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arithmetic is a type of math
[/ QUOTE ] Incorrect. Number theory is a type of mathematics. But we aren't talking about that here.
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Perhaps "type" was the wrong word. From "The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language":
"
arithmetic. The mathematics of integers under addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, involution, and evolution."
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How Doug figured it is the simplest quickest means of doing it while operating heavy machinery or otherwise.
[/ QUOTE ] That's the point of what we've all been saying. If you're going to disagree with me, you at least have to contradict me.
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Umm...I did contradict you. You said "but the most credit goes for doing it entirely with arithmetic", which I took to mean that you thought Doug was using something other than arithmetic. My point was that Doug did do it entirely with arithmetic (okay, and maybe a subconcious application of simple algebra from the distant past
).
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Using a specific simple concrete example with round numbers (100 miles distance, for example) to solve a general problem is the best way to quickly compute.
[/ QUOTE ]You can't solve a general problem with specific numbers, only the specific problem.
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Okay, not the best choice of words on my part. The point I was making is that it's often easier to
understand a general idea by working through a specific example that demonstrates the general idea in concrete terms. That's why you work through all those math problems in school rather than just study the theory.