Transcript
Okay, somebody needs to explain this to me like I'm a f idiot, okay? They stumped humanity for centuries, so don't be too hard on yourself. How does a negative number times a negative number equal a positive? If I have negative 16 pencils, okay, and I multiply that by a negative two, how do I all of a sudden have 32 fing pencils? I love trying to distill down gnarly, So let's explain this one with an example. If I twice give you 16 pencils, you own 32 more pencils. If I twice give you 16 pencil IOUs, you own 32 fewer pencils. If I twice take 16 pencils from you, you own 32 fewer pencils. But if you started with none, you can just owe me. Beware my pencil debt collector. If I twice take 16 pencil IOUs from you, you now own 32 more pencils. I'll thank you.
Additional notes
WHY does a negative times a negative equal a positive? If i film myself giving you 16 pencils (+) then play back that film forwards (+) twice (2x) the result looks like you have 32 pencils. If I play it backwards twice (-) it looks like you have 32 fewer pencils. But if i film myself taking 16 pencils (-) and then play it backwards twice (-2x), it looks like you now should have 32 more pencils! #science #math #scienceexplained #TikTokLearningCampaign
References
- No study references, DOI/PMID numbers, or source links listed in workbook.