INCE watching TV helped produce a column last week, I thought I might try it again. The programme this time was called "1 vs. 100". It's a quiz show in which a contestant has to outsmart a panel of 100 people by answering a series of questions. It's an inane spectacle, despite its huge popularity, but we need not dwell on the stupidity of the concept. Much greater stupidity awaits.

A blonde lady with a substantial bosom was the contestant. She had the most aggravating laugh and an even more appalling high-pitched squeak, but some people like that sort of thing. One of the early questions caused her a great deal of trouble. See if you can answer it without using a pencil and paper.

The question was: "How many six-packs of beer would you have, if you had 99 bottles of beer on the wall?" Three possible answers were offered, of which Blondie had to choose the correct one. They were: (a) more than 15, (b) exactly 15, (c) less than 15.

For starters, did you catch the grammatical mistake in the answers? Of course you did. It was contained in (c), which should have read "fewer than 15". You can't have less brain than people who watch this show regularly, but you can have fewer chances of losing. But this is a financial column, not an English test, so we'll return you to our show already in progress.

The 70 remaining members of the panel of 100 locked in their answers. Blondie then had to choose hers. If she got it right, she would win $1,000 for every panel member who got it wrong. Her job at that point was to think out loud, to work her way to an answer.

"I know that there are six bottles in a six-pack," she said, which was a promising start. "So if you had 10 six-packs, you'd have 60 bottles. And if you had 20 six-packs, you'd have ? 120 bottles," she said. This was vaguely impressive. The woman could multiply by 10, and by two. But then she faltered. "I don't know," she said, giving up, adding "I'm not a beer drinker" by way of explaining why she couldn't do basic math. I kid you not.

Under the rules of the game, she was allowed to view which of the three answers had been given by most of the remaining panel members. The majority of the panel had plumped for answer (a), more than 15 six-packs, and our blonde contestant, sensibly enough, chose to go with the majority view, which was correct. Ninety-nine bottles of beer would be 16 and a half six-packs.

To calculate her winnings, we were then told how many of the 70 panellists had given the wrong answer. Twenty of the 70 got it wrong. At $1,000 per wrong 'un, the woman won $20,000, which she was able to use as a stake in a subsequent round.

I found myself a little incredulous at all this. It wasn't a difficult question, and Blondie had done most of the hard work before her confidence gave out. If 10 sixes are 60, and 20 sixes are 120, 15 sixes must be 90, half-way between 60 and 120. The answer should have been fairly obvious.

My next thought was that there was no hope for the woman. Then I wondered how many of my readers might be as mathematically challenged. Whereas I can write off the hopes of a squealing woman on TV (and perhaps my own for watching), my mission is to help you get rich, and to do that, you'd need to be able to answer that question, and others like it, correctly. You could use a calculator or ask a friend, but you shouldn't have to.

So, if 20 out of 70 panel members had given the wrong answer, was that (a) more than 30 percent of those who answered, (b) exactly 30 percent, or (c) less than 30 percent?

That's a little tougher than the question the show originally asked, but you should be able to work it out. If you can't divide 20 by 70 in your head, don't worry. Few can. But you should be able to follow this: 10 percent of 70 is seven. Therefore, 30 percent of 70 would therefore be three times seven, or 21. The answer is therefore c) less than 30 percent.

If you didn't get it, or perhaps still don't get it, don't be dismayed. And don't shrug your shoulders and say "I'm no good at math, therefore I'll never be rich". It is possible to improve yourself, and in Bermuda, it's easy.

Enrol in a night class on basic mathematics. Buy a book on the same subject. Ask some smart person at work, or one of your clever children, to help. The point is: do something. Because if you can't figure out whether 20 is more or less than 30 percent of 70, you're not going to have the ammunition to make more important decisions, which you'll need to, if you want to be rich.

With a little learning, you'll probably end up doing better than Blondie, who went home empty-handed because she didn't know who Conan O'Brien's bandleader is (it's Bruce Springsteen's drummer, Max Weinberg). The blonde woman has her looks, I suppose, but when they fade, all she'll have left is the piercing shriek and a small brain. Don't go there.