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multiply out

English translation: perform the multiplication

09:07 Oct 31, 2019
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature
English term or phrase: multiply out
Hello,

My maths is pretty basic, and I've never used a slide rule in my life, so I'm a bit confused by this dialogue from the fiction story* I'm reading, where they discuss a very tough sea storm:

"You're from the Midwest, aren't you?"
"Yeah."
"Get bad storms out there?"
"Sometimes."
"Try to think of the worst one you were ever in. Got a slide rule handy?"
"Right here."
"Then put a one under it, imagine a zero or two following after, and multiply the thing out."
"I can't imagine the zeros."
"Then retain the multiplicand—that's all you can do."

So, let's say the worst storm in the Midwest is X.
Is it just that X is the multiplicand and must be multiplied by 10 or 100?
But it doesn't seem to require a slide rule to calculate (well, it can be mentioned just for fun, like mocking the other guy, but still) and it doesn't seem the way the slide rule works (as far as I can see in the images and videos, the "one" mark on the sliding part should be put above the multiplicand, not under it).

* From The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth, a sci-fi novelette by Roger Zelazny (USA), 1965
Denys Dömin
Ukraine
Local time: 04:03
Selected answer:perform the multiplication
Explanation:
He doesn't literally mean use a slide rule - as you suggest, he's mocking the guy. He's basically saying, metaphorically, do the math, figure it out.

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Note added at 5 hrs (2019-10-31 14:09:51 GMT)
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And I think "retain the multiplicand" is just nonsense mathspeak, part of the joke.
Selected response from:

philgoddard
United States
Grading comment
Thank you for your help! Well, the kidding is obvious, but it should have been clear or at least sound logical to the readers in the 1960s to make some effect, that's why I don't think it's a complete pseudomathematical gibberish. If a friend asks me, "How was the party?", and I answer something like "Do you remember that best party we've ever had together? Then take a calculator / open the calculator app on your smartphone [that's what we would use now instead of a slide rule], enter one-zero-zero for our reference party and multiply the thing [by what? By itself?] out to get an idea", I guess it will rather puzzle him, not give the idea. While the dialogue in question seems to be just a casual talk with some details I don't get being out of context.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +2perform the multiplication
philgoddard


  

Answers


5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
perform the multiplication


Explanation:
He doesn't literally mean use a slide rule - as you suggest, he's mocking the guy. He's basically saying, metaphorically, do the math, figure it out.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 hrs (2019-10-31 14:09:51 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

And I think "retain the multiplicand" is just nonsense mathspeak, part of the joke.

philgoddard
United States
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 50
Grading comment
Thank you for your help! Well, the kidding is obvious, but it should have been clear or at least sound logical to the readers in the 1960s to make some effect, that's why I don't think it's a complete pseudomathematical gibberish. If a friend asks me, "How was the party?", and I answer something like "Do you remember that best party we've ever had together? Then take a calculator / open the calculator app on your smartphone [that's what we would use now instead of a slide rule], enter one-zero-zero for our reference party and multiply the thing [by what? By itself?] out to get an idea", I guess it will rather puzzle him, not give the idea. While the dialogue in question seems to be just a casual talk with some details I don't get being out of context.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Rodrigo Anjos
1 min
agree  Elisabeth Richard
3 days 18 hrs
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