Ambition, Distraction, Uglification & Derision

This is the twentieth post in this blog: so that's Ambition fulfilled - one of them, anyway. Hey, I'm easily pleased.

Distraction was provided by a front-page article in the Economic Times on how English-medium schools are teaching multiplication tables the wrong way when compared with non-English-medium schools. Apart from the point that it seems to be a slow news day when non-events make the front page, let's see what point the author, a T.K. Arun, has to make.

His (I'm presuming a gender, here) contention appears to be, and I quote:
"Six ones are six, six twos are twelve... and so on. While each term is valid in itself, together, collectively [sic] they fail to convey the idea that the term five sixes means six added together five times." He acknowledges that 5X6 has the same value as 6X5 but he goes on, "But the expression five sixes means adding 6 together 5 times, which is conceptually different from six fives, or adding five together six times."

There seems to a difference in T.K. Arun's English and mine. When I say five stones, I mean (no, not Jagger, Richards, et al) stone, stone, stone, stone and stone. 5 of 'em. When I say five beetles, I mean (no, not John, Paul etc.) beetle, beetle, beetle, beetle and beetle. 5 of 'em. So when I say five sixes, I mean (no, not Dhoni in action) six, six, six, six and six. 5 of 'em.

So I AM adding 6 together five time. What else would I be doing? Together or collectively? So much for his theory that "(the methods) fail to convey the idea that the term five sixes means six added together five times."

And of course, adding 6 together 5 times IS conceptually different from six fives, or adding five together six times, which would be - bear with me, here - five, five, five, five, five and (you guessed it) five. 6 of 'em. Compare with six, six, six, six and six. In seven words or less.

So, what the devil is his grouse? Uglification of the Indian mathematical soul, probably. His dander has been got and his umbrage has been taken by how the mighty land of the inventors of the zero (which incidentally, doesn't lend itself to multiplication) and the inheritors of Ramanujam are being sullied by the dumb white man and his language. Our patrimony is at stake and we are in imminent danger of losing our cutting edge.

No wonder this made the front page.

I assure you, Derision is the last thing on my mind.

For the literary-minded among my few readers, I trust you spotted the literary reference in the title.