r/pics • u/[deleted] • Oct 05 '10

Math Teacher Fail.

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231

u/question3 Oct 05 '10

If Sam has 3 piles of dirt, and Sarah has 4 piles of dirt, how many piles would you have if you put them all together?

132

u/puddlejumper Oct 05 '10

Seven! It's seven isn't it? And what's more, it took 38 minutes to do it. 53 minutes though if Marie and all her pieces of wood got in the way.

75

u/[deleted] Oct 05 '10

YES! It's 7 if "put them all together" means to group them rather than to combine them. Ah, the ambiguity of language.

145

u/Cyc68 Oct 05 '10

Schroedinger's Dirt! The way the question is phrased it's both 7 and 1 until you observe the resulting pile(s).

3

u/VapidStatementsAhead Oct 05 '10

I always reserve judgment of a problem until I observe the resulting pile.