I grew up as the black sheep in a family of math and science geeks. In 1977, I was the only one who would show up at the dinner table without the newly released pocket Texas Instruments programmable calculator.
Somewhere between the appetizer and the main course the math questions would start flying, and the calculators’ red LED displays would start blinking in a frenzy of problem solving. Coming up with the right answer was not enough — you had to “show your work.” Some fun, eh? No wonder I started having dinner at friends’ houses.
Showing your work was routine in high school and college math classes, and usually necessary for full credit. It always seemed like an extra requirement. In the real world isn’t getting the right answer all that matters?
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