Was it because common sense (the easy way is obvious based ONLY on common sense) not an elegant way to solve problem?

Question

It's funny to see how students favor the difficult and complicated approach when there obviously exists an easy way out to solve the problem. Was it because common sense (the easy way is obvious based ONLY on common sense) not an elegant way to solve problem?Hi, could you please check the sentences above and seriously I don't think the word funny is my intended meaning, could you please suggest an alternative for me?Thanks.Ah! English forums has changed and I'm not used to it. However, it's a great start to the new year!I wish each and every one of you a great start into the new year too and a happy, healthy and successful 2012!Isabelle

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

ILEIt's funny to see how students favor the difficult and complicated approach when there obviously exists an easy way out to solve the problem. Was it because common sense (the easy way is obvious based ONLY on common sense) not an elegant way to solve problem?

funny isn't really an awful choice. I'm not sure of exactly what you want, but here are some possibilities:

It's [interesting / strange / odd / funny / curious] to see how students favor the difficult and complicated approach when there is obviously an easy way to solve the problem. Is it because common sense (the easy way is obviously based ONLY on common sense) is not an elegant way to solve problem?

ILEAh! English forums has changed and I'm not used to it

We're all struggling with it. If you're not careful, some of your replies will end up as comments on individual posts where they'll be hidden until clicked open.

Happy New Year to you!

CJ

ILE · Answer

Thanks for the corrections, alternatives and also the New Year greeting, CJ.

Hmm, can I also say 'It's sad to see ...', do you think 'sad' a justified word in this instance? (Yes, I feel sad because I see this isn't a good practice to cultivate self-confidence and independence in solving math problem.)

CJ, could you please comment on the use of 'Was it because ...' in the following sentences? I find the use of 'Was it because ...' and 'Is it because ...' elude me.
Why would you do that? Was it because you want to follow my footsteps?
Thanks again.

Isabelle

(Edit: You're so right because I've made a mistake by placing my reply as a comment and I've edited and re-edited quite a number of times to this reply.

)

CalifJim · Answer

Hmm, can I also say 'It's sad to see ...', do you think 'sad' a justified word in this instance? Yes. I didn't think of adding that one to the list, but I should have, because it is quite commonly used.

CJ, could you please comment on the use of 'Was it because ...' in the following sentences?

You have two choices.

Why would you do that? Was it because you wanted to follow my footsteps?

Why would you do that? Is it because you want to follow my footsteps?

(Edit: You're so right because I've made a mistake by placing my reply as a comment ...)

I don't suppose it's the way that the system was set up to work, but I liked the old way better, so I found a work-around that makes it look like the old way.

1. Use the Reply button on the post you want to reply to.
(You get a tiny little box for a comment.)

2. Highlight and Copy everything in the post you're replying to.
3. Click the statement that asks if you're replying to the original post at the top of the page.
(Now you get a bigger editing box where you can see a little better what you're doing)
4. Paste in the new bigger box.
(Now you can refer back to the post your responding to. Without doing that copy and paste, you can't even see what you're responding to.)
5. Compose your answer and delete anything from the pasted material that you don't need.
6. Click the Post button at the bottom of the page.

CJ

ILE · Answer

Thanks for all the explanations, including the part on 'How to reply to this thread', CJ.

In actuality, every single thing that you've said has been very useful and helpful to me.

Isabelle

Was it because common sense (the easy way is obvious based ONLY on common sense) not an elegant way to solve problem?

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