Number 60, not the train route, not the motorway, not the transit route. Just plain number 60. Why it helps to use it in all examples. Be it for adults or for young children or young adults or old children, {damn it I am going to stick with saying people to include all of them.} one of the challenges in teaching mathematics is making it seem useful. Concurrently also need to ensure that people are not bogged down and boggled dim caught in detailed seeming pointless calculation.
You want people to be able to quickly and in their own head preferably without needing to resort to pen and paper and de la Mancha forbid that dreaded calculator. For me and the groups I work with, purpose of mathematics in generic terms is not for the esoteric knowledge or other abstractions. Purpose of mathematical skills is to be able to quickly carry out comparisons, visualize proportions, calculate quick percentages, generate a rough idea of quantities, amounts and difference. All these have practical applications, be it scaling up costs, comparing supermarket deals,
A lot of practice goes into the mechanics of calculating things. Knowing how certain calculations are done and actually doing them are different things. More people get used to quickly doing sums in their heads the more able they get. Practice, practice practice. There are hundreds of things daily that need to be calculated. {If there are calculations you do regularly or some seemly unusual lately do
In one of the groups, most important weekly real life calculation is verifying their payslips actually contain right data and reflect the correspondingly calculated numbers correctly. So a lot of time goes into looking at real payslips, looking at deductions, overtimes, varying rates, hours worked, has it been calculated properly. For this group, one activity we needed to do was knowing the difference between uniform $8-00 per hour for all hours vs $6-00 for first 20 and 35% for all excess vs 7-00 for first 40 and 25% on all excess.
Sadly the answer does not depend on mathematics but on employer nature. Therefore it was an exercise in discovery of how they were going to be screwed no matter which option they went for. At least we all had worked out exactly where and how we were going to be screwed.
So we use 60 for mental practice. Examples that use 60 or 600 or 6000 can be very helpful. This way we do not get distracted by the tedium of manually calculating, giving us the time to look at the concept in question and appreciate and pick up how it gets done. example that involves 43 is no different from an example, that involves 60. but 43 is a damn nuisance while 60 is comfortable.
So now back to 60. This awesome number provides ease of calculation so that we can focus on the main problem that is being considered. Whatever the problem maybe, examples involving 60 make it easier to calculate and see in your head how changes make a difference and how much of a difference.
60 can be evenly divided (there is no remainder, no fractions, etc etc) by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20 and 30. So common activities that include calculating, halves, thirds, quarters, fifths, tenths, twentieths are rapid. {for record — these all correspond to dividing by 2,3,4,5,10,20}.
Calculating percentages quickly 1, 5, 10, 15, 20 are common percentages people use. {for record — these correspond to dividing by 100, 20, 10, (10+5), 5.}.
Common factors, 60 shares factors with so many other numbers that further calculations that require combined factors, additions, divisions, multiplications and fractions become easier. A full circle is 6 times 60 degrees, and countless other features resulting from this in geometry.
Every time I look at calculation examples in any type non mathematical of writing, be it a book, or a web page, or newspaper articles, when is see 60 or a multiple of it, I smile and appreciate the thoughtful and prudent action of the author.
Calculations of examples that contain 60 can be verified very rapidly by readers without needing onerous effort. Thereby validating (or in some cases invalidating whatever is being written about). Calculation steps can be followed and thus examples presented with the theme of the writing can be more easily pictured and understood.
Next time you are writing something that uses 100 or 1000 or multiple there of, please reconsider using 60 or multiples thereof.
If you are not in the habit of writing, then you can still enjoy and appreciate the writers who use 60 in their examples.
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