Danger Monkey, age 10: “Dad, this bonus math problem is tough. Can you help?”

Me: “Sure, Son. Whatta we got?”

DM: “The circles at the corners of the triangle have to add up to the sides of the triangle that they touch. Also, the number in the middle has to add up to each corner it touches. One side is 15, one is 18, and one is 21. How do I figure that out?”

Me: “Oh. Uh. Wow. Well, let’s call the four number spots A, B, C, and D. So we know that A + B = 15, and B + C = 18, and what is that…OK, so C + A = 21. So, I guess that means… wait… but the middle one is D… so…”

DM: “It’s 6, 9, 12, and 9.”:

Me: “Wha… huh?”

DM: “That’s the answer.” (putting away the paper)

Me: “Where did you get the answers?”

DM: “I just looked at it and those numbers made sense. So I wrote them down and they add up right.”

Me: …

Me: “Son, you’ve got a really powerful brain, do you know that?”

DM: “Does that mean I don’t have to do homework?”

Me: “No, but it means you can be anything you want to be when you grow up.”

DM: “I want to be a grown up that didn’t have to do homework when he was a kid.”