Hometown Math

My hometown was evenly divided. Half of the natives were Irish. The other half Italian. This is why I had such trouble passing the math section of the SAT's.

Math is based on the principle that two halves make a whole. Whoever created math has never visited my hometown. If one half is Irish and the other half Italian, any addlepated flibbertigibbet knows, it creats division.

There's a section for essays in the new SAT's. If that section had existed when I took them, I could have explained these basic math principles, and perhaps, the economy today wouldn't be so messed up.

It intrigued me recently to hear that many colleges are no longer basing their entrance requirements on SAT scores. Which is probably a good thing because I've noticed that like the economy, the SAT scores have been depreciated by inflation.

Back in the ' 60s, a score of 1600 was considered an excellent grade. It qualified the student as semi-intelligent. Today, that same degree of intelligence has to rate a score of 2400.

The laws of modern economics contradict the laws of ancient physics which means that things which are equal to each other no longer create the same velosity on a downhill slide. Which about sums it up on the subject of SAT scores.

That about sums it up on my hometown, too. If the Irish and Italians had realized that the sum of two halves create a whole, the Irish could have had more than meat and potatoes for supper, and the Italians could have imbibed more than cheap red wine.

Long live pasta and Irish whiskey! Bring them along next time, if you ever have to take a SAT test. They make a lively snack.
Hometown Math © 2005 Chaeli Sullivan