MathPlus's definitions
When it is more effective to use a general letter x rather than a concrete numeral to represent a number, whose value constantly varies—an economic way to convey the idea of a variable in an equation or a mathematical sentence.
Why an X, and not an A, B, or C is because the letters x, y, and z have traditionally been used to stand for unknowns, while the letters a, b, and c for constants.
by MathPlus November 18, 2018
Get the Why an X mug.When an unvaccinated tourist planning to stay a night or two at Romania’s Bran Castle, the home of Count Dracula, has a choice: Receive two jabs at once in the neck on arrival, or wait for at least two weeks after receiving the second jab.
Dozens of tourists wishing to make a trip to Dracula’s Castle during this pandemic are in a dilemma: ✈️ 🇷🇴 🏰 🧛 ♂️ = 2💉 🕰.
by MathPlus May 16, 2021
Get the ✈️ 🇷🇴 🏰 🧛 ♂️ = 2💉 🕰 mug.Short-term success in math, whereby exam-smart teachers and tutors drill or spoon-feed students, by getting them to memorize modeled solutions of questions that are likely to appear in the coming examination based on previously set questions from past exam papers.
It’s not surprising that most university students in Singapore, who are reading for a degree in math, struggle with their courses because they grew up on mathematical steroids in high school.
by MathPlus December 7, 2021
Get the Mathematical Steroid mug.A symbol-minded person who knows all 64 main intimate positions, including their 200+ variations, but struggles to get a date except with bots or digital dolls.
Guesstimate how many folks in academia, who consult or moonlight for publishing houses worldwide, are in fact math con-sultants, whose names on textbook covers could potentially yield a higher adoption rate among local or regional schools, especially among titles-minded teachers and parents.
by MathPlus May 1, 2023
Get the Math Con-sultant mug.When high-GDP countries often sans scientific basis would unitedly react irrationally or paranoiacally, by banning travelers from a developing country, where the allegedly deadliest variant of Covid-19 has been caught, which may escape the protection of any WHO-approved vaccines—when their economic supremacy can afford them to act selfishly with quasi-zero penalty in return.
Imagine if the omicron variant were discovered in the UK or the US instead of South Africa, it’s unlikely that most Western and some Asian countries would implement a travel ban on the natural resources-rich nation within hours of the official announcement of the discovery of the mutant—like vaccine apartheid, doesn’t their quick action characterize ban apartheid?
by MathPlus November 28, 2021
Get the Ban Apartheid mug.An annual math event that is commemorated on 22nd July (22/7) among billions of people worldwide, who conventionally write their date in the DD/MM/YYYY format, compared to the millions of folks who celebrate Pi Day on March 14 (3/14).
What is the ratio of the number of math students and teachers globally who celebrate Pi Approximation Day in July to the number of those who commemorate Pi Day in March every year.
by MathPlus July 23, 2021
Get the Pi Approximation Day mug.When we deceive ourselves and allow others to deceive us on myths, mysteries, and magic in mathematics, be they via half-baked concepts, faux hypotheses, fallacies, paradoxes, tricks, and the like.
How can we fall for less magical thinking in mathematics? By teaching about faulty thinking habits, exposing false assumptions or hypotheses, warning against unquestioned extrapolation or generalization of rules or formulas, and debunking irrational or conspiratorial thinking.
by MathPlus May 5, 2023
Get the Magical Thinking in Mathematics mug.