Term Sprocket and Widget

D

Dave Peterson

Not excel specific, but I've heard lots of teachers/trainers use widgets in
their examples.

A team can make x number of widgets per hour and they work 18 hours. How many
widgets did they make?

It's not important to the instructor what the object actually is. It's just a
placeholder to help learn math (or excel or whatever).

Any chance that's where you've heard it?
 
O

Oski

Hi Dave ~
Actually it came from the Excel Help menu and if I look closely it could
very well relate to how you descibed it. I was looking for assistance on
fomulas and this is an example:
....
=OR(A5<>"Sprockets",A6 = "Widgets") Is A5 not equal to "Sprockets" or A6
equal to "Widgets"? (TRUE)
 
D

Dave F

Neither sprocket nor widget are Excel-specific terms; they are general
placeholders for a concept--a thing--when discussiing, for example, inventory
accounting ("What is the dollar value of the sprockets comapny X has in
inventory?" "What is the difference in dollar value of the sprockets in
inventory under LIFO and FIFO accounting?" etc.)

Think of them like variables in algebra.

Dave
 
J

James Silverton

Dave wrote on Fri, 16 Mar 2007 11:27:10 -0700:

DF> Think of them like variables in algebra.

DF> Dave
DF> --
DF> A hint to posters: Specific, detailed questions are more
likely to
DF> be answered than questions that provide no detail about
DF> your problem.

DF> "Oski" wrote:

??>> Hi Dave ~
??>> Actually it came from the Excel Help menu and if I look
??>> closely it could very well relate to how you descibed it.
??>> I was looking for assistance on fomulas and this is an
??>> example: ... =OR(A5<>"Sprockets",A6 = "Widgets") Is A5 not
equal
??>> to "Sprockets" or A6 equal to "Widgets"? (TRUE)
??>>
??>> "Dave Peterson" wrote:
??>>
??>>> Not excel specific, but I've heard lots of
??>>> teachers/trainers use widgets in their examples.
??>>>
??>>> A team can make x number of widgets per hour and they
??>>> work 18 hours. How many widgets did they make?
??>>>
??>>> It's not important to the instructor what the object
??>>> actually is. It's just a placeholder to help learn math
??>>> (or excel or whatever).
??>>>
??>>> Any chance that's where you've heard it?
??>>>

Definitions and usage of widgets is fine, AFAIK, but a sprocket
has a couple of real meanings. 1. A toothed wheel engaging with
a chain or power conveyor. 2. A wedge-shaped piece of wood
extending a roof over eaves at a lesser pitch (Webster). A
multispeed bike usually has a collection of sprockets on the
rear wheel.

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not
 
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