Considering their post count is 69 I highly doubt they'll ever post again. Shame, I thought I could laugh at someone today, but it turned out it was just cringe.
This is a good troll thread. I missed these.
Yeah... no math class I had in grade school ever tried to teach us that 1 wasn't a number. (And if anything, 0 was what got treated as a outlier or "base"; kind of like the point that separated positive and negative numbers because 0 itself technically wasn't positive or negative. Anyone remember those number lines...?)1 isn't a prime number because its not considered to be a number at all. its considered to be "The Quantifier" or "The unit" around which all numbers or "integers" are based.
Granted, like I said I never was in any particular advanced college-level math class, so that could be why.
To me, those are two entirely different statements. "A prime number is divisible by itself and 1" would indicate that literally every number is a prime number. The latter statement would not."A prime number is divisible by itself and 1" is the simplified version of "A prime number is a whole number with exactly two integral divisors". 1 doesn't have two integral divisors so it can't be a prime number.
Kids at schools are given simplified information because few want to actually learn anything, those who want to learn more usually ask questions and nothing prevents them from acquiring further information which brings clarification.
You can't really blame your teachers for not understanding if they gave you the simplified definition, I asked questions when I wasn't understanding something even if it sounded idiotic to my classmates who always got lower marks than me.
To me, I saw the number 1, saw that it is potentially divisible by itself (1) and 1 (and no other numbers), and thus concluded that it should be a prime number based on the whole "only divisible by itself and 1" thing that I was consistently taught in my math classes. I didn't "not understand" anything, therefore I had no questions to ask. I never had any reason to question that knowledge until many years later, in FF12 playing a low level challenge, when I learned that being level 1 actually protected you from being hit by Zalera's Prime Level Death (indicating that 1 actually was NOT a prime number).
I (and the rest of my classes) was fed information that misled and didn't paint the whole picture, simple as that. So yes, I will blame my instructors for this one. Your attempted "well, the kids don't care about this stuff anyway, so why should I bother trying to teach them effectively" defense doesn't fly with me, sorry.
If a "simplified" definition leads to misunderstandings like mine, maybe it shouldn't be used in an educational setting.
Last edited by Fynlar; 06-09-2021 at 08:22 PM.
Player
In case there has been some misunderstanding, I am not a teacher at schools. I just recently graduated from high school.I (and the rest of my classes) was fed information that misled and didn't paint the whole picture, simple as that. So yes, I will blame my instructors for this one. Your attempted "well, the kids don't care about this stuff anyway, so why should I bother trying to teach them effectively" defense doesn't fly with me, sorry.
If a "simplified" definition leads to misunderstandings like mine, maybe it shouldn't be used in an educational setting.
You've been given an explanation of a more complicated rule because, as you've stated previously, the more complicated rule confuses you even more. When someone is explaining something and you don't get it, you should ask questions. I am 99% sure your instructors have told you that 1 is not a prime number. Yet you didn't ask why. Because you couldn't be bothered. So you never learned it up until the point you played FF12.
Don't pretend to be a victim of some bad educational system. Everyone is, but some of us learn things.
Last edited by Roeshel; 06-10-2021 at 12:13 AM.
You're correct in that the simplified version just leads people to come to wrong conclusions and shouldn't be taught. Prime numbers aren't really important to the math being taught at grade school level and can probably be a subject held off until middle or high school level math when the students can better grasp the concept of what they are, why they're important, and what constitutes a prime. But the problem here was that the OP, after people tried to educate on the misunderstanding was still arguing that their wrong opinions why 1 should be considered prime were just as valid as the facts proving that it is not.I (and the rest of my classes) was fed information that misled and didn't paint the whole picture, simple as that. So yes, I will blame my instructors for this one. Your attempted "well, the kids don't care about this stuff anyway, so why should I bother trying to teach them effectively" defense doesn't fly with me, sorry.
If a "simplified" definition leads to misunderstandings like mine, maybe it shouldn't be used in an educational setting.
Because this is the same person who started a thread complaining that "November isn't fall!" Which sparked the comparison of "1 is a prime number!" and failure to accept they're wrong when faced with facts and move on. And since I'm the one who brought up Italy, it's because the Romans were the ones who defined the dates of our current system, and they based that off weather patterns in Italy. Even knowing that seasonal and weather pattern doesn't reflect most of the world, it's still the generally accepted dates.Why the hell are we talking about when seasons are in Sweden or Italy or whatever? Who cares?
This is a Japanese game, made by a Japanese company. If they make a global announcement regarding a seasonal release, it should be automatically assumed that they're talking about seasons in Japan, unless otherwise stated.
Do you think the Australians saw the "fall" announcement and then were saying "hurr durr, but fall is already almost over this year, durr"?
Why the hell are we talking about when seasons are in Sweden or Italy or whatever? Who cares?
This is a Japanese game, made by a Japanese company. If they make a global announcement regarding a seasonal release, it should be automatically assumed that they're talking about seasons in Japan, unless otherwise stated.
Do you think the Australians saw the "fall" announcement and then were saying "hurr durr, but fall is already almost over this year, durr"?
Ignore them. The trolls in this forum are bringing up November and fall in every thread I make to divert the topic for no reason.Why the hell are we talking about when seasons are in Sweden or Italy or whatever? Who cares?
This is a Japanese game, made by a Japanese company. If they make a global announcement regarding a seasonal release, it should be automatically assumed that they're talking about seasons in Japan, unless otherwise stated.
Do you think the Australians saw the "fall" announcement and then were saying "hurr durr, but fall is already almost over this year, durr"?
If you don't care why are you replying. I was replying to quoted comments. Take a chillpill Karen.Why the hell are we talking about when seasons are in Sweden or Italy or whatever? Who cares?
This is a Japanese game, made by a Japanese company. If they make a global announcement regarding a seasonal release, it should be automatically assumed that they're talking about seasons in Japan, unless otherwise stated.
Do you think the Australians saw the "fall" announcement and then were saying "hurr durr, but fall is already almost over this year, durr"?
Simply adding the clause "a prime number cannot be 1 / must also be greater than 1" would not have been confusing, and would have resolved the entire issue.You've been given an explanation of a more complicated rule because, as you've stated previously, the more complicated rule confuses you even more.
The stuff that is confusing to me is stuff like the "fundamental theorem of arithmetic", which is apparently something advanced enough such that I never heard about it in grade school and only heard about in this thread. I don't know why this "rule" exists, nor do I care. Regardless, since it never came up when I learned about prime numbers, it doesn't do much to combat the (apparently erroneous) idea that 1 might be a prime number.
Again, there wasn't anything I "didn't get". To me back then, 1 being a prime number was just something that made sense, so there was no question to ask.When someone is explaining something and you don't get it, you should ask questions.
You can't ask a question you never had in the first place.
Don't tell me what I can't do.Don't pretend to be a victim of some bad educational system.
Many people would agree the US education system sucks, anyway. Don't act like it's immune to criticism.
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|
Cookie Policy
This website uses cookies. If you do not wish us to set cookies on your device, please do not use the website. Please read the Square Enix cookies policy for more information. Your use of the website is also subject to the terms in the Square Enix website terms of use and privacy policy and by using the website you are accepting those terms. The Square Enix terms of use, privacy policy and cookies policy can also be found through links at the bottom of the page.