History JustForFun / WritersCannotDoMath

* "I want to take 3 through 6" (Inclusive - you want numbers 3,4,5 and 6.)
* "I want all the numbers ''between'' 2 and 7" (Exclusive - you want numbers 3,4,5 and 6 - but 2 and 7 are only mentioned as bookends - you don't ''want'' either of them.)

Another way to put it would be to row of objects, say numbered 0-9. You mean the same thing when you say both of these quotes:

** If you're calculating the age of a everyday human character who is a child and you get 56, your answer doesn't make sense and you should check your math.

Things sometimes get confusing because of the fact that "zero" is indeed a number and can be used as one, even though it has no "value". If you happen to label a group of cookies with the icing numbers zero to nine you still actually have '''10 cookies''', ''not 9''. That cookie with a zero on it is just as tasty and desirable - putting a zero on it doesn't make it an un-cookie! You've included[[note]]See inclusive and exclusive counting topic, below[[/note]] the zero in your group of cookies.

Decades can be dicey because most people view the first year of a decade to be the one ending in zero and the final one ending in 9, such as 1990-1999 being "the nineties". ''However'' there was never a "[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_zero year zero]" between the BC and AD years of 1 BC and 1 AD (the time had already passed over the thousand years previously, no one really cared), so counting from the start of the numbering system the 10-year periods ''since that start of AD dates'' start with a 1 and end with 0. This is leads to ''off by one errors''.

However in mathematics the first group of ten numbers is:

"0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9"[[note]]'''If''' you define zero as a natural number, which is a matter of taste '''and''' order the numbers as stated.[[/note]]

The concept of "zero" is the first number is the source of a lot of nitpicking. When a child counts to ten, they are taught:

Are you a writer who wants to buck the trend and do math correctly? You've come to the right place!

Here you will find tips on how to understand [[UsefulNotes/{{Mathematics}} mathematics]] better in your works, and maybe learn a bit too.

You may be asking: "Why do [[ViewersAreGeniuses these people]] care about the numbers? What's ''important'' in my story is [[AliceAndBob Bob's relationship with Alice]] and how they're going to get by after [[DeathByNewberyMedal the loss of their puppy]], and not how many years ago Alice was an investment banker! [[CreatorsApathy That was a throw-away line]]! I was thinking about the puppy!"

The answer is in TheLawOfConservationOfDetail. The reader doesn't know which direction a story is going in the first time they read it. For all they know, it ''will'' be important. If the readers read the story ''again'' (something all authors would love!), they'll be looking for the [[RewatchBonus subtleties they didn't catch before]] and any math errors will certainly not stand up to that. Unless you're planning on opening each story you write with ContentWarnings about how much you suck at math, you want to be sure you at least get your counting right.

Here you will find tips on how to understand [[UsefulNotes/{{Mathematics}} mathematics]] better in your works, and maybe learn a bit too.

You may be asking: "Why do these people care about the numbers? What's ''important'' in my story is [[AliceAndBob Bob's relationship with Alice]] and how they're going to get by after [[DeathByNewberyMedal the loss of their puppy]], and not how many years ago Alice was an investment banker! [[CreatorsApathy That was a throw-away line]]! I was thinking about the puppy!"

"Why," you may be asking, "why do these people care about the numbers? What's ''important'' in my story is [[AliceAndBob Bob's relationship with Alice]] and how they're going to get by after [[DeathByNewberyMedal the loss of their puppy]], and not how many years ago Alice was an investment banker! [[CreatorsApathy That was a throw-away line]]! I was thinking about the puppy!"

"Why," you may be asking, "why do these people care about the numbers? What's ''important'' in my story is [[BobAndAlice Bob's relationship with Alice]] and how they're going to get by after [[DeathByNewberyMedal the loss of their puppy]], and not how many years ago Alice was an investment banker! [[CreatorsApathy That was a throw-away line]]! I was thinking about the puppy!"

"Why," you may be asking, "why do these people care about the numbers? What's ''important'' in my story is Bob's relationship with Alice and how they're going to get by after the loss of their puppy, and not how many years ago Bob was an investment banker! That was a throw-away line! I was thinking about the puppy!"

Here you will find tips on how to understand [[UsefulNotes/{{Mathematics}} mathematics]] better in your works, and maybe learn a bit too, which will make your more math-savvy fans happier.

!Using a calculator or calculations
Despite what your teacher may have said, there is no shame whatsoever in counting on your fingers or using a calculator. Not everyone can do math well in their heads. Psychologists are still in debate on if a "math mind" can be taught in math class or if math classes are just weeding out the non-math people by attrition and then pointing at the calculus students and saying "look what we made".

Everyone CAN do math though, even if not very fast. Math is a series of logical steps, and counting, adding and subtracting are pretty easy steps. You can do it, take your time - there's no due date for homework you assign for yourself.

What's important to remember is the old programming term GIGO or "'''G'''arbage '''I'''n, '''G'''arbage '''O'''ut". ''If you're working with the wrong information, you'll get a wrong answer.'' Make sure you stop and think about the numbers you're using.

** This is THE common cause of GIGO in math. Take your time, write out the problem. Rushed math instead of thought-out math merely increases the ''probability'' of a correct answer, but doesn't guarantee it.

** Model breakdown is a point an equation can't be used anymore for the thing its supposed to measure.
*** There's an equation called [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolbear%27s_law Dolbear's Law]] where you can estimate the temperature based on the number of chirps a cricket makes in one minute. This works for all normal temperatures except for temperatures such as -40° or 1000° (Fahrenheit ''or'' Celsius) as at those temperatures ''the crickets are dead'' and thus not chirping. ''When the temperature is outside of the range where crickets live, the math model breaks down.''

** If you're using a scientific calculator that allows multiple steps at once, still do the steps one at a time until you know your order of operations from algebra.

This sort of OBOE error is rampant in anything having to do with time periods when you don't consider ''when'' in the year the event happened. Remember, you're only X age in a certain year ''until your birthday'', and very few people are born at New Years on the dot. If all you know is that a certain person is 25 in 2020, it's ambiguous if their birthday already passed or not unless we are told when in the year. This leads to OBOE errors - in 2020 are they 25 about to turn 26? Or are they 25 having just recently been 24? Trying to calculate this person's birth year will give you either 1994 or 1995, which is it? You ''can't'' know from the information given.

"0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9"[[note]]This does not make sense as it stands. One could say that the first ten natural numbers are 0...9, '''if''' you define zero as a natural number, and that is a matter of taste. It is not a given.[[/note]]

"0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9"

** Model breakdown is a number or numbers where an equation can't be used anymore for the thing its supposed to measure. There's an equation called [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolbear%27s_law Dolbear's Law]] where you can estimate the temperature based on the number of chirps a cricket makes in one minute. This works for all normal temperatures except for temperatures such as -40° or 1000° (Fahrenheit ''or'' Celsius) as at those temperatures ''the crickets are dead'' and thus not chirping. ''When the temperature is outside of the range where crickets live, the math model breaks down.''

->You are building a straight fence (not one that connects to itself like an enclosure) and have five fenceposts. How many sections of fence do you need?

->POST fencing POST fencing POST fencing POST fencing POST fencing

Here you will find tips on how to understand [[UsefulNotes/{{Mathematics}} mathematics]] better in your works, and maybe learn a bit too, which will make your more math-related fans happier.

Where things get confusing is that "zero" is indeed a number and can be used as one, even though it has no "value". If you happen to label a group of cookies with the icing numbers zero to nine you still actually have '''10 cookies''', ''not 9''. That cookie with a zero on it is just as tasty and desirable - putting a zero on it doesn't make it an un-cookie! You've included[[note]]See inclusive and exclusive counting topic, below[[/note]] the zero in your group of cookies.

It's also referred to as '''The Fence-Post Problem''', which goes like this:

->You are building a straight fence and have five fenceposts. How many sections of fence do you need?