Jump to content
BrainDen.com - Brain Teasers

What is Correct


rookie1ja
 Share

Recommended Posts

Is it correct that seven and five is thirteen or seven and five are thirteen?

The 'or' implies that at least one is correct. As only once change has occurred we must assume that the correctness refers to the change.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 weeks later...

In the question, it obviously amplifies the fact that the answer is concerning whether or not it is grammaticaly correct to say 'is' thirteen, or 'are' thirteen. So the answer is 'is', and the technicality of the real answer is unimportant.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In the question, it obviously amplifies the fact that the answer is concerning whether or not it is grammaticaly correct to say 'is' thirteen, or 'are' thirteen. So the answer is 'is', and the technicality of the real answer is unimportant.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
I thought of it because of the joke "6 * 9 = 42", this joke is from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It's performed in base-13.

DARN, that thing has always puzzled me, and you tell me the obvious in so little words. I was always guessing someone made a translation error (I read it in Dutch), so I never thought of base-conversion.

Thanx for beating some sense into me.

BoilingOil

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Well, if we're getting down to the nitty gritty semantics of the question, everyone is wrong....7 AND 5 is 75 (or 57 to dyslexics). The word AND does not unequivocably mean a math expression

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

People, grammatically it is wrong, but mathematically it is right.

If it was just a statement someone would make it should have been seven and five are thirteen, this would be the correct thing to do. But if one would say it as a mathematical expression it ought to be seven and five is thirteen (pronouncing 7+5=13), saying this doesn't make you wrong. Even this is right as I explained before, 7+5=13 (seven plus five equal thirteen, that statement has my preference when it comes to maths).

7+5=13 in base-9 as:

7*9^0 + 5*9^0 = 1*9^1 + 3*9^0

7*1 + 5*1 = 1*9 + 3*1 = 9 + 3 = 12

Voilá!

Therefor both statements are most certainly correct!

EDIT: @BoilingOil, you should wiki it sometime ... en de volgende keer het boek in het Engels lezen

6 * 9 = 42 (base-13)

6*13^0 * 9*13^0 = 4*13^1 + 2*13^0

6*1 * 9*1 = 4*13 + 2*1

6 * 9 = 52 + 2

6 * 9 = 54 (base-10 converted)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...
the answer is neither because seven plus five is twelve. and correct english is "seven and five is twelve." well, even if it isn't "correct," that is the colloquial way of saying it. why? because we say seven plus five IS twelve, so why would you say seven and five are twelve? it just sounds weird.

it doesnt sound weird to say are.... there are two numbers so why wouldnt it be are?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If the question were posed using the digits 13 then you might be able to use the base-9 'logic'....

However, the question was posed with the text 'thirteen'. The word thirteen is 13(base-10), period. if the text were 'one three, base nine'....then, ok.

Edited by gwg
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I suppose it's also too late to point out that the digits '13' in base-9 are equal to twelve in base-10. The number system that Mythx is looking for is base-11. However, like you said, the nomenclature 'thirteen' is only meaningful in base-10, since it is a linguistic blend of three and ten (a number that by definition cannot exist in base-9).

I do have to admit that it was a clever direction to go, though... It reminds me of the old computer joke:

There are only 10 types of people in this world, those who understand binary and those who don't...

If the question were posed using the digits 13 then you might be able to use the base-9 'logic'....

However, the question was posed with the text 'thirteen'. The word thirteen is 13(base-10), period. if the text were 'one three, base nine'....then, ok.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
Neither, 5 and 7 are TWELVE... learn to count.

the way the question is worded it makes it a grammer question, in which case one of them is correct, if its a maths question then neither are correct.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't see how there has been so much confusion and pointless discussion about this one.

This is intended as a children's riddle/question.

Would there be confusion if the question said

"Is it correct that seven add five is thirteen OR that seven add five are thirteen?"

It doesn't matter at all about the grammatical sentence because even if the grammar is incorrect the entire sense of the statements is false.

Also the question does not imply that either statement is correct. "It is correct ..." at the start would imply this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

First of all, 7+5=12, not 13.

In math, when spoken verbally, the correct grammar is "Seven and five is twelve because you are combining seven and five to make a single whole of twelve. Twelve is being used as a collective noun in this sense.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...