Sleeping Your Way to a Better Body

Charlie was a middle school student with bipolar disorder and was very oppositional.  One day, I was helping him with a word problem in math.  The question asked how many calories a person burns lying still in bed for ten minutes. The answer was 12.3 calories. Charlie said,"The answer is 123."

"Charlie, think about your answer and ask yourself if it's logical."

Charlie (in a snotty tone) insisted, "It is! It's 112.3 calories!! That's right!"

I coaxed, "Charlie, does it seem reasonable that a person could burn 112 calories in ten minutes just lying in their bed doing nothing? If that were true, then everyone would be going to bed to lose weight , not jumping on treadmills or exercising. Why don't you take a look at your decimal point."

He stubbornly held it his ground; "I already did! It's right!"

I want to live in Charlie's world...

For more posts about Charlie, read Pants on Fire, Three Blind Mice, or When Middle School Boys Plan Vacations.

I originally posted this in 2009 and stumbled upon it last weekend. I miss that kid; if I find out whatever became of him, I'll let you know!