "just as fast". In which case, the problem makes sense.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points ago

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If it's anything like the teacher books we had throughout school (90's), all of the answers are written down as well as solutions, so teachers just essentially copy/paste whatever text on there. Doesn't necessarily mean the teacher was the one that got an easy question wrong, just that they are lazy and didn't do the test themselves like most of our teachers did to make sure everything was correct.

[–]dave_casa 1 point2 points ago

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The correct answer is 10 minutes and a few seconds. The first cut should be made close to the edge of the board. The second cut only needs to be through this thin slice.

[–]TillyWilly1983 1 point2 points ago

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I find this really disturbing. When I was 12 I used the word liable in an acrostic of my name in English class. Teacher said it wasn't a real word and made me take it out. There was no dictionary in the room. I've been suspicious of adults ever since.

[–]elvis1403 1 point2 points ago

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What is she using a nail file?

[–]P4ngurB4n 1 point2 points ago

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It's actually slightly more than 20, unless she's dual wielding saws.

[–]Trumpetjock 1 point2 points ago

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15 technically could be correct, but so could a whole bunch of answers. The question assumes, but does not state, that you are cutting the board on the same plane. If your first cut was very near the end of the board, you could rotate the small portion 90 degrees and cut through a much smaller mass of wood than the first cut. Therefore you could end up with three pieces in fifteen minutes, if that mass was exactly half the mass cut through in the first cut.

That's really confusing.... Maybe I should fire up my ms paint skills.

[–]jglee1236 1 point2 points ago

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I think Marie needs help on how to use a fucking saw. 10 minutes? Is she using a soup spoon to cut that board?

[–]Young_Clean_Bastard 1 point2 points ago

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I had the dumbest teacher ever for freshman biology in high school. In was in the morning section, a friend of mine was in the afternoon section. We were doing probability as an introduction to genetics. The question was: you have a deck of cards, and pick a queen on your first draw. What are the odds that you pick a queen on your second draw? The teacher was convinced that it was 1/169. I tried to reason with her, we got in a long argument, but I finally thought I had convinced her. I told my friend about it at lunch. Then she did the exact same thing in the afternoon class, and he had to convince her she was wrong. Ugh, what a dumbass.

[–]keenputer 3 points4 points ago

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Odds and probabilities were the one thing I never really wrapped my head around in math, but it would be 3/51, wouldn't it?

[–]noagendaproducer 1 point2 points ago

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Do we know for a fact it is a teacher that did this and not a teacher's aid? When I was in high school, teachers would use students that had free class periods as their aid and make them grade the papers for them.

[–]ImPigBoT 1 point2 points ago

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There is an illustration of the board and saw to the right. The teacher is NOT correct. I want to know who the teacher is.

[–]shadoway 1 point2 points ago

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You have people with absolutely no sense of logic trying to teach kids important things like this, with no concept of reality.

[–]sejkorat 1 point2 points ago

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could be right, depending on how you look at it.

if you were to cut a straight thin board into 3 pieces, with 10 minutes per cut, then yes, it'd take 20 minutes

if you were to cut a square board into 3 pieces (not all the same size, one would be 1/2 of the board while the other 2 would be 1/4 of the board), then yes, 15 minutes is the right answer

but based on the picture, its the first one, and that teacher needs to eat a dick.

[–]johnq-pubic 1 point2 points ago

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The wood was in the form of a Möbius strip.
2 pcs would take 2 cuts. 5 minutes per cut.

3 pcs would then take 15 minutes
Teacher seems legit.

[–]bourom 1 point2 points ago

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Say the Piece of Wood is a perfect square.

You cut it in half in 10 mins. (horizontally)

Keep the 2 pieces together (so they still form a square) and cut it in half perpendicularily. (Vertically)

Stop at 5 minutes.

You have 3 pieces in 15 minutes.

[–]sbrbrad 1 point2 points ago

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20 is correct because she is sawing "another" board into 3 pieces. Thus, 10 minutes per cut and two cuts = 20 minutes

[–]ermintwang 1 point2 points ago

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Whenever this gets reposted, it's always interesting to note how everyone assumes the teacher is female.

[–]brandonwarrant 1 point2 points ago

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The item writing on this question is brutal. the phrase "if she works just as fast..." would make the answer 10 minutes. There should not be this must subjectivity/malleability in a completion item on a test.

[–]legendcc 1 point2 points ago

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Word problem says another board. This means a new board. So you take the math of the first and apply to a different scenario. If it said the same board into 3 pieces it would be 20. I can see the fail worded word problem and would show the teacher the trick question.

[–]iwantaredditaccount 1 point2 points ago

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I was thinking, why is this link purple, I haven't been on Reddit in a while and I upvote or downvote stuff so that way when I'm browsing on another computer I know what I have seen. The only plausible reason that the link was purple is because it was a fucking repost (and not that funny of one either).

[–]IamSparticles 1 point2 points ago

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This works if you assume Marie started with a square piece of wood, cut it in half, then cut one of the resulting pieces in half. The second cut would be half the length of the first cut.

[–]Ramnza02 1 point2 points ago

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I'd like to see someone use a saw to cut a piece of wood into one piece.

[–]j2kal 1 point2 points ago

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I cut this board three times, and it's still too short!

[–]selectix 1 point2 points ago

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If it takes a teacher 5 minutes to grade 2 tests incorrectly, how many wrong answers can the teacher "correct" in 30 minutes?

[–]DangerousIdeas 1 point2 points ago

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An EASIER answer is that it takes Marie 10 minutes to CUT a board. If she has to cut two times, then it will take 2 x10 or 20 minutes.

[–]Purple6391 1 point2 points ago

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All I got out of this is that girl sucks at sawing boards.

[–]garandx 1 point2 points ago

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10 minutes to cut a board in half??? Wtf was she doing using her nail file?

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points ago

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Maybe the question could have been more specific. Seems to me that everyone's confused as to what they mean.

[–]elint 1 point2 points ago

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If the wood is a cube, and it takes 10 minutes to saw through it, you would be left with 2 rectangular prisms. Each of them should have 1 dimension that can be cut in half the original time, requiring 5 extra minutes for 3 pieces and another 5 extra minutes for 4 pieces.

[–]quillandsaber 1 point2 points ago

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How about we agree that the question was horribly phrased, and that we need to stop doing questions like this?

I personally prefer the one where Marie is sick, and her doctor told her to take three pills one at a time, waiting thirty minutes between pills. How long does it take before she's had all the pills?

[–]lonnez 1 point2 points ago

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Well if you have a square board and cut it into two pieces, then wanted to cut one of those pieces into 2 more pieces, then it would depend on the way that you cut it. If you cut it parallel to your first cut, then yes, it would take 10 minutes more, but if you cut it perpendicular, then it would only take 5 more minutes.

EDIT: She needed to be clearer.