A surveyor was playing poker with his buddies; a chemist, a construction foreman and an architect. The conversation turned toward names for different things of the game. The “kitty, till, pot” and the “ante, blind, bet”, plus the “tell, fold, bluff” were discussed, with each person adding bits of information and histories that they knew. It was just a simple game among friends.
That banter led to measurements used in each of the professions. The chemist piped up with, “I don’t know why you guys don’t go metric. Units of ten are the easiest to calculate.” The Architect defended his profession with, “The products produced are in increments that don’t work well metrically. Dimensions are better drawn and calculated to the 32th of a foot.” The construction foreman agreed and added, “Our measuring tapes match the materials we build with. Besides, most times you can’t build closer than a 1/8th of an inch.” The surveyor let them debate while he counted the cards played, cards showing (in his hand and on the table) and possible cards left in the deck.
He placed his bet, “I raise you fifty cents and will take three cards.” Tossed coins clinked as they landed on the shiny pile. Scanning his new cards he continued, “I work in tenths of a foot. Imagine a marriage between a dollar bill and a compass. Remove the numbers from a compass, or better yet a clock, and assign a different amount in each place.” He asked the foreman, “What number is quarter past the hour?” “Three” the answer given. The architect was asked, “If you take the clock or compass where zero is equal to 10, what is at the bottom of the hour?” “SIx o’clock”, he blurted, then shouted, “No, five!” “Correct”, the surveyor said smiling at his friend. “I raise fifty more cents.” More tinkling and the other players received new cards.
He turned to the chemist and said, “a quarter of a foot is still 3 inches but is written .25 just like a quarter of a dollar or quarter of an hour. Therefore, .5, half, equals 6, .75, being three quarters, equals 9 and so on.”
The haughty chemist conceded that the math was sound but asked, “How do you handle metric conversion?”
“I use a calculator” laughed the surveyor while showing his cards, “Who can beat a flush?” Sometimes it’s all about the suit and not the numbers.
Play well with others adventurers