math.

They say math is the universal language, and I can agree that anyone can add numbers together—no matter where they come from. But while math may be universal, most math you are taught in school is very unrealistic in my opinion.

For instance, a math problem will say something along the lines of: “You have 16 apples, and you sit and eat 12, how many apples do you have left?”

Now, while the answer may be 4, I feel the more important question to ask here is WHO IN THE WORLD IS EATING 12 APPLES AT ONCE? That’s a lot of apples my friends...and not very realistic. We all know most people would be full after about four. Six tops.

Another example.

“If you are in the desert and dig a hole that is 5 feet deep and 5 feet in diameter, without the use of a calculator, what would be the volume of dirt removed from the hole?”

Let me tell you, if I’m out digging a hole in the desert, I’ve got bigger problems to solve than how much dirt I’ve piled up.

I don’t know, maybe I’m just calloused because I am so bad at math, but when I’m asked to calculate how fast the distance is increasing between a boy and his lost balloon I just want to say, “Let it go. Nothing can bring that balloon back. Just let it go.”

So, point of this post is thank goodness I’ve graduated and the only math I now have to deal with is how much a discount is for a cute shirt on sale or how many scoops of flour I need for my chocolate cake.

Now THAT is realistic math.