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Re: "SavetheUKCC" petition

Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2016 3:37 pm
by John Hickman
John Upham wrote: Do you examples of uninteresting puzzles that you might have been given or that you are aware of as being uninteresting?
"What is the smallest uninteresting number?"

Re: "SavetheUKCC" petition

Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2016 3:44 pm
by Alex Holowczak
John Upham wrote:
Alex Holowczak wrote: With maths, it was some sort of uninteresting puzzle that you could take further, or data analysis.
Do you examples of uninteresting puzzles that you might have been given or that you are aware of as being uninteresting?
I remember Magic E, or something like that. You had a number grid, and had to draw an E on it, and add up the total for the E. You then had various questions asking you to find out what would happen if you changed the configuration of the E, the dimensions of the grid, and eventually you'd come up with some formula that could always calculate the total depending on the size of the grid and the size of the E. I can't remember if we did this for the letter E or the letter T.

I remember to do well, you had to basically make up a question that you weren't asked and investigate the impact it would have on the E. I might have asked myself "What about a different letter?" which would explain why I can't quite remember if the question was an E or a T.

Thrilling stuff. :roll:

Re: "SavetheUKCC" petition

Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2016 3:49 pm
by Michael Farthing
Please sir, I know. It's 10.
It would be 7, but 7 is interesting because it is the lowest uninteresting number.

Re: "SavetheUKCC" petition

Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2016 4:26 pm
by Kevin Thurlow
7 is interesting because if you ask people to pick a number between 1 and 10, the most common reply is 7 (then 3).

7 is also interesting if you are a dwarf or magnificent, or indeed, both.

Happily, Wikipedia comes to the rescue for the second time today.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interesti ... er_paradox

Re: "SavetheUKCC" petition

Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2016 6:19 pm
by Neill Cooper
Coursework ended a few years ago - longer in the case of maths.
It was replaced by controlled assessment - done in school not at home, so in 'controlled conditions'.
With the latest revision of GCSEs and A levels most controlled assessment has now gone - we are returning to assessing teenagers in most subjects solely by exams in years 11 and 13.

The real difference compared to 30 or 40 years ago is that then it was how many O levels and A levels you got, now it is how many A*s you get. That is where the real pressure comes from and why teenagers have to work much longer and harder than many of us did.

ps Another change starts this school year - the new GCSEs in Maths and English will be graded from 9 (top) to 1 (bottom). This is the reverse order of the old O levels.

Re: "SavetheUKCC" petition

Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2016 6:23 pm
by Neill Cooper
John Hickman wrote:
John Upham wrote: Do you examples of uninteresting puzzles that you might have been given or that you are aware of as being uninteresting?
"What is the smallest uninteresting number?"
Which should be called "the smallest uninteresting natural number" (another name for positive integer).
Another one I use with my sixth form is "what is the smallest positive number?"

Re: "SavetheUKCC" petition

Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2016 6:56 pm
by NickFaulks
Neill Cooper wrote: Which should be called "the smallest uninteresting natural number" (another name for positive integer).
Not necessarily. Isn't that the sort of lateral thinking Alex is talking about?

Re: "SavetheUKCC" petition

Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2016 7:02 pm
by NickFaulks
Neill Cooper wrote: ps Another change starts this school year - the new GCSEs in Maths and English will be graded from 9 (top) to 1 (bottom). This is the reverse order of the old O levels.
Satire being dead, I assume this is actually true. Were McKinsey paid £20m of our money to think up this one?

Re: "SavetheUKCC" petition

Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2016 9:21 pm
by PeterFarr
NickFaulks wrote:
Neill Cooper wrote: ps Another change starts this school year - the new GCSEs in Maths and English will be graded from 9 (top) to 1 (bottom). This is the reverse order of the old O levels.
Satire being dead, I assume this is actually true. Were McKinsey paid £20m of our money to think up this one?
Yes it's true, but surely changing a numbering system is much better than spending money on anything so retrograde as more teachers, for example; filling children with dangerous ideas or even learning educational games.

Re: "SavetheUKCC" petition

Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2016 9:32 pm
by John Upham
PeterFarr wrote:or even learning educational games.

Did you read

http://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=8703 ?


I assume from that fact that there has been no discussion that this is not of any interest to chess players (in this place).

Re: "SavetheUKCC" petition

Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2016 11:40 pm
by Alex Holowczak
Neill Cooper wrote:Coursework ended a few years ago - longer in the case of maths.
Hoorah!
NickFaulks wrote:
Neill Cooper wrote: ps Another change starts this school year - the new GCSEs in Maths and English will be graded from 9 (top) to 1 (bottom). This is the reverse order of the old O levels.
Satire being dead, I assume this is actually true. Were McKinsey paid £20m of our money to think up this one?
Is this designed to copy the IGCSEs and International Baccalaureate, which a lot of independent schools do in preference to current GCSEs and A Levels?

Re: "SavetheUKCC" petition

Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2016 5:02 pm
by John Upham
Just in case anyone had forgotten what this thread is supposed to be about (I am partially to blame) you might be interested to know that nine (9) days away from the bid deadline the Trustee of Bankruptcy has received eleven (11) expressions of interest from varied parties in acquiring the assets of UKCC. :D

One of the key concerns must be the extent to which legacy personnel will be involved in the phoenix version.

Some of these parties wish MJB to be involved and some don't. I suspect the Trustee will look favourably upon the party likely to result in the most successful business continuity.

As far as I know the sponsor (Delancey) is committed to continuity of sponsorship. I won't publish the amount involved since it is likely to be "commercial in confidence".

Re: "SavetheUKCC" petition

Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2016 5:07 pm
by Adam Raoof
are these bids a matter of public record?

Re: "SavetheUKCC" petition

Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2016 5:12 pm
by John Upham
Adam Raoof wrote:are these bids a matter of public record?
Enquiries to the Trustee of Bankruptcy may yield the information you seek Adam. :D

Re: "SavetheUKCC" petition

Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2016 5:24 pm
by Adam Raoof
thanks John - will you be at this meeting?

http://www.insolvencylist.com/details.p ... al=1148643