Betty by Gary Delainey and Gerry Rasmussen for April 24, 2019

sometimes Spock, logic is overrated.

Actually, “logic” is a branch of mathematics.

It’s also the foundation of mathematics, since it’s only through logical reasoning that any mathematical results can be “proven”.

And you have to add up columns and rows.

I never understood how, when learning algebra, some people didn’t recognize, “3 + 2 = ?,” was the same as, “X = 3 + 2.” We had easily accepted the question mark as, “the unknown,” so X was just a question mark.

Try Ken-Ken! It uses arithmetic and can be as easy or hard as you want.

Betty is in deep water.

If a guy was saying what she is saying, they’d call it mansplaining.

“Arithmetic” is to “mathematics” as “alphabet block” is to “civil engineering”.

Try the numeric fill-it-in puzzles. Those are my favorite.

And if Betty (and, I guess, Gary and/or Gerry on her behalf) were better at word stuff, she would know she’s confusing mere arithmetic with mathematics. But maybe she didn’t get very far with it in school.

Although, for the record, my favourite daily puzzle is the Killer Sudoku in the Daily Telegraph. Which requires arithmetic as well as logic.

I’ve done a few Sodoku and it does require some logic and skill in spatial relationships, but it is in no way maths!