I argued with my friend for 20 minutes tonight about this equation

[krunchykrome]

We're both last semester undergrad seniors. The class is decision science, and it was about 2am when we argued about this while studying for a test this thursday.

We were presented with this equation:
Profit(P)= 50x-8000-20x

I then simplified it into P=30x-8000

He says "wait, you did what"

I explained it to him, the simple and thoughtless simplifying I just did in my head.

He goes on for 20 minutes about how I cannot do that because there is an 8000 in between the 50x and the 20x. He told me it could not be done.

Again, let me point out he will be graduating undergrad this fall. This simplifying I was trying to explain to him is something I had such a hard time explaining. It's just soo elementary and I could not believe that he did not understand and comprehend what I was saying.

He asked me to explain it to him and I just didnt know what to say. I was just shocked.

 

[TheChort]

your friend is on crack

that being said, i highly (emphasis on high) doubt that your friend doesn't know what you're talking about. I get the feeling that he is just used to doing stuff like that only in a pure math class, and for some reason cant apply it to a math application class.

 

[dfi]

Maybe he was just busting your balls? I really really hope so.

 

[aidanjm]

if you did a simple example with numbers instead of algebraic terms, he would be forced to see your side of things:

2 + 1 - 3 = 0
1 + 2 - 3 = 0
-3 + 1 + 2 = 0
etc

 

[DaWhim]

what is his major?

 

[krunchykrome]

Originally posted by: TheChort
your friend is on crack

that being said, i highly (emphasis on high) doubt that your friend doesn't know what your talking about. I get the feeling that he is just used to doing stuff like that only in a pure math class, and for some reason cant apply it to a math application class.

Yea, I figured he learned and has been doing math problems like this the same way he was taught in elementary school. It was just shocking to have this guy right in front of me who couldnt just look at that equation and simplify it in his head.

I even tried to explain it to him like this; I said that the equation could be written in any order and it wouldnt make a difference. I said that it could be written as:

P= -20x - 8000 + 50x
or
P= -8000 + 50x -20x
and so on.

He still argued against it, and said it couldnt be done.

Then I even plugged in the number 2 for x and showed him that you get the same outcome no matter what order they're in.

 

[krunchykrome]

Originally posted by: DaWhim
what is his major?

Business Admin, lol

 

[PowderBB3D]

God bless American school systems my friend.

 

[UncleWai]

When you combine 50x and -20x, you lost the information about the firm's cashflow. I think that's what got him mixed up when he said that.

 

[CKent]

It's funny, anyone can just buy a degree these days, yet they're more important to have than ever.

 

[newmachineoverlord]

lolerskates! This reminds me of a daytime conversation that went along the lines of:
Person 1: "The moon is never visible during the day."
Person 2:*points at moon* "It's right there"
Person 3: "That can't be the moon, it's daytime!"

Sometimes I agree with foxworthy's idea that stupid people should have to wear signs of their stupidity, so everyone else would know not to listen to them. Lots of people's ideas are thought pollution.

In your friends defense, perhaps he mistook the minus signs for dashes on a serial number and thought the whole thing was a single variable and thus irreducible? People get funny ideas at 2am, especially when they don't remember how to do algebra.

 

[PowderBB3D]

Originally posted by: newmachineoverlord
lolerskates! This reminds me of a daytime conversation that went along the lines of:
Person 1: "The moon is never visible during the day."
Person 2:*points at moon* "It's right there"
Person 3: "That can't be the moon, it's daytime!"

Sometimes I agree with foxworthy's idea that stupid people should have to wear signs of their stupidity, so everyone else would know not to listen to them. Lots of people's ideas are thought pollution.

In your friends defense, perhaps he mistook the minus signs for dashes on a serial number and thought the whole thing was a single variable and thus irreducible? People get funny ideas at 2am, especially when they don't remember how to do algebra.

I would argue that entire portions of society have devolved into little more than "thought pollution." Overuse of slang terms like "bling" and "pimp" have certainly done their part in limiting the vocabulary of your average American lately. I once read, although am unable to produce any proof for this at the moment, that the average teenager's lexicon has decreased markedly since 1970 or so. Sad, but can you really blame today's youth for doing what MTV (or what's left of it) tells them to do?

 

[Kadarin]

How the hell did he ever get that far after failing basic algebra?

 

[Hubris]

Originally posted by: PowderBB3D
I would argue that entire portions of society have devolved into little more than "thought pollution." Overuse of slang terms like "bling" and "pimp" have certainly done their part in limiting the vocabulary of your average American lately. I once read, although am unable to produce any proof for this at the moment, that the average teenager's lexicon has decreased markedly since 1970 or so. Sad, but can you really blame today's youth for doing what MTV (or what's left of it) tells them to do?

That has been the argument for thousands of years. Every generation thinks the one after it is a bunch of degenerate retards. It simply isn't true. Manifestations of intelligence may change and morph over time, but overall humanity has been getting smarter and smarter with each generation due to better access to information and increased nutrition. Don't let the old age smoke screen blind you to reality. Media companies may be trying their hardest to appeal to the lowest common denominator, but those tend to be old white people anyway.

 

[PowderBB3D]

Originally posted by: Hubris

Originally posted by: PowderBB3D
I would argue that entire portions of society have devolved into little more than "thought pollution." Overuse of slang terms like "bling" and "pimp" have certainly done their part in limiting the vocabulary of your average American lately. I once read, although am unable to produce any proof for this at the moment, that the average teenager's lexicon has decreased markedly since 1970 or so. Sad, but can you really blame today's youth for doing what MTV (or what's left of it) tells them to do?

That has been the argument for thousands of years. Every generation thinks the one after it is a bunch of degenerate retards. It simply isn't true. Manifestations of intelligence may change and morph over time, but overall humanity has been getting smarter and smarter with each generation due to better access to information and increased nutrition. Don't let the old age smoke screen blind you to reality. Media companies may be trying their hardest to appeal to the lowest common denominator, but those tend to be old white people anyway.

Agreed. Our brightest minds are getting brighter ever generation, and the pool of knowledge available to us has increased dramatically (and I suspect it will continue to do so for quite some time, barring some catastrophe). But I do think that the lowest common denominator you mention has gotten lower, so to speak, lately. And with the advent of technological marvels such as the internet, information spread has become so many multitudes easier that not only the good knowledge is being spread anymore.

 

[giantpinkbunnyhead]

Is that even a valid Profit equation? I've never seen a Profit equation without an exponent involved. But regardless... your friend is a grade-A moron.

 

[Cattlegod]

he won't be going to grad school, that is for sure.

 

[BrownTown]

This is probably most amazing to people here becasue we are likely are engineering geeks who did well in math (right now I am doing electromagentics homework with its absurdly heavy in the vector calculus), but at the same time I see peopel posting here with equally unitellegnet ideas in their head. I mean what is worse, someoen who doesnt know that addition is associative, or the peoepl in P&N who with Bush and Rumsfied blew up the twin towers to start a war for oil?

 

[giantpinkbunnyhead]

Originally posted by: BrownTown
This is probably most amazing to people here becasue we are likely are engineering geeks who did well in math (right now I am doing electromagentics homework with its absurdly heavy in the vector calculus), but at the same time I see peopel posting here with equally unitellegnet ideas in their head. I mean what is worse, someoen who doesnt know that addition is associative, or the peoepl in P&N who with Bush and Rumsfied blew up the twin towers to start a war for oil?

Holy spelling errors batman! Yeah, we're all intelligent in some ways but not in other ways... math, spelling, politics, whatever.

 

[krunchykrome]

Originally posted by: giantpinkbunnyhead
Is that even a valid Profit equation? I've never seen a Profit equation without an exponent involved. But regardless... your friend is a grade-A moron.

That profit equation was:

The Revenue ($50 selling price x amount of product sold)

-

A fixed cost (which was 8000)

-

Variable costs (which totaled $20 per product)

 

[allisolm]

It's shocking to the OP that his friend can't do the math, but perhaps would be just as shocking to his friend that the OP can't spell speechless.

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: krunchykrome

Originally posted by: giantpinkbunnyhead
Is that even a valid Profit equation? I've never seen a Profit equation without an exponent involved. But regardless... your friend is a grade-A moron.

That profit equation was:

The Revenue ($50 selling price x amount of product sold)

-

A fixed cost (which was 8000)

-

Variable costs (which totaled $20 per product)

You can simplify it, but I don't know if you should in this case, considering keeping it unsimplified tells you specific information.

 

[homestarmy]

Looks like he failed Algebra 1.

I could have told you the correct answer in middle school.

Did I mention that he is an idiot?

Please show him this thread.

Attention friend: YOU ARE AN IDIOT.

 

[DaShen]

Originally posted by: krunchykrome

Originally posted by: DaWhim
what is his major?

Business Admin, lol

... he is probably better at networking and social situations then, because that is just sad.

addtion and subtraction are associative. He needs to take 3rd grade arithmetic again.

Maybe the algebra part of it, threw him off.

 

[DaShen]

Originally posted by: UncleWai
When you combine 50x and -20x, you lost the information about the firm's cashflow. I think that's what got him mixed up when he said that.

Good point. But it still is pretty straightforward