Gar1eth

Gotcha!! That's right in my alley. Gman

Did someone @FreshFluff delete a post? Gman

I can only hope I don't ruin the aura of devil-may-care effortless masculinity I've cultivated for years here on the Forum when I reveal I let out a short snort and giggle when I saw this a second ago on a friend's Facebook page. Corgi Butt or Loaf of Bread Gman

Gman

Boy, Dad is really kinky!!! Gman

Let the Grammar Wars recommence!!! Gman

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j12/itsallos/BDCFF503-715C-485F-A7F0-9AA3F3347C4A_zpstnbfz7xn.jpg Gman

Oh no, I no longer have control of my television set, and it's weirding me out Gman

It's cute. But it's weirding me out!! Gman

Couldn't see it until I replied!! Gman

Gman

http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0183/8017/products/DSC_0022.jpg?v=1456527389 And my own. Gman

That's a good one. But I thought this was the world's funniest joke: Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn't seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other guy whips out his phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps, "My friend is dead! What can I do?" The operator says, "Calm down. I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead." There is a silence; then a gun shot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says, "OK, now what?" Gman

This picture is grossing me out. Shouldn't he be kneeling? Gman

About the only way I imagine I'll ever get one. Gman

Gman

I had to look up the meaning of this joke. But I understood it when I looked it up almost immediately whereas I didn't here because there's a line missing. After the juggler asks them whether they can see him the next line is supposed to be 'What do they say in Response?'. Gman

I'm trying to help @AdamSmith in his quest to spread enlightenment to our Forum Brethren. And sadly-sigh-this is the thanks we get. Gman

FOIL ( a + b) times ( a - b) First a X a = a ^ 2 Outer a X -b = - ab Inner b X a = a X b = + ab Last b X - b = - b ^ 2 So a ^ 2 + (-ab) + (ab) - b ^ 2 = a ^ 2 - b ^2 If b = a you get the equivalent expression @AdamSmith used. @quoththeraven you are correct that the original expression is equal to zero. That's part of the trick in these proofs. Using letters instead of actual numbers, people often lose sight of that. Gman

No it's right. It's called 'factoring the difference of (perfect) squares. See the video below. According to what my 10 th grade geometry teacher said (and maybe my 1st year algebra teacher the year before), all these proofs rely on dividing by zero at some point. It's usually cleverly 'disguised' so you can't always pick it out. It's also one reason why math teachers don't actually like you to say that you are 'cancelling' out factors on both sides of the equation. What you are actually doing is dividing by the factor in question. And if you know the factor is = to zero, you know you can't actually do it. Here's the reason line 2 is correct @quoththeraven. If you don't like this video-you can go from the other direction and use the FOIL (First-Outer-Inner-Last) Method to multiply (X + Y) times (X - Y) to see that it gives you (X ^2 - Y ^ 2) but you can substitute X for Y and it gives you the example above. Gman

It took me a second. But I remembered something my 10th grade geometry teacher pointed out to my class (40 years ago now) when she performed a similar proof. (X - X) is equal to zero. You can't divide by zero and remain in the Real Number 'Realm'. Therefore @AdamSmith your proof is sadly invalid. Gman PS Now if I could only remember where I put my glasses 10 minutes ago.

If you 'hit it', might you not drive it in deeper? Gman

See my reply above this comment. Gman

How silly. George shouldn't have used the term 'average' he should have actually said, "Think about how stupid the MEDIAN person is... Median- mathematics : the middle value in a series where half of the set are above the value and half are below. Gman

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j12/itsallos/F2B904B5-631B-4080-9CA5-BFAB8F708799_zps2nojda24.jpg Gman