How much does the ball cost?

July 3, 2024

Let’s do a fun math problem that’s stumping the internet. “A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1.00 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?”

⚾️ The answer: I couldn’t figure out the solution, and then it hit me: If the ball costs 10 cents, the bat would cost $1.10, bringing the total to $1.20. The correct answer is the ball costs 5 cents and the bat $1.05. This question is part of a study about how people fight (or don’t fight) their intuitive thinking.

Tags: cost, fun, internet, solution, study, Total

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The fresh face of payday loans: Cash-advance apps

You get paid next week, but your credit card bill is due this week, and, oops, so is that new car payment. You’re only a few hundred bucks short — you just need a way to bridge the gap.

Unfortunately for you, there’s an app for that. Actually, there are dozens. They’re called cash-advance apps. And most things about them tick me off.

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You can’t delete Meta AI — Do this instead

If you’ve logged into Instagram or Facebook recently, you’ve probably noticed things look a little … different.

Meta’s new AI-powered search window is right at the top of Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp. Think of it as Siri or Alexa for social media — without a cute name.

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📶 Wi-Fi issues on Windows 11? Forget the network and start fresh. In the taskbar, click the network icon > the network status button (top left). Right-click the network you’re on, then hit Forget. Now, go back to the network icon, click the arrow next to the wireless icon, and re-add your Wi-Fi network. Lovely.

🤖 ChatGPT warning: When you get info on ChatGPT, the results often include citation links. Click one and it might take you to scam central. Some links, like “County Local News,” are riddled with dodgy pop-ups pretending to be Adobe Flash updates or fake McAfee virus scans. Watch out!

Lemme upgrade ya: The ChatGPT app is now free for all M-series Macs, and it’s better than using the web version. A cool trick? Hit Option + spacebar to bring up a ChatGPT text field over any window. Ask away without switching screens. Download it here. Just watch out for AI making crap up.

Watched everything on Netflix already? Try the Roku Channel for movies and TV shows without a Roku account. Open the website on any browser. When prompted to sign in, click I’ll do it later. FYI: You can watch free, premium and live content on the iOS and Android Roku app, too.

Better AI prompts: For creative work, tell AI to write for a certain reading level. For the general public, that’s around an eighth-grade level. (No one needs to struggle to read your marketing, website or email copy.)

🔠 I use it all the time: If you have an iPhone XS, XR or later, your phone can recognize text in photos, images and video. Just hold down on text in a pic you took or downloaded, and then you can paste that text wherever you want. The same goes for recent-model Androids.

Have a Yelp page? Businesses that include their hours, phone number, website and a photo on Yelp get 7.6 times more pageviews per month. Dang. Log in and make sure yours is up to date!

⌨️ Custom keys: Change how the touchpad and keyboard work on your Chromebook. Go to Settings > Device > Touchpad/Keyboard. Sweet options: Changing what a right-click does and treating the top row of keys as function keys.