Singapore Math: fear

Showing posts with label fear. Show all posts

Monday, October 14, 2024

Murderous Pi

Political Pi

When π thought that she’d never want to be associated with gun violence and senseless death, was she just being politically positive or naive?

Pi’s fear has now come true. Without repeated funding from gun manufacturers and pollution-enabled organizations, an obscene number of morally corrupt halfwitted lawmakers in TrumpLand would never get elected or reelected.

Even as you’re reading this, the odds of another senseless shooting or tragedy currently being witnessed in some red-pilled states are anything but zero.

It looks like if only those GOP selfish lawmakers and their loved ones or friends were the victims, maybe then they’d eventually do something about gun control; otherwise, it’s all NATO (No Action Talk Only).

Should Math Teachers Be Armed?

The Blame Game

People are sick of hearing the years-long canned story from inept and morally bankrupt politicians, who simplistically blame mental health, inequality, racism, or whatever social ills, rather than the free flow of guns for the recurring senseless deaths. It’s like the political equivalent of scapegoating the forced learning of algebra for the nation’s high innumeracy rate.

The U.S. is the only “civilized” nation in the developed world that has continually shortchanged its schoolchildren and their teachers. When profits and politicians triumph over principles and people.

Or, only in TrumpLand do we read about these senseless school gun deaths—when students shoot teachers and their peers because they can do it. And those preventable school shootings have only got more frequent and resulted in higher casualties in recent years.

Murderous Statistics

Below are some “murderous statistics” I’d tweeted over the years following numerous school shootings:

Sadistic Statistics from the National Rifle Association (NRA): “No guns, very high murder rates; more guns, very low murder rates.”

Murderous Math: People in the U.S. are 20 times more likely to be killed by a gun than someone else in another developed country.

Gun Ownership: Singapore ranks among the bottom 10 for the number of privately owned guns per 100 people.

It’s said that the chance of a 15-year-old boy dying by the age of 50 is now higher in America than it is in Bangladesh. The odds might even be higher now with Trumpism and moral bankruptcy plaguing Trumpublicans.

Deadly Statistics: The positive correlation between the coronavirus and the growing gun sales in the U.S., which has the highest crime rate in the developed world.

Dark Problem Solving

Ironically, school and gun shootings in the U.S. have provided math educators with real-life math problems, which could be used to hone students’ guesstimation skills. Two such questions are:

Political Math: Guesstimate how many “corrupt zeros” Trump and his billionaires-donors (and the mostly morally corrupt GOP lawmakers) pocketed, by protecting profiteering guns, insurance, and pharmaceutical companies.

Death Statistics: How many students in the U.S. senselessly die every year from gun violence?

No Gun Reduction, but God’s Protection

Let’s end with a haiku I recently X-ed in the aftermath of Trump’s lackey saying that school shootings are a “fact of life.”

Serial School Shootings

Money politics
that support gun businesses.
That’s a “fact of life.”

If the U.S. is dead serious about protecting schoolchildren and teachers from gun shootings, maybe it’d do it the Singapore way: Zero tolerance for gun sale to 99.99% locals. Vote out politicians who’re funded by weapon manufacturers.

Safely & securely yours

Friday, June 13, 2014

13 E-Cards Worth Sending on a Friday the 13th

Here are 13 lucky e-cards (stolen with zero acknowledgements on social media) you may wish to send to triskaidekaphobic or semi-superstitious friends, fiends, or foes on this most unluckiest day of the calendrical year.

Why not make your own Friday the 13th e-cards, and share them with the mathematical brethren? Happy Friday the thirteenth!

Superstitiously yours

References

Yan, K. C. (2013). 13 Math Tidbits on Friday 13. Singapore Math, Dec. 13, 2013.

Yan, K. C. (2013). Hungry Ghosts Don't Do Singapore Math. Yan's One Minute Math Blog, Oct. 12, 2013.

Yan, K. C. (2012). Halloween Math. Singapore Math, Oct. 31, 2012.

Friday, December 13, 2013

13 Math Tidbits on Friday 13

Friday 13 is one of the beloved or lucky days in the Gregorian calendar year for most recreational mathematicians and math bloggers, who can't wait to share some musings about the number 13 and Friday the thirteenth to their non-mathematical friends, fiends, and foes.

1. Triskaidekaphobia Isn't Hereditary

If you can read about the number 13, you probably don't suffer from triskaidekaphobia—the fear of the number 13… but your children and grandchildren still might.

2. Pseudoscience Triumphs Over Profit

On a plane or in a theater, shouldn't you feel "unsafe" rather than safe because row "13" has often been intentionally mislabeled "14"?

Or, In a lift with no button number 13, would you feel "safer" that they've tried to "cheat death" by making triskaidekaphobes or paraskavedekatriaphobes (who are fearful of Friday the 13th) feel better? All in the name of profit or superstition!

3. Synesthesia AND Autism AND Math

What color and shape is the number 13? What is the taste of 13?

This book may shed some light on the prime number 13!

4. The Closest of Two Friday the 13ths

Can Friday the 13th occur in two successive months? It's not difficult to see that the shortest span between two consecutive Friday the 13ths is 28 days. How often do you think this event happens? Have you experienced one in your lifetime, or know of someone who rejoices in this kind of numerical (or numerological) oddity?

5. An Unsolved Arithmetic Problem

The number 13 is both a prime and a Fibonacci number. Whether there are infinitely many primes that are also Fibonacci still remains an unsolved problem.

Cracking this higher arithmetic nut may bring you some mathematical prestige or fame, as your proof graces the pages of a Number Theory publication.

6. A Friday 13 Baby

A baby is born on Friday 13, 2013. When is the next time a baby will be born on the same day of the week in the same month, which also falls on a Friday 13? How often in a 400-year calendrical cycle does this happen?

7. A Friday 13 Survivor

What are the odds that you will not survive on a Friday the 13th? Is the answer equivalent to finding the probability that a baby will be born on a Friday 13?

8. An Inauspicious Day

Using the code A = 1, B = 2, C = 3, ...., show that the sum value of the phrase FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH IS AN UNLUCKY DAY is a multiple of 13.

9. Birth and Death on a Friday 13

What are the chances that one born on a Friday 13 will also die on a Friday 13? How many thousands of folks every year experience this double whammy?

A solution may be found from Aha! Math.

10. Bio of 13

Prepare a résumé for Number 13, showcasing some of its elementary numerical skills. For instance,

13 = 1 + 4 + 8

13 = 3⁰ + 3¹ + 3²

12 × 13 = 156 and 21 × 31 = 651

13² = 169 and 31² = 961

11. The Unluckiest and the Happiest

List 13 parallelisms between Friday 13 and December 25—what common features the most fearful (or frightful) date of the calendrical year shares with the king of the public holidays. Get creative, by connecting the unconnected!

An ideal gift for numbers lovers & creative problem solvers

12. Social Media 13

Defriend 13 of your Facebook friends, or unfollow 13 of your Twitter followers, who have been inactive in the last 13 months. Send them a Friday 13 alert of your mean intention to save bits and bytes on your RAM to reduce your carbon footprint.

13. Problem Posing on a Friday 13

Pose at least 13 mathematical quickies and trickies, and share them with your on-line friends and fiends.

What is the angle between the hands of a clock at 13:13?

The sum of the ages of Casey and Ian is 13 years. If Casey is 1.3 months older than Ian, how old are they?

A Happy & Blessed Friday 13!

References

Yan, K. C. (2011). CHRISTmaths: A creative problem solving math book. Singapore: MathPlus Publishing.

Yan, K. C. (2006). Aha! math. Singapore: Panpac Education.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

How to Choose Your Marriageable Date

If you were of marriageable age and weren't superstitious, how would you go about choosing your wedding date, one that would help you to remember your wedding anniversary for a long time? One rational, yet free, approach is to choose a “marriageable date.”

A marriageable date may be defined as one that is based on some simple numerical pattern, which a couple can easily remember long after the wedding day is over.

Socially speaking, marriageable dates ought to be religion-free and race-free—they should be derived from some easily recognizable patterns.

Economically speaking, it doesn’t cost more than a few drops of ink to write the memorable date, free from any numerological calculation or influence of a fortune-teller or New Age charlatan.

Sociologically speaking, tying the knot on a marriageable date helps you to divorce yourself from any irrationality and superstition that certain dates in a given year are more auspicious than others.

Palindromic Dates

A palindrome is a word that spells the same when read forward or backward. For instance, MADAM and EVE. And some palindromic sentences or phrases that sound mathematical are

I prefer pi. Never odd or even

In mathematical parlance, a palindromic number is one that reads the same when its digits are reversed. Examples of palindromes are 101, 313, 10301, 23432, and 3535353.

Now, let's look at some palindromic dates, the British way:

11th November 2011: 11/11/11 11th February 2011: 11/02/2011

21st November 2012: 21/11/12 21st February 2012: 21/02/2012

31st March 2013: 31/3/13 31st August 2013: 31/8/13

@ NewYorker: A palindrome cartoon by Paul Karasik

Prior to 2013, we had "hot dates," such as the following:

20th November 2012: 20/11/2012 or 20112012

20th December 2011: 20/12/2011 or 20122011

20th December 2012: 20/12/2012 or 20122012

What about 20th December 2013? 20/12/2013 or 20122013

Other patternful or pseudo-patternful dates in 2013 are:

1/12/13 2/11/13 12/1/13 9/11/13

13/2/13 13/11/13 11/12/13 11/2/13

The Beasted Date

On 6th June 2006, the date was “060606”—the beasted date that would have made some hardcore believers sick, sick, sick! But in Singapore, it was considered an “auspicious" date which led 310 couples to tie the knot at the Registry of Marriages (ROM). And in Penang, Malaysia, 89 couples also took advantage of that allegedly “lucky” date.

On 3rd March 2003, the date “030303” drew 163 weddings. Based on the DDMMYY pattern, there was also a record of couples tying the knot on 12 December 2012.

The Friday the Thirteenths

Another group of quasi-marriageable dates that superstitious couples usually avoid are those that fall on a Friday the 13th. Two such “unlucky” dates in 2013 that rational folks could leverage on to book their D-Days are:

13th September: 13/9/13

13th December: 13/12/13

The Ghost Month—a Most Marriageable Month

Inauspicious or ill-omened dates superstitious Chinese couples shy away occur during the Seventh Lunar Month, or Ghost Month. This is when rational and budget-conscious couples ought to hold their weddings—when most hotels are charging patrons a promotional rate. Besides, since many irrational or fearful couples avoid tying the knot during the seventh month, the saving for holding a grand wedding at a five-star hotel, at a reasonable price, on any of those "unlucky" days, can be quite significant.

Dates with Consecutive Numerals

One set of marriageable dates involves having the day, month, and year in consecutive order:

8th July: 08/07/06 9th August: 09/08/07

13th December: 13/12/11 11th December: 11/12/13

Odd- and Even-numbered Dates

Another set of hot wedding dates have the day, month, and year, in increasing or decreasing multiples of a whole number.

8th October: 8/10/12 9th November: 9/11/13

7th October: 7/10/13 4th August: 4/8/12

3rd August: 3/8/13 14th December: 14/12/10

How many such marriageable dates are there in the Lunar Year of the Snake?

D-Day on Valentine's Day

A record 1080 couples registered their marriage on Valentine's Day in 1995, as the Chinese considered it a Double Happiness Day—it coincided with the Chinese version of the Valentine's Day, also known as yuan xiao jie, which is on the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese New Year. What's your prediction on February 14, 2013?

Symbolically, tying the knot on Valentine's Day may prove memorable, but unaffordable to many couples as they look for a wallet-friendly hotel to hold their wedding and their subsequent wedding anniversaries.

Date and Time Included

If we marry the time with the date, more interesting patterns emerge. For example, on 4th May 2006 at 8 minutes and 9 seconds, after 7am, the date and time spelled out as

04. 05. 06. 07. 08. 09

Or, on 5th June 2007 at 9 minutes 10 seconds past eight, we had:

05. 06. 07. 08. 09. 10

Can you think of some memorable dates in 2013 and beyond, following a similar pattern?

British (UK) versus American (US) Dates

All the above patternful dates and times are based on the British way of writing dates and times. If we write dates and times the American way, a new set of marriageable dates are generated.

In British English, dates are generally written with no comma between the month and year: 7 May 2013. American English prefers the style May 7 2013 or May 7, 2013.

In numerical notation, there is a difference: 7/5/13 means 7 May 2013 in Britain and 5 July 2013 in America.

So, decide in advance whether you want to wed in a country where they follow the British or American system of writing numerals. A rational option may save you a few hundred or thousand bucks!

Conclusion

The beauty and utility of marriageable dates is that they don't have to tie up with astrology or geomancy to be sanctioned—they're free from any pseudoscientific influences, which would save you, at the least, a few hundred or thousand dollars and months of headache. Marriageable dates are based purely on meaningful patterns; besides, they provide no excuse for any party in future to forget their wedding anniversary. Indeed, nothing is left to chance and randomness, or fear and superstition.

Patternful dates are more interesting and memorable than geomancized or numerological dates. In addition, a by-product of marriageable dates can prove mathematically educational, as compared to feng shui-formulated dates, which are credulously auspicious and costly. One is based on logic and reason; the other is based on irrationality and fear. So, let's marry reason and patterns to choose our wedding date, while divorcing ourselves from any superstition and irrational fear.

Questions

1. How many palindromic “marriageable dates” are there in 2013, if they are written in both British and American English?

2. A set of hot wedding dates have the month, day, and year, in ascending or descending order. For example, 9/11/13 and 12/10/8. How many such odd- and even-numbered dates are there in 2013, if dates are written the American way?

3. On October 11, 2012, at 8 minutes and 9 seconds after 7 o’clock, some Americans expressed the time as follows: 07. 08. 09. 10. 11. 12. How many similar dates can be expressed in this century? How would the answer change if the dates were written the British way?

4. Who would be "luckier," by having more "marriageable dates" in a typical year? Those who write their dates the American or British way? Explain.

References

Deng, Fern (2006). Devilish or not, 666 is hot wedding date. The Straits Times, June 7, 2006, p. H4.

Koh, Melody (2006). 06.06.06 was a lucky date for them. Today, June 7, 2006, p. 6.

A devil of a date. The Straits Times, June 5, 2006, p. 12.

'030303' draws 163 weddings. Streats. March 3, 2003, p. 2.

Singapore Math

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