out of the mouths
Aug. 16th, 2004 12:11 pmA fun conversation with a friend's son yesterday.
A = the kid
Me = me
L = A's mom
[A asks how old Isaac is and I say he's 14 months]
A: But is he exactly fourteen months?
Me: No, he's fourteen months and [pause to ponder what the hell day it is] four days.
A: Fourteen months and four days! [thinks] So he's one and one-sixth. A little more than one and one-sixth.
Me: (impressed) That's right.
L: (impressed) That's right, A. How did you figure that out?
A: Because two is one-fifth of ten and twelve is two more than ten, so it's one more two, so it's one-sixth.
L: That's very good! So two is one-what of fourteen?
A: (after a little prompting) One-seventh.
Me: That's great math. You're almost ready for calculus.
A: I was ready for calculus when I was like five!
Me: How old are you now?
A: Six.
A = the kid
Me = me
L = A's mom
[A asks how old Isaac is and I say he's 14 months]
A: But is he exactly fourteen months?
Me: No, he's fourteen months and [pause to ponder what the hell day it is] four days.
A: Fourteen months and four days! [thinks] So he's one and one-sixth. A little more than one and one-sixth.
Me: (impressed) That's right.
L: (impressed) That's right, A. How did you figure that out?
A: Because two is one-fifth of ten and twelve is two more than ten, so it's one more two, so it's one-sixth.
L: That's very good! So two is one-what of fourteen?
A: (after a little prompting) One-seventh.
Me: That's great math. You're almost ready for calculus.
A: I was ready for calculus when I was like five!
Me: How old are you now?
A: Six.