Small Change
I am holding a jar of pennies in my hand. I haven’t counted them. Do you know how many pennies there are in this jar? Go ahead, make a guess. Four hundred and thirty five? Nope. I believe there are 327,004,003. I haven’t counted them, but you said you don’t know, therefore my guess is just as valid as yours.
No? Very well, then, the answer is 163,501,784. That’s exactly halfway between your answer and mine. Fair and balanced.
What do you mean, it’s impossible? Your fancy scientific calculator says that I’d be holding over four hundred tons of pennies? Fat lot you know. You just don’t have enough faith. My pennies are invisible, transcendent pennies.
How do I know that? I just know. I feel it. My parents and teachers and friends all believe it. It’s written down in that old book over there. In fact, a whole lot more people believe in my invisible transcendent pennies than your egghead number crunching dirty metal pennies.
Besides, people who don’t believe in invisible, transcendent pennies are bad people who’ll be punished forever and ever after they die.
Are you sure you want to take that kind of chance? Are you sure you don’t want to reconsider your answer?
How many pennies are in this jar? You don’t have to count them - the answer is right over there in that book.
No? Very well, then, the answer is 163,501,784. That’s exactly halfway between your answer and mine. Fair and balanced.
What do you mean, it’s impossible? Your fancy scientific calculator says that I’d be holding over four hundred tons of pennies? Fat lot you know. You just don’t have enough faith. My pennies are invisible, transcendent pennies.
How do I know that? I just know. I feel it. My parents and teachers and friends all believe it. It’s written down in that old book over there. In fact, a whole lot more people believe in my invisible transcendent pennies than your egghead number crunching dirty metal pennies.
Besides, people who don’t believe in invisible, transcendent pennies are bad people who’ll be punished forever and ever after they die.
Are you sure you want to take that kind of chance? Are you sure you don’t want to reconsider your answer?
How many pennies are in this jar? You don’t have to count them - the answer is right over there in that book.