Re: [PATCH] pass constants as first argument to st_mult()

From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date: Aug 1, 2016, 22:31 UTC
Message-ID: <xmqq60rkglym.fsf@gitster.mtv.corp.google.com>
In-Reply-To: <20160801211131.6ernsu74ohod2cin@sigill.intra.peff.net>

Jeff King <peff@peff.net> writes:

Show 10 quoted lines

>> *1* I have a slight suspicion that this is cultural, i.e. how
>> arithmetic is taught in grade schools.  When an apple costs 30 yen
>> and I have 5 of them, I was taught to multiply 30x5 to arrive at
>> 150, not 5x30=150, and I am guessing that is because the former
>> matches the natural order of these two numbers (cost, quantity) in
>> the language I was taught.
>
> You might be right. I was trying to figure out what is "natural" for me
> in these cases, but after thinking about it for 2 minutes, I'm pretty
> sure anything resembling "natural" is lost as I try to out-think myself. :)

Do native English speakers (or more in general Europeans) think of the apple example more like "5 apples, 30 cents each", and do 5x30?