Comments (21) (Please sign in to comment)

1. 

   templo SUD said, 3 months ago

   In other words on Jason’s idiotic message, you "press 1“, right?
2. 

   Bruno Zeigerts said, 3 months ago

   Figuring out the answering machine is the easy part…
3. 

   BlackKnight15 said, 3 months ago

   @440RoadRunner

   I did and parentheses are needed before the product (to get 1)…
4. 

   skeeterhawk said, 3 months ago

   Since you’re discussing the equation, what’s the proper way to explain the parentheses in an audio phone message?
5. 

   BlackKnight15 said, 3 months ago

   @skeeterhawk

   The difference of … and … multiplied by 17.5 subtract the 4th root of…
   This forces the difference to be evaluated before the multiplication…
6. 

   vwdualnomand said, 3 months ago

   nowadays, we have smartphones which have voicemail with default recording.
7. 

   Ray C said, 3 months ago

   He should say, “…all times 17.5…”, otherwise there is no hint that you need the parentheses. On my first try I got -593, and I KNEW that Amend would give us a proper equation to get to 1 or maybe 2. I just realized that BlackKnight15 also gave us a good way to say it. Bill Amend should get a demerit for that one.
8. 

   ewalnut said, 3 months ago

   For the phone caller, it would be easiest to just try each number on the touchpad and see which one works.
9. 

   opentomeet said, 3 months ago

   As the instructions are verbal, merely calculate as each term becomes available. SR – CR * 17.5 – FR = 1
10. 

    Thunderdog said, 3 months ago

    @opentomeet

    Or algebraically: (SR – CR) * 17.5 – FR = 1

    Thank you BlackKnight15 for keeping us math geeks on our toes.
11. 

    kea said, 3 months ago

    @opentomeet

    yep
12. 

    boogshine said, 3 months ago

    Yeah, with no parenthesis I got the -593 as well, but can understand where the 1 comes from. No wonder no one is calling.
13. 

    Night-Gaunt49 said, 3 months ago

    Or for those of us mathematically impaired we use deductive reasoning based upon the phone button numbering system.
14. 

    scottjsmith said, 3 months ago

    @opentomeet

    Actually, if you do that on a standard calculator you get -593, which as others pointed out is totally wrong. You only end up with 1 if you enter = after each operation too, which is the same as having parenthesis around the first operation.
15. 

    Teresa said, 3 months ago

    Mom says, With the phone or our son?

    Answer is, Yes!
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