Three hours from now I'll be taking the GRE.
Yesterday I decided to try the practice test in my GRE prep booklet, because it seemed like a good idea to remember what it's like to answer questions by filling in little bubbles. As a result, I now realize I'm entirely unprepared for this examination.
I thought I would be fine. I believe I've written about this somewhere else, but I spent the last month pretty sure I was going to kick ass at this.
I had not however, during that month, had any occasion to multiply any two-digit numbers together. Had I done such, I'd probably have discovered I don't in fact know how to multiply two-digit numbers.
What's nine times twelve? I know the answer is 108 because 120 (which is twelve times ten) minus twelve is 108. So nine times twelve should be 108 (and I'm pretty sure it is), but when I try to multiply nine times twelve I invariably end up with 144.
As I was typing this I just remembered how to multiply two-digit numbers.
I'm pretty sure it's because I'm drinking coffee. I wasn't drinking coffee yesterday. I spent an hour and a half trying to multiply nine times twelve.
Today it took less than a minute... and not just to accomplish the multiplying, but to teach myself how to multiply.
So that's improvement, right?
