… in which I try to capture my moments of “I did not know that”. It’s my attempt to clear the frozen windscreen of Doh! using the window scraper of Aha!
This week, more Heroes, so there will be Greek myths. I’m also reading Alex’s Adventures in Numberland, so there will be maths (Greek or otherwise). On with it:
- After 30+ years of confusion, I finally have my Greek heroes clear. (As ever, the villains had been more memorable.) Perseus fought Medusa, using his nifty shield trick. Jason led the Argonauts — the Avengers of Greek myth — to retrieve the Golden Fleece. He was married to the devilish Medea. Theseus conquered the Minotaur.
- The prefix Giga- comes from the word giant. This, in turn, comes from the Race of Giants’ mother: Gaia, aka Earth. So Giant originally meant “of the Earth”, and had little to do with being big.
- Numbers are only about 10,000 years old. They — as with so many things we take for granted — are a human invention. A technology, created to ease trade and commerce.
- Why are there 60 minutes in an hour? We can thank the Babylonians. They had inherited a sexagesimal — 60 digits, as opposed to our 10 — counting system from the Sumerians. 60 is divisible by, well, all the numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, 30, and 60. This makes it useful. 100, it turns out, is less useful — any attempt to push Decimal Time has failed.
- Haggling/Negotiating is not a zero-sum game. The aim is not to ‘win’. It’s about two parties meeting somewhere in the middle. For example, floor space is a negotiation point for stores. Look for the stuff they’re trying to flog — discounts, etc. That’s a potential bartering point.
- You are not being cheeky by asking for money off. I repeat, you are not being cheeky by asking for money off. I tried it, it was fine. I’m saying this to remind myself, as much as anyone else.