Our discussion on fractions and pizza on #mathchat yesterday reminded me of a story.
My best friend lost on this deal back in 1978. But she gained a valuable lesson.
My friend, let’s call her Linda…
She was a terribly terribly slow eater. Like annoyingly so.
We would sit down to a Totino’s pizza on a summer afternoon. I would finish my half while she was still working on her first piece!
One day I suggested a different method.
“Let’s NOT divide the pizza in half – equally,” said I in my sweetest voice. “We’re best friends, and dividing food up is so primal. Let’s just eat like normal people.” (Okay, I’m sure I didn’t say, “primal,” but you get the point.)
She agreed. Even though she could manipulate the heck out of me, I certainly had my share of the talent.
She got two pieces.
A whopping 1/4 of the pizza.
She still tells this story.
And guess what? She totally knows the difference between her 1/4, our 1/2 and my 3/4.
What about you? Do you have any lessons you learned from friends in math? Share them in the comments.
Please note that my bottom still reflects this bad pizza eating habit. Perhaps writing it down for the world to see will help me knock of the over-pizza-eating habit. That and the LoseIt! iPhone app.
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