An even more irrelevant question

[Moo]

Surely the collective wisdom of PPUK must be able to answer this (I've failed miserably so far, and won't know the answer until next week) :

When is six also eight and a half?

 

[middi]

When two and a half is added to it. :wink:

 

[Moo]

Of course! Why didn't I think of that?

Thanks, Middi.

 

[Penners]

Six can be eight-and-a-half when it's the answer to the GCSE question: "What is 2 x 3?".

Due to the imperative of not allowing pupils to feel a failure, the answer to this question can be eight-and-a-half.... or anything else. It'll still be correct, resulting in an 'A' grade pass.

Now will you tell us what this is all about?

 

[Mark]

Is this a pub quiz?

 

[Moo]

I've no idea what its origins are. One of the women at the golf club tossed it into a conversation, saying that her son had texted it to her, and from then on we've all been exercising the little grey cells to no effect whatever.
One of them (the women, not the grey cells) has just e-mailed me with the information that in roman numerals S is a half, so that may be it.

A group of men came up with a very plausible answer, but it's too rude to post here.

 

[Nemesis]

Yes I can see where the Roman numerals idea is coming from - S being a half, and IX being nine - so eight and a half, or SIX?

Long shot - would have thought that it would have been written as VIIIS but maybe not!

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Is the answer "when it's a builder's estimate"?

You know the con versation - "ooh, it'll only take 6 weeks/6men/£6,000" and it takes 8 and 1/2 weeks/men/£8,500.

Happens every time! :roll:

 

[worms]

"when it's a builder's estimate"?

Maybe this is an old one, but I saw a joiner's van last week with the amazingly honest line: "Remember, Robinson Crusoe was the only one who managed to get everything done by Friday!" Perhaps I am easily amused, but it brightened up the wait for the lights at the road works!

 

[Penners]

I reckon Nemesis is correct, above. It's the only explanation that makes any sense (apart from mine, of course).

 

[Nemesis]

It's stretching it though - as a far as I can recall the S would have come at the end, not the start.

 

[Moo]

Having consulted the oracle (aka Google) I have gleaned the following :

** The letter S stands for for semis - "half".

** Placing any smaller number in front of any larger number indicates subtraction. So IV means 4.
After V comes a series of additions - VI means 6...


So, IX = 9
SIX = 9-one half = 6.

 

[Penners]

Quod erat demonstrandum.

Nemesis, tick VG. You can be milk monitor this week.

 

[Moo]

Well, of course.

Odd, isn't it, how one's (or rather - my) mind works. I knew about IX and XI and all that, but until today had never even questioned the mathematical logic behind it. My excuse is that I suffer from the numerical version of dyslexia.

 

[Penners]

Me too, but usually not until after the 6th glass of wine.

 

[skier-hughes]

Or is that 8 1/2 glasses

 

[Penners]

Damned if I can remember...

 

[Flyfisher]

Six can be eight-and-a-half when it's the answer to the GCSE question: "What is 2 x 3?".

Quite right too - we need people who can think outside of the box :wink:

 

[Nemesis]

I still don't think SIX is eight and a half in reality - see my first post...

 

[worms]

I thought the Romans usually preferred the shorter version of the number, even if other variants were equally correct? So on the basis that sIX is shorter than VIIIs then that might have been the preferred method?