problem of the week
Brother Greg is having quite a time with his ascetic motorcycle trip down the east coast and out of the southland. Area weather patterns and tropical storm Bill are keeping his journey as well as his rest, extremely soggy. Being the brilliant and inventive young acolyte that he is, I’m certain he has come up with numerous ways to stay as dry as possible and in the best spirits given damp drawers and narrow, slippery paths.
As a salute to his fortitude and make-it-happen attitude I’d like to give everyone a glimpse into his problem solving nature in his early years. This particular excerpt from an early Macoupin County, Illinois publication dates back to December of 1982.
Nearly all of the students involved … were asked to tell how they would find out how many dogs are in their community! The silly problem was intended to provoke creative, yet practical problem solving experience. Here are a few of the solutions produced by children from the second grade through the sixth grade:[Numerous entries by “gifted” students involving elaborate plans with cages, photography, and – almost universally – aircraft of some sort. Counting is also typically referenced as a manual process or ambiguously using the term, “then count” or “you count.” Young Brother Greg intones:]
“Get 10,000 big bags of dog food. Then put it on a sidewalk. Then ask everybody to bring their dog to Main Street. Then get a machine to count the dogs as they are eating.”
by Greg Gehner
2nd Grade
Mt. Olive
What a practical and progressive answer. There’s a a detailed list of resources and specific instructions including a finite location. Automation is employed for accuracy and utmost ease. Considering the dog to food ratio for a town of 2,400, even savage feasting would yield bounteous leftovers motivating dog owners to participate in the count. Everyone is happy especially the essential and soon-to-be well fed canines.
This is only the tip of a mental iceberg that over the years, has floated away from his glacial mind. Yes my friend, the oceans are rising but the ice fields are vast and beyond comprehension. Ice. Liquid. Vapor… There are many states to water Brothers and Sisters. As our traveling sage communes with this great land, the metaphor of his knowledge is exhaled as a living truth that there is water in many states. And now dear Congregation, a moment of silence for our gifted and beleagured Brother Greg.
30 June 2003, 22:17 ::
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