Howard Stern show 2006: After more than a minute, the Wharton trio cannot figure out

[LuckyCharms]

that 17 times 6 is 102.

Not 96 or 94, Junior.

Not 112, stable genius.

It's 102. After over a minute, they still get the wrong answer.

I can understand some people feeling like they have been put on the spot and therefore, may not be able to come up with the answer. But there are 3 of them sitting there trying to figure it out, and they still can't do it. There are several ways to approach the simple problem. The way my mind works is as follows...let's see...17 x 2 is 34. So now I have to figure out 34 x 3. Well, 34 x 2 is 68, plus another 34 is 102. Or, you could just write the multiplication out in your head and solve it...7 x 6 is 42, write down the 2, carry the 4...etc etc. Or, you could just count 17, six times, 17, 34, 51, etc...

So here you have 3 people from the same family, who all "went to Wharton", that cannot figure out 17 x 6 with a minute to think about it. And yes, I know this post is petty. However, I would expect someone who "went to Wharton" to be able to solve this, if only to prove that you can solve it, after talking about "going to Wharton".

Dumbfuck grifters. Con-artists. Empty suits.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=80&v=iMIKzUAY8n4

[BSdetect]

1. A bunch of pseuds.

[mr_lebowski]

2. I'd go 6x20 is 120 then subtract (20-17)*6 ...

Unfathomable to me that a graduate from ANY HIGH SCHOOL, let alone college, couldn't figure out the answer, given an entire minute. Let alone THREE PEOPLE between them.

[nclib]

3. I worked it like this.

7 x 6 is 42. 10 x 6 is 60. 60 + 42 = 102.

[AJT]

4. That's what I did too.

[Squinch]

13. That was where my brain went. And we all had the answer in about 3 seconds.

[Rstrstx]

16. Same here, it's just the distributive property

It's a good way to mentally multiply two digit numbers by a single digit. The two easiest ways to approach it are

6(17) = 6(10+7) = 6(10) + 6(7) = 60+42 or

6(17) = 6(20-3) = 6(20) - 6(3) = 120-18

I wonder if any of them could work 41 x 39 mentally (it's even easier if you know the most basic algebra)

[John Fante]

5. I changed it to 34x3 and got the answer in seconds.

The Trumps are morons. Imbeciles. Cretins. Dumbfucks. Nitwits. Idiots. Dimwits. Shitheads.

[localroger]

7. 34 + 34 + 30 + 4 only one carry involved /nt

[Harker]

6. Is this the right place for the one about the constipated mathematician?

I've been waiting for a very long time.

[fierywoman]

8. Yes! Please!

[ornotna]

9. Let loose

Let's see what you've got.

[hibbing]

11. Waiting

[Harker]

12. He/She worked it out with a pencil.

Or a slide rule.

[hibbing]

14. Got a good laugh on this bad news day, thanks! n/t

[Harker]

15. It seemed pretty sophisticated fifty years ago.

I still smile a bit when it comes to mind.

[Atticus]

10. My dad joined the marines at 17 and spent what would have been his senior year in

the Marshall Islands during WWII. He could have solved that simple problem in his head after six beers and while beating you at pinochle.

[Awsi Dooger]

17. 60 + 42

For whatever reason that's the way I decipher something like that. My mind instantly takes the 6 x 10 as 60 and then the second digit 7 is likewise multiplied by 6 to produce 42.

I had to do that type of thing thousands of times in Las Vegas while betting sports, where everything is math related. Of course, I also had a Casio data bank watch with a handy little calculator. My sister called it a nerd watch but I could not have cared less. I wore out one and got another. Both paid for themselves countless times over.

I once had a job interview for sportsbook supervisor and the sportsbook manager asked everyone the same question: "What is 40 percent of 40?" I said, "That's two/fifths...16." He said, "I knew you would know. But you wouldn't believe some of the answers I've had. Less than half have gotten it correct. Some people freeze and can't come up with anything."

I got the job. Unfortunately that manager got fired less than a month later. Very awkward to say the least. It was at the Horseshoe and Jack Binion was such a gullible nutcase he went on firing sprees for no good reason.