Monday, September 10, 2012
Trouble with 5's
For quite a while now I've been noticing an odd 'category error'. It may be a sign of senility, may result from damage during the few years of high blood pressure.
Or it may be a permanent short-circuit that I simply didn't start noticing until I got old. (Not bloody likely!)
Specifically, I sometimes have trouble counting money, but only when 5 is involved. Nickels or $5 bills trigger the error. Other combinations are fine.
It happened again this morning. This time I managed to replay the action and figure out exactly how it went wrong.
The bill at Safeway came to $13.61, and I had a bunch of ones fattening my wallet; so I decided to start with a $5 bill and do the rest in ones.
Pulled the 5, started counting ones. "Five, six,
At that point the Six changed roles.
It was meant to start a sequence: "6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14."
Instead, the 6 flipped semiconsciously to "Now I need 6 of these Ones to make 14."
So I obediently counted ones: "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6." Result: I tried to pay with $11. ¶ 8:14 AM
Or it may be a permanent short-circuit that I simply didn't start noticing until I got old. (Not bloody likely!)
Specifically, I sometimes have trouble counting money, but only when 5 is involved. Nickels or $5 bills trigger the error. Other combinations are fine.
It happened again this morning. This time I managed to replay the action and figure out exactly how it went wrong.
The bill at Safeway came to $13.61, and I had a bunch of ones fattening my wallet; so I decided to start with a $5 bill and do the rest in ones.
Pulled the 5, started counting ones. "Five, six,
At that point the Six changed roles.
It was meant to start a sequence: "6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14."
Instead, the 6 flipped semiconsciously to "Now I need 6 of these Ones to make 14."
So I obediently counted ones: "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6." Result: I tried to pay with $11. ¶ 8:14 AM
