From a third-grade math problem...

(Baonghean) - My third-grade nephew asked me a math problem: The price of 1 kg of rice is 10,000 dong. Rice yields 6.5 ounces (meaning 1 kg of paddy rice produces 6.5 ounces of rice). How much does 1 kg of paddy rice cost? I explained to him: Each ounce of rice costs 1,000 dong, so 6.5 ounces of rice costs 6,500 dong. That's also the price of 1 kg of paddy rice! For many years, I was convinced that my calculation was correct! Later, I learned that Americans calculate very differently, meticulously and specifically, not solving problems in a rough way like we do.

A few years ago, while talking to Professor Lari of the University of Chicago about the prices of agricultural products in the American market, I heard him calculate the profit a farmer earns from selling a loaf of bread for $1 like this: The $1 earned from selling that loaf of bread represents the profit of many people, because the process of producing and selling that loaf of bread involves many steps.

We can list them as follows: Farmers produce the wheat (undried, unmilled milled sorghum) - Buyers invest capital to buy the wheat, dry it, build warehouses, store it, and preserve it - Millers and processors buy the milled sorghum from the storers and mill it into flour - Bakers buy the flour from the millers and use it to produce bread - Wholesalers buy from bakeries and distribute it to retailers - Retailers sell the bread to consumers at the stalls... Only after all these steps does the bread enter circulation! Throughout the entire process of production, processing, buying, selling, and trading, the price of the bread gradually increases due to transportation costs. Calculating the cost of each stage, we see that when a loaf of bread is sold for $1, the farmer only receives 5 cents, or 1/20 of the bread's value.

American farmers are very adept at calculations. They believe that a 1/20 share of the product's value is fair and they can confidently continue production without complaining! Based on that ratio, and comparing it to our agricultural products, Mr. Lari argues that if a store sells a rice cracker, a box of rice cakes, or an instant rice product, and the farmer receives 1/20 of the profit, then that price should be considered fair and just! Therefore, when discussing the prices of agricultural products, we can compare them to the 1/20 formula currently accepted by American farmers to see how prices are in our country!

Returning to the third-grade math problem about calculating the price of 1 kg of paddy rice mentioned above: To produce 6.5 ounces of rice, the paddy rice had to go through several stages: purchasing, drying, storage, transportation, milling, wholesale, and retail… Therefore, the price of 1 kg of paddy rice does not match the price of 6.5 ounces of rice. If we don't calculate the cost for those stages and simply state that the price of 6.5 ounces of rice equals the price of 1 kg of paddy rice, we are making a rough, superficial calculation that is very inaccurate compared to actual prices. In general, our schools have always taught students this flawed way of calculating! The most worrying thing is that this rough calculation will lead to a rough way of thinking. This general, rough, unfounded, and inaccurate way of thinking is causing significant consequences in the planning of socio-economic policies as well as in evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of those policies.

Currently, in conferences, social interactions, and even in important documents, we encounter the harmful consequences of inaccurate thinking. In just the first seven months of 2013, the press listed hundreds of documents, including directives, circulars, and decrees, that lacked scientific rigor, were impractical, and were highly problematic to implement. Some documents have even been repealed by ministries through circulars. Could this also be a consequence of vague and general thinking? We need to clearly see its harmful effects in order to make a concerted effort to overcome it. But where should we begin? It seems that correcting deeply ingrained habits in human thinking is not easy. Perhaps it should begin with a re-examination of how we solve math problems, starting from the third grade of elementary school?!

Thach Quy (Vinh City)