No Gaps and No Overlaps: The Rules for Fair Measuring

This is not just for paper. Tile setters follow the same two rules. Gaps and overlaps ruin a floor exactly as they ruin a measurement. This is worth learning because careful counting cannot rescue a careless setup. Watch for it today, and when you spot it, tell someone what you noticed and how you knew. Ask yourself where else the same idea might be hiding, then go and look.

You are going to like this one. Two rules make measuring honest. First, leave no gaps, because empty space between your units adds length you did not count. Second, allow no overlaps, because units piled on each other hide length you already counted.

Line them up end to end, touching but not stacking, all the way from one edge to the other. Break either rule and your number will be wrong even if you counted perfectly.

Try measuring badly on purpose once. Leave gaps and see how the count changes. Then do it correctly. Seeing the difference with your own eyes teaches the two rules better than being told them ten times. Little by little, this becomes something you just know.