Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

Let’s pay attention to some basic math. We don’t like that, but we are adults, so let’s behave accordingly.

In some respects, asking, “What is 50% of 50%?” is silly.

Ask a mathematician that question. I did recently and the response was a laugh. The answer is 2,500%%.

Huh? Everyone knows that 50% is a half and a half of a half is a quarter. Well, not really. 50% is 100% times a half. This confuses me until I write it down and work through it piece by piece.

But everyone knows that 50% is a half and a half of a half is a quarter.

Sometimes it is good to step back and consider the definitions of things and work our way through the logic. Sometimes it is better to go along, because everyone knows that 50% is a half and a half of a half is a quarter.