Terrill's Fast Math

The > difference is < you know

Like some of you, when I was learning the difference between the greater than and less than symbols in third grade, I had a difficult time trying to keep them straight.  Like our Fleet Admiral, I was taught with the twin-headed crocodile -- or in my case it was a dragon.  Myself as well as some others in the class still struggled with it.

So, I will let you in on a little secret on how I finally understood the two symbols.

The secret is, that you can take either symbol all by itself and the open end will always read as greater than and the closed end will always read as less than.

Example:  Greater Than >

                  Less Than <

Simply read the symbol from left to right and whatever end you encounter first will be either greater than > or less than <.

Now that you know, re-read the title of this article and find out what it really says.

                            Speed Math

Adding numbers up in your head can be difficult at best.  Few guild members can even add double digits in their head much less make complex calculations.

Problem 1: Do you have what it takes?

You need cunning > 34 to solve a mission and you have 7 people in your away team each has cunning as follows: 4,5,5,6,6,7,4.  Can you solve the mission?

Before you start counting on your fingers, consider this: You need 35 to solve the mission.  You have 2 4's and 2 6's and the rest are 5 or better.  7 personnel X 5 average cunning = 35.  Of course you have the mission!  Your cunning is actually 37 but it doesn't make any difference because you only need 35.

* Try to have your personnel have 5 or better when attempting attribute requirements to make it easier to count.

Problem 2: Subtraction

Same away team, different dilemma.  A living death is on the mission and you need to factor that into your calculations.  As you are only looking at a single attribute, you will only need to subtract 1 point per person that does not have treachery.  In this case, you have 4 personnel who have treachery.   Separate them from the others and count each individually then add both groups together.  Did you get 34?  I hope so.

Problem 3: Speed Counting

How would you have counted the same away team?  Try organizing them into totals of 5 or 10 to make them easier to count (Ex. 6+4=10, 6+4=10, 5+5=10; 3x10 = 30 +7=37).  OR group them together by number and multiply.  (Ex. 4x2=8, 6x2=12, 5x2=10;  8+12=20, 20+10=30, 30+7=37)

The key to speed counting is breaking your cards down into recognizable patterns which makes it easier to count.