MathPlus's definitions

Trumpificate

Also known as a “Trump certificate.” A fake Covid-19 vaccine passport that could be purchased on the black market or dark web, or sometimes even downloaded free of charge by clicking a link and filling in one’s personal details.

Guesstimate how many trumpificates are in circulation worldwide as anti-vaxxers play cat and mouse with the authorities, which don’t have the manpower nor the knowhow to expose those digitally savvy criminals.

by MathPlus November 15, 2021

Wayang Math

When someone shows off the success of their exam-smart or pseudo-talented kids or tutees in school or olympiad math, by posting photos of their grades, awards, medals, or certificates on social media, dreaming for a googol likes in return—wayang is a Malay word that mockingly describes someone as being “fake” in the sense that they are putting up an act in front of others.

Guesstimate how many wayang math postings appear on Facebook and Instagram every year by oft-kiasu or egocentric parents to hint to their social circles of their “supernatural” parenting or tutoring skills.

by MathPlus November 13, 2021

God as Your Doorkeeper

When God opens doors no one can shut and when He shuts doors no one can open—when people and circumstances appear to be preventing you from your dream, but God wouldn’t allow the doors to close if they were going to keep you from your destiny.

Closed doors look permanent—your health isn’t getting better; your financial situation isn’t improving; the chances of meeting someone look dim; you’re stuck in your job or not getting promoted—but God as your doorkeeper can just walk in and suddenly open them. Are you ready for these suddenlies, as He opens and closes the right doors to protect and propel you to your next level of growth or success?

by MathPlus November 10, 2021

Big Bird Math

When you need to simplistically explain an arguably simple math concept to a group of kindergarteners, most of whom probably have an IQ of a parrot or less, although their parents think that the intelligence of their little ones is closer to that of a dolphin.

Some big bird math topics kids at a premium enrichment math center were recently exposed to were: “as easy as ⍺, β, 𝛾” and “COVID-1–2–3.”

by MathPlus November 9, 2021

Coronaire

Someone who becomes a millionaire or billionaire during the coronavirus pandemic, who thrives when others could barely survive, as their products or services are in great demand.

Who are the coronaires? Those in the food and goods industries? Those whose businesses produce face masks, ventilators, and vaccines? Or those selling fake vaccine certificates?

by MathPlus November 8, 2021

Avoid Pi Like the Plague

An ill-advised mantra math-anxious folks unquestionably take to heart on hearing it from negative or unhelpful people, who are only contaminating the minds of their listeners with fake mathematical information.

To tell someone to avoid pi like the plague is like telling them that π is a rational number because it can be expressed as the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter.

by MathPlus November 6, 2021

Singapore Math Going Endemic

When most K–12 Singapore math writers would find it almost irresistible not to set questions on Covid-19 and its variants, masks, vaccines, and lockdowns, by adding some context to their content in their new manuscripts, unless their publishers think that it is morbid or a bad omen to do so, by rationalizing that the product of two negatives (people’s fear of math and of the virus) is not a positive in this case.

As Singapore reluctantly lives with Covid, it’s understandable that those who had lost loved ones to Covid-19 have reservations about Singapore math going endemic in this new normal.

by MathPlus November 4, 2021