Definitions by Fasters
And Tango Makes Three
The title of a children’s book that tells the love-and-life story of two inseparable male penguins, Roy and Silo, that successfully hatched an egg to welcome chick Tango in their world—they took turns to nurture her by feeding her, cuddling her in their nest, and taking her for a swim with the other penguin families.
“And Tango Makes Three” was originally classified as nonfiction as it’s based on a true story, but it’s later reclassified as a picture book as the publisher felt that more children should have access to the title—the “adult” book was later challenged but retained, or banned, in a number of school libraries, in red states.
And Tango Makes Three by Fasters August 23, 2022
What’s Pi Thinking?
When the irrational number π is paranoid or petrified that some radical elements of the mathematical brethren might conspire together to promote other mathematical constants like e and 𝛷 in gracing the pages of reputable math journals on a regular basis.
A few notable constants have discreetly approached some Fields medalists (the equivalent of Nobel Prize winners in mathematics) in their dreams by revealing to them some of their sexy numerical and geometric secrets after hearing leaked news of “what’s pi thinking?”
What’s Pi Thinking? by Fasters August 13, 2022
Taiwan Math
Often mistaken as “China Math.” Little-known methodologies using 3D abacus and problem-solving strategies or heuristics, and non-Marxist or non-Maoist pedagogies, practiced by local non-drill-and-kill math educators in Taiwan, which are waiting to break free to enlighten the global mathematical community.
The global success of Singapore math has spurred cottage industries in math education like Shanghai Math and Korea Math, which have come and gone quietly. What about Taiwan Math considering that Taiwan is one of the four little dragons besides Hong Kong, South Korea, and Singapore?
Taiwan Math by Fasters August 3, 2022
Pi Clock
A normal clock in which the numerals representing the numbers 1 to 12 have been replaced by only three irrational numbers, positioned at π, 2π, and 3π.
E-pi-phany
When someone has an aha! reaction about the number π, which is often experienced through a dream, in a shower, or while walking the dog.
Trump confided to his golf buddies that he recently experienced an e-pi-phany, when he woke up in the middle of the night to realize that he’s been duped by some evangelicals in his trusted circle to believe that the true value of π is three—the fake “biblical” value is way off from 22/7, which is a close approximation to its actual value.
E-pi-phany by Fasters July 24, 2022
The Bastardization of Singapore Math
When foreign countries discreetly incorporate the best of the Singapore math curriculum, such as the bar or stack model method, learning experiences, and big ideas, into their own local curriculum, by adopting it as their stepchild, where cross-fertilization of local and foreign ideas occasionally results in an aha! by-product.
Thanks to the bastardization of Singapore math, the US Common Core Math had given birth to a few beautiful methodological and pedagogical offsprings in math education, much to the delight of local math educators who follow closely how their foreign counterparts are creatively adopting some of the problem-solving visualization strategies.
The Bastardization of Singapore Math by Fasters July 19, 2022