- #51
Antisthenes
- 49
- 4
In science, one must provide evidence when making statements, so for the sake of conscientiousness I will give some examples of how the word "stretch" is used in Norwegian. Anyone who still cares about this topic can then use Google translator to check that it's very reasonable in Norwegian to assume that "the whole stretch" refers to Vibeke's journey, and not the distance of 150 km.
For example, in Norwegian one can talk about "my stretch", "your stretch" or "our stretch" when planning a journey or discussing a distance where you are doing some activity. The national railway company in Norway created an app where one can click on "My stretch" ("Min strekning") to check if your train is delayed, as described at the end of this article here:
https://www.dinside.no/reise/na-blir-det-lettere-a-sjekke-togtidene/61632988
Here you will also notice that in Norwegian it's perfectly acceptable to talk about a "train stretch" ("togstrekning"), or a "boat stretch" or "bus stretch" for example, as seen in the headline of this newspaper article:
http://www.avisa-hordaland.no/vaksdal/togstrekninga-mellom-dale-og-stanghelle-er-no-open-1.1909555
If you ask a Norwegian about how his journey was, he might reply: "It was awful, it was snow on the whole stretch", as opposed to snowing on only a part of it.
In Norwegian, the word "stretch" is not necessarily an abstract mathematical concept. It's often used in a much more concrete way.
Consequently, when my math book mentioned that Vibeke was planing a journey and that she thought it would take 3 hours to travel "the whole stretch", on her scooter, it was natural to conclude that it referred to her journey: her stretch, on a scooter - or her "scooter stretch", so to speak. The authors should have been aware of that.
The assignment is ambiguous, even in English, because if a person is driving straight to a specific location, why would she calculate how long it takes to travel to a different location? In our context, that doesn't make sense.
Unfortunately, math books in Norway don't have the highest standard. For example, many high schools use the book "Sigma 1T" instead of "Sinus 1T". I decided to use the latter book, after reading how "Sigma 1T" presents the PEMDAS rule, on page 14:
"1. First we calculate exponents if there are any.
2. Then we do multiplications and divisions.
3. Finally, we put it together, through calculation, and find the answer".
https://issuu.com/gyldendalnorskforlag/docs/sigma1t_bla-i-bok
"Calculating together" is probably the most accurate word for word-translation of the Norwegian expression "regne sammen", which means to put something together through counting or calculation. The authors don't care to mention addition and subtraction. They just assume that the reader will somehow figure out that "calculating together" refers to addition and subtraction. And one must read the rest of the page to notice that "If an expression stands within a parenthesis, we begin by "calculating out" ("regne ut") that expression".
Why is the education system pretty rotten in the state of Norway? Well, we have a rather left-wing culture and the government thinks that many children will suffer if they are forced to do math at school. The result is that many teachers don't know what they are doing, which ironically creates frustration and stress in the class room, so children suffer anyway, especially later in life.
For example, in Norwegian one can talk about "my stretch", "your stretch" or "our stretch" when planning a journey or discussing a distance where you are doing some activity. The national railway company in Norway created an app where one can click on "My stretch" ("Min strekning") to check if your train is delayed, as described at the end of this article here:
https://www.dinside.no/reise/na-blir-det-lettere-a-sjekke-togtidene/61632988
Here you will also notice that in Norwegian it's perfectly acceptable to talk about a "train stretch" ("togstrekning"), or a "boat stretch" or "bus stretch" for example, as seen in the headline of this newspaper article:
http://www.avisa-hordaland.no/vaksdal/togstrekninga-mellom-dale-og-stanghelle-er-no-open-1.1909555
If you ask a Norwegian about how his journey was, he might reply: "It was awful, it was snow on the whole stretch", as opposed to snowing on only a part of it.
In Norwegian, the word "stretch" is not necessarily an abstract mathematical concept. It's often used in a much more concrete way.
Consequently, when my math book mentioned that Vibeke was planing a journey and that she thought it would take 3 hours to travel "the whole stretch", on her scooter, it was natural to conclude that it referred to her journey: her stretch, on a scooter - or her "scooter stretch", so to speak. The authors should have been aware of that.
The assignment is ambiguous, even in English, because if a person is driving straight to a specific location, why would she calculate how long it takes to travel to a different location? In our context, that doesn't make sense.
Unfortunately, math books in Norway don't have the highest standard. For example, many high schools use the book "Sigma 1T" instead of "Sinus 1T". I decided to use the latter book, after reading how "Sigma 1T" presents the PEMDAS rule, on page 14:
"1. First we calculate exponents if there are any.
2. Then we do multiplications and divisions.
3. Finally, we put it together, through calculation, and find the answer".
https://issuu.com/gyldendalnorskforlag/docs/sigma1t_bla-i-bok
"Calculating together" is probably the most accurate word for word-translation of the Norwegian expression "regne sammen", which means to put something together through counting or calculation. The authors don't care to mention addition and subtraction. They just assume that the reader will somehow figure out that "calculating together" refers to addition and subtraction. And one must read the rest of the page to notice that "If an expression stands within a parenthesis, we begin by "calculating out" ("regne ut") that expression".
Why is the education system pretty rotten in the state of Norway? Well, we have a rather left-wing culture and the government thinks that many children will suffer if they are forced to do math at school. The result is that many teachers don't know what they are doing, which ironically creates frustration and stress in the class room, so children suffer anyway, especially later in life.
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