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That reminds me of a saying that we used religiously back in the Navy: "50/50/90". If you have a 50/50 chance of making a correct decision, you'll get it wrong
by jedc 16y ago
That reminds me of a saying that we used religiously back in the Navy: "50/50/90".
If you have a 50/50 chance of making a correct decision, you'll get it wrong 90% of the time.
- eru 16y agoThat's what coins are good for.
- tedunangst 16y agoThe chances are only 50/50 before you decide. After making your choice, the state collapses to 90% wrong.
- eru 16y agoThat's why you don't decide. It's called a mixed strategy. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategy_(game_theory)#Mixed_strategy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategy_(game_theory)#Mixed_st...)
- ekanes 16y agoI watch this in action every time I ask my four year-old which is his right or left hand. Poor little dude gets it wrong almost every time.
- JacobAldridge 16y agoI still get it wrong most of the time. Weirdly, I know my Port from my Starboard, so that lesson was wired into me properly.
- bad_user 16y agoHow cute :) Btw, to help him learn you could attach a bracelet to his left or his right hand. Give him a landmark that he can recognize.
- eru 16y agoPut your hands in front of you, palms facing outwards. Your left hand is where thumb and index finger form an L. (Or if he's into cars, explain it via `where the cars drive'.)
- JacobAldridge 16y agoPut your hands in front of you, palms facing inwards. Where the thumb and index finger form an L, that's your right hand. And of course, cars where I grew up (Australia) drove on the opposite side of the road to the cars on tv (mostly US shows and movies). I think these are both great ways to help teach kids left and right; I just like to point out the flaws since neither way helped me (and I still have to think about it). Of course, I'm far more messed up than most kids will ever hope to be!
- eru 16y agoDidn't I imply that cars drive on the right side i.e. the left side of the road?
- JacobAldridge 16y agoYeah - I was making the point about it being a confusing tool to use. When I'm outside, cars drive on the left; when I'm inside watching a movie, they drive on the right; so my brain isn't getting wired with clear signals.
- bad_user 16y agoI learned which is which with a visual image. When I was little, I always stood in the kitchen on the same chair. The left wall was dark, the right wall had a window illuminating it. Even now whenever I'm distracted and can't answer out of reflex, that image pops into my head :-)
- pbhjpbhj 16y ago>Your left hand is where thumb and index finger form an L. This would work except that young kids get letters wrong too and a common mistake is to mirror L.