I went to school in India, and we learned the multiplication tables with a chant that involved a postfix operator called "zaar":
-
I went to school in India, and we learned the multiplication tables with a chant that involved a postfix operator called "zaar":
two one zaar two
two two zaar four
two three zaar six
two four zaar eight
two five zaar ten
two six zaar twelve
…We just accepted such a postfix operator as the most natural thing, and freely used it when talking to each other: “what is seven six zaar?” (42)
Some of us were adults before realizing (and some probably never realizing) that these “tables” we all sang as children had probably started as:
two ones are two
two twos are four
…@svat You must've gone to a fancy school. We were just happy with 'zaaaa'

-
@weekend_editor @svat Reminds me that my CS 101 professor used "wennsdu" ("wenn du", "if you", with an implied "have") with the rough meaning of "given".
"Wennsdu ein ix und ein ipsilon" = "given x and y"
@tessarakt @weekend_editor @svat This probably won't translate well, but in Geometry we had a teacher from Frankonia who would say "the boint B" (der Bunkt B) und write a "P" on the board, and then "the line from A to B" and write A and B on the board and drew a line between them.
So if you just listened you had two points in mind, when there were in fact three. -
I went to school in India, and we learned the multiplication tables with a chant that involved a postfix operator called "zaar":
two one zaar two
two two zaar four
two three zaar six
two four zaar eight
two five zaar ten
two six zaar twelve
…We just accepted such a postfix operator as the most natural thing, and freely used it when talking to each other: “what is seven six zaar?” (42)
Some of us were adults before realizing (and some probably never realizing) that these “tables” we all sang as children had probably started as:
two ones are two
two twos are four
…The times table, or rote learning, is a good way of learning certain basic, fixed relationships. The whole class in my primary school would recite them at once. I'm wondering if schools do things differently now? I imagine so, but I can't think of another equally effective way of doing it.
-
I went to school in India, and we learned the multiplication tables with a chant that involved a postfix operator called "zaar":
two one zaar two
two two zaar four
two three zaar six
two four zaar eight
two five zaar ten
two six zaar twelve
…We just accepted such a postfix operator as the most natural thing, and freely used it when talking to each other: “what is seven six zaar?” (42)
Some of us were adults before realizing (and some probably never realizing) that these “tables” we all sang as children had probably started as:
two ones are two
two twos are four
…@svat Mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey
A kiddley divey too, wouldn't you?From Wikipedia: "Milton Drake, one of the writers, said the song had been based on an English nursery rhyme. According to this story, Drake's four-year-old daughter came home singing, 'Cowzy tweet and sowzy tweet and liddle sharksy doisters.'" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mairzy_Doats
-
@bstacey @svat
rebracketing is such a fun phenomenon!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebracketing -
@tessarakt @weekend_editor @svat This probably won't translate well, but in Geometry we had a teacher from Frankonia who would say "the boint B" (der Bunkt B) und write a "P" on the board, and then "the line from A to B" and write A and B on the board and drew a line between them.
So if you just listened you had two points in mind, when there were in fact three.@thechris @tessarakt @weekend_editor @svat I'm so confused by this one. Was this an error on the instructor's part? Are there supposed to be two or three points really?
-
@thechris @tessarakt @weekend_editor @svat I'm so confused by this one. Was this an error on the instructor's part? Are there supposed to be two or three points really?
@iris @tessarakt @weekend_editor @svat There are three points A, B and P, but in the Frankonian dialect "P" is pronounced as "B", so it sounded like only two.
(Same with "T", sounds like "D")
-
@thechris @tessarakt @weekend_editor @svat I'm so confused by this one. Was this an error on the instructor's part? Are there supposed to be two or three points really?
@iris @thechris @tessarakt @weekend_editor @svat
Apparently the Frankonian dialect voices their 'P' so they sound like 'B'? -
@iris @thechris @tessarakt @weekend_editor @svat
Apparently the Frankonian dialect voices their 'P' so they sound like 'B'?@iris @thechris @tessarakt @weekend_editor @svat
Clue given by the fact the German word for "point" should be "Punkt", not "Bunkt". -
I went to school in India, and we learned the multiplication tables with a chant that involved a postfix operator called "zaar":
two one zaar two
two two zaar four
two three zaar six
two four zaar eight
two five zaar ten
two six zaar twelve
…We just accepted such a postfix operator as the most natural thing, and freely used it when talking to each other: “what is seven six zaar?” (42)
Some of us were adults before realizing (and some probably never realizing) that these “tables” we all sang as children had probably started as:
two ones are two
two twos are four
…Well told! A whole story unfolds for us. It even includes an unreliable narrator!
-
@iris @tessarakt @weekend_editor @svat There are three points A, B and P, but in the Frankonian dialect "P" is pronounced as "B", so it sounded like only two.
(Same with "T", sounds like "D")
@thechris @iris @tessarakt @weekend_editor @svat Knowledge is power, France is bacon!

-
I went to school in India, and we learned the multiplication tables with a chant that involved a postfix operator called "zaar":
two one zaar two
two two zaar four
two three zaar six
two four zaar eight
two five zaar ten
two six zaar twelve
…We just accepted such a postfix operator as the most natural thing, and freely used it when talking to each other: “what is seven six zaar?” (42)
Some of us were adults before realizing (and some probably never realizing) that these “tables” we all sang as children had probably started as:
two ones are two
two twos are four
… -
@svat You must've gone to a fancy school. We were just happy with 'zaaaa'

@hurrynot I think dropping the 'r' was considered the more fancy accent

-
I went to school in India, and we learned the multiplication tables with a chant that involved a postfix operator called "zaar":
two one zaar two
two two zaar four
two three zaar six
two four zaar eight
two five zaar ten
two six zaar twelve
…We just accepted such a postfix operator as the most natural thing, and freely used it when talking to each other: “what is seven six zaar?” (42)
Some of us were adults before realizing (and some probably never realizing) that these “tables” we all sang as children had probably started as:
two ones are two
two twos are four
…@svat language evolves so easily!
-
I went to school in India, and we learned the multiplication tables with a chant that involved a postfix operator called "zaar":
two one zaar two
two two zaar four
two three zaar six
two four zaar eight
two five zaar ten
two six zaar twelve
…We just accepted such a postfix operator as the most natural thing, and freely used it when talking to each other: “what is seven six zaar?” (42)
Some of us were adults before realizing (and some probably never realizing) that these “tables” we all sang as children had probably started as:
two ones are two
two twos are four
…@svat Reminds me of Zardoz.
-
I went to school in India, and we learned the multiplication tables with a chant that involved a postfix operator called "zaar":
two one zaar two
two two zaar four
two three zaar six
two four zaar eight
two five zaar ten
two six zaar twelve
…We just accepted such a postfix operator as the most natural thing, and freely used it when talking to each other: “what is seven six zaar?” (42)
Some of us were adults before realizing (and some probably never realizing) that these “tables” we all sang as children had probably started as:
two ones are two
two twos are four
… -
@thechris @iris @tessarakt @weekend_editor @svat Knowledge is power, France is bacon!

@kallekn @thechris @iris @tessarakt @svat
Scientia ipsa potestas est. Gallia lardum est!
-
I went to school in India, and we learned the multiplication tables with a chant that involved a postfix operator called "zaar":
two one zaar two
two two zaar four
two three zaar six
two four zaar eight
two five zaar ten
two six zaar twelve
…We just accepted such a postfix operator as the most natural thing, and freely used it when talking to each other: “what is seven six zaar?” (42)
Some of us were adults before realizing (and some probably never realizing) that these “tables” we all sang as children had probably started as:
two ones are two
two twos are four
… -
@tessarakt @weekend_editor @svat This probably won't translate well, but in Geometry we had a teacher from Frankonia who would say "the boint B" (der Bunkt B) und write a "P" on the board, and then "the line from A to B" and write A and B on the board and drew a line between them.
So if you just listened you had two points in mind, when there were in fact three.@thechris @tessarakt @weekend_editor @svat My algorithms and data structures professor in Norway was not a native speaker and pronounced "én" (one, stress on the e) and "enn" (the letter N, stress on the n) the same, so you really had to pay attention to the slides when she was teaching big O notation so you didn't get O(1) and O(n) mixed up.
-
T tokeriis@helvede.net shared this topic
-
I went to school in India, and we learned the multiplication tables with a chant that involved a postfix operator called "zaar":
two one zaar two
two two zaar four
two three zaar six
two four zaar eight
two five zaar ten
two six zaar twelve
…We just accepted such a postfix operator as the most natural thing, and freely used it when talking to each other: “what is seven six zaar?” (42)
Some of us were adults before realizing (and some probably never realizing) that these “tables” we all sang as children had probably started as:
two ones are two
two twos are four
…@svat Fascinating! In my UK primary school, ~1980, we sang/chanted the same but swapping the multiplier and multiplicand:
one two is two
two twos are four
three twos are six
...
