Jersey #2 has a gift for mental math. We learned this when she was in preschool, listening in on Jersey #1's math lessons, and shouting out the answer before her older sister could work the problems. She liked adding 3 single digits in her head, and really enjoyed the positive reaction she got from adults when she demonstrated this ability at 4 years old.
Since The Referee has a love for all things mathematical, he started playing math games with her. He would list out numbers for her to add while they were driving down the street. They moved on to series of numbers to calculate that were part of a pattern. In our nerdy family, we call this fun!
Dr. S, who has been our family doctor from the time that The Referee and I were married, is also gifted in mental math. It is fun to listen to him calculate prescription doses, out loud, instead of using a calculator or reference manual. I have double checked his math on prescriptions before, and it has always been correct.
It turns out that Dr. S took 2nd place for the entire state of New York, in a mental math competition when he was in 8th grade. After we admired his mental math skills recently, he shared more details with us. He said that to this day, he can still remember the 1 question that he missed, that the other kid answered correctly. He said he was rushing, and missed a simple one.
What positive integer multiplied by 2 is less than that same integer added to 2?
I was standing next to Jersey #1 at the time, and we both tried to figure it out. In my head, I was thinking.... 2x3=6. 2+3=5. Nope, that is not it.
That is as far as I got in my thought process before Jersey #2 shouted out the answer...
ONE!
We all turned to look at her. I didn't realize she was even listening to the conversation, let alone calculating the answer to the problem. Jersey #1 commented, "She is really good at doing math in her head." I agreed. Jersey #2 just smiled. Dr. S smiled at her as if they were part of the same club. The mental math club.
He went on to explain that he had answered zero. Even though zero works for the equation, it does not qualify as a positive integer. Dr. S said it was funny that he could remember that question that he missed after all these years.
Since The Referee has a love for all things mathematical, he started playing math games with her. He would list out numbers for her to add while they were driving down the street. They moved on to series of numbers to calculate that were part of a pattern. In our nerdy family, we call this fun!
Dr. S, who has been our family doctor from the time that The Referee and I were married, is also gifted in mental math. It is fun to listen to him calculate prescription doses, out loud, instead of using a calculator or reference manual. I have double checked his math on prescriptions before, and it has always been correct.
It turns out that Dr. S took 2nd place for the entire state of New York, in a mental math competition when he was in 8th grade. After we admired his mental math skills recently, he shared more details with us. He said that to this day, he can still remember the 1 question that he missed, that the other kid answered correctly. He said he was rushing, and missed a simple one.
What positive integer multiplied by 2 is less than that same integer added to 2?
I was standing next to Jersey #1 at the time, and we both tried to figure it out. In my head, I was thinking.... 2x3=6. 2+3=5. Nope, that is not it.
That is as far as I got in my thought process before Jersey #2 shouted out the answer...
ONE!
We all turned to look at her. I didn't realize she was even listening to the conversation, let alone calculating the answer to the problem. Jersey #1 commented, "She is really good at doing math in her head." I agreed. Jersey #2 just smiled. Dr. S smiled at her as if they were part of the same club. The mental math club.
He went on to explain that he had answered zero. Even though zero works for the equation, it does not qualify as a positive integer. Dr. S said it was funny that he could remember that question that he missed after all these years.
I think it is funny that we have a nerdy family doctor who likes to play mental math games too!
A girl after my own heart...
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