Math pupils learn how to drown Turks

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“How would you place Christians and Turks on a sinking ship so that only the latter drowned?”, reads a problem in a math textbook for Poland’s primary school pupils.



“On board a sinking ship there are fifteen Christians and fifteen Turks. In order to save the ship from going to the bottom, half of the crew needs to be thrown overboard. One of the Christians proposes that the whole crew form a circle and every ninth person jump overboard. How should the Christians place themselves so that only the Turks are drowned?”reads a problem, quoted the lay Catholic newspaper Tygodnik Powszechny.



The rather controversial problem appeares in The Mathematical Miniatures for Primary Schools, a manual for second to twelfth grade students who want to participate in the International Mathematical Kangaroo competition. The book was published in 2004 by Aksjomat Publishing House from the northern city of Torun.



“We did not try to exhort anyone to hate. What mattered to us was the mathematical model – the historical context was irrelevant. In order to solve the problem one needs to be acquainted with principles Maths, not the ways of murdering Turks,” said co-author and publisher of the manual Piotr Nodzynski, naively. (mg/pg)
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http://www.polskieradio.pl/thenews/...67_math_pupils_learn_how_to_drown_turks_.html

Charming.
PS. For those that don't know Torun is in Poland.
 
Greetings,

How shocking!

The man quoted is right:
In order to solve the problem one needs to be acquainted with principles Maths, not the ways of murdering Turks
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In which case, why involve killing Turks at all?

Peace
 
It's a really, really old problem...but it's shocking for it to be included in a primary school textbook...
 
Whatsthepoint said:
And it's funny how the incident took place in Poland, a country never occupied by the Ottomans.
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Actually it was since 1672 but just for a few years.
What suprises me is that Kangaroo math test (me and few of my family members were taking part in Kangaroo math test). For first time I couldnt believe it, but now I think that it is some kind of mistake, or maybe very bad joke, as in my country there are almost no turkish immigration and so no anti turk sentiments.
 
Not only is it disgusting, but the student has to make the assumption that none of the people are both Christian and Turkish (admittedly very rare but not impossible).
 

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