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Supposedly simple math homework for Japanese elementary kid stumps gamer dad, with good reason

Casey Baseel May 18, 2018
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”If you spent four hours and 40 minutes playing video games, how much time did you waste?” has no easy answer.

Even though they’re incredibly important for showing real-world applications of mathematical principles, some students struggle with word problems. Once the discussion goes beyond the bounds of the nuts and bolts of arithmetic, young minds can sometimes become overwhelmed from the extra information.

But if solving word problems can be challenging for students, creating them can apparently be a challenge for teachers, too. Japanese Twitter user @HiZiRi_DIESEL recently shared a snapshot of his young daughter’s math homework, which included a question many adults feel has no answer, or at least no good one.

娘の宿題の問題で、ゲームをした時間を無駄に過ごしたっと書いてある事に、めっちゃ悪意を感じた(><
コレは、ゲームを作ってる人への冒涜だと思う pic.twitter.com/GyCjSGE5M6

— ひじりんいじりん (@HiZiRi_DIESEL) May 14, 2018

The question in question is:

“In the morning, you spent one hour and 50 minutes playing video games.
In the afternoon, you spent two hours and 50 minutes playing video games.
It total, how many hours and minutes of your time did you waste?”

If we take the approach that the only numerical data we’ve been given is two quantifiable data of the same category, and the final question is of the “How much?” variety, it would seem the answer the teacher is hoping for is “four hours and 40 minutes.” After all, that would show that the student can handle addition, and also knows that there are 60 minutes in one hour.

But many commenters were upset that the teacher doesn’t seem to understand that “time spent playing video games” and “time wasted” aren’t necessarily one and the same. “That’s a pretty malicious question,” @HiZiRi_DIESEL tweeted, “and an insult to people who work in the game industry,” which is a sizable part of the Japanese economy.

Others who find games to be mentally stimulating, emotionally stirring, or just plain fun joined in with their own comments.

“I want the teacher to show his work in proving why playing games equals wasting time.”
“Yeah. It’s not part of the given information.”
“If playing those games had a positive effect on your life, the answer should be ‘zero hours and zero minutes.’”
“This is an impossible question. It’s like asking ‘If you have 10 apples and five oranges, how many bananas do you have?”
“With that much time playing games, I estimate 20 minutes or so would be loading screens, so my answer is ’20 minutes.’”

One commenter proposed an alternative wording that tests for the same mathematic understanding, but without the judgmental attitude about anyone’s hobbies.

“How about if you instead ask ‘In the morning, you spent one hour and 50 minutes playing video games. In the afternoon, you spent two hours and 50 minutes playing video games, but before you could save your game, your mom accidentally unplugged your system. In total, how many hours and minutes of your time did you waste?”

And finally, one commenter decided to flip the script and remind the teacher that adults themselves often take time for non-productive leisure activities without being stigmatized for “wasting time.”

“On his day off, the teacher spent one hour and 30 minutes watching a TV drama. After that, he spent two hours watching a talk show where his favorite actor was a guest. In total, how many hours and minutes of his day off did the teacher waste?”

In the end, there’s really not a good answer to the original question, but @HiZiRi_DIESEL’s daughter can still learn a valuable lesson: adults, even teachers, sometimes make mistakes.

Source: Twitter/@HiZiRi_DIESEL via Jin
Top image: Pakutaso

Follow Casey on Twitter, where playing Valis 4, but not being able to understand the Japanese-dialogue cutscenes, was one more reason he wanted to learn Japanese.