Fasters's definitions
When teachers and students who want to borrow books on the number π from public or school libraries are told that they had all been lent out, probably because the borrowers needed them for their project or presentation on Pi Day.
When the prime minister asked his secretary to help borrow some math titles on pi for his wife, he’s told that “pi is all booked”—all titles are due after March 14.
by Fasters May 29, 2022
Get the Pi Is All Bookedmug. When a very small percentage of white privileged parents in some red states want public schools to fine or fire math and science teachers who preach that the number π is irrational; instead, they want them to teach that pi’s “true” value is three, citing 1 Kings 7:23 and 2 Chronicles 4:2 in the Bible as “proof” for their claim.
Under the banner of "parents' rights," a small aggressive group of alt-right Trumpublicans and “fine” patriots expect their oft-morally bankrupt senator to push for woke pi in all schools statewide.
by Fasters February 25, 2022
Get the Woke Pimug. Hard math projects that would require the best of talents and skills from both mathematicians and math educators regionally or globally, as their monumental effort aims to positively impact the community or society.
Just as landing someone on the moon propelled and produced unprecedented payoffs and unpredictable spinoffs, by creating entirely new markets and industries, solving moonshot math problems has the potential of giving birth to new products and new businesses, and creating new jobs.
by Fasters December 27, 2021
Get the Moonshot Mathmug. A math geek’s hashtag used to alert “pi patriots or parasites” that they just posted some factoids or juicy little theorem about mathematics’s beloved constant, which might arouse their interest and even lead some of them to experience an aha!
Guesstimate how many times #π has so far appeared on Twitter since the planet was plagued with Covid-19.
by Fasters November 5, 2022
Get the #πmug. A numerical relationship or statement most kindergarteners and younger elementary school students would reject as being an equation, because in their minds the “answer” or the “sum” must always be on the right side of an equation.
When grades 1–3 students don’t consider numerical liaisons like 3 = 2 + 1 and 1 = 3 – 2 as valid equations or mathematical sentences, their responses reveal a fair bit about their thinking processes.
by Fasters May 8, 2022
Get the 3 = 2 + 1mug. An author’s little-known truth, because trees give rise to lumber, which can then be converted to paper, before it is being used to print books, which earn the writer a cash lump sum or an obscene royalty.
In billions of homes, it’s not uncommon for parents telling their children off that money doesn’t grow on trees, or that money is hard to come by, but for millions of authors and publishers, the opposite is true: “Money grows on trees.”
by Fasters April 26, 2023
Get the Money Grows on Treesmug. Short for “Thinking Out Loud.” The mathematical equivalent of LOL, which is recommended for students to do, as they discuss with others how to solve a math problem, or articulate which step in a math proof has led to a faux solution or contradictory result.
Math teachers and tutors ought to encourage their students to TOL, because this under-utilized or overlooked habit would help them articulate their mental processes, while allowing others to expose their faux or flawed reasoning, if any.
by Fasters June 14, 2022
Get the TOLmug.