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150
Literary Lapses
·
Stephen Leacock
144
"Your
kindness
checks
my
utterance,"
murmured
Henry
feebly,
very
feebly.
A,
B,
and
C
THE
HUMAN
ELEMENT
IN
MATHEMATICS
The
student
of
arithmetic
who
has
mastered
the
first
four
rules
of
his
art,
and
successfully
striven
with
money
sums
and
fractions,
finds
himself
confronted
by
an
unbroken
expanse
of
questions
known
as
problems.
These
are
short
stories
of
adventure
and
industry
with
the
end
omitted,
and
though
betraying
a
strong
family
resemblance,
are
not
without
a
certain
element
of
romance.
The
characters
in
the
plot
of
a
problem
are
three
people
called
A,
B,
and
C.
The
form
of
the
question
is
generally
of
this
sort:
"A,
B,
and
C
do
a
certain
piece
of
work.
A
can
do
as
much
work
in
one
hour
as
B
in
two,
or
C
in
four.
Find
how
long
they
work
at
it."
Or
thus:
"A,
B,
and
C
are
employed
to
dig
a
ditch.
A
can
dig
as
much
in
one
hour
as
B
can
dig
in
two,
and
B
can
dig
twice
as
fast
as
C.
Find
how
long,
etc.
etc."
Or
after
this
wise:
"A
lays
a
wager
that
he
can
walk
faster
than
B
or
C.
A
can
walk
half
as
fast
again
as
B,
and
C
is
only
an
indifferent
walker.
Find
how
far,
and
so
forth."
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