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Insomgebra

Unable to sleep because of one’s fear of failing an upcoming algebra test, because of low confidence or poor self-esteem, or an irrational fear working with letters that represent numbers.
Jenny suffered from severe insomgebra and loss of appetite over the weekend before she sat for her math paper on Monday morning.
by MathPlus October 31, 2017
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Why Can’t Math Be Like Sex?

If teachers and textbook authors would creatively present the oft-sterile math curriculum in a form that would get students excited about the beauty of the subject, by not adulterating but contextualizing the content—by letting learners see both the mathematical forest and the trees.
Mathematics is too important to be left in the hands of mostly uncreative authors or publishers; as a result, teachers and parents would need to sexify the most boring subject in school—they need to ask, “why can’t math be like sex?” to lure unmotivated or mathophobic students.
by MathPlus December 1, 2018
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MASKHØLE

Someone who grudgingly wears a face mask in public after being fined at least once for failing to do so previously.
After being fined $300 for her first offense and $1,000 for her second offense for refusing to wear a mask in public, Arna is now a repentant maskhøle, who has been

warned that a third offense would land her behind bars.
by MathPlus March 13, 2021
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The sociological equivalent of “Women Are Crazy, Men Are Stupid”—the unspoken observation about two neighboring frenemies, who are afraid of losing out and who are afraid of dying.
The foreign publisher is consulting its lawyers on whether the Singapore government might ban the sale of “Singaporeans Are Kiasu, Malaysians Are Kiasi,” which pokes fun at the idiocies and idiosyncrasies of Singaporeans and Malaysians.
by MathPlus June 22, 2018
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Pi in the Pandemic

When the number π tries to keep herself fresh in the mind’s eye of mathematicians and math educators, by getting involved in the christening of new words and phrases, such as “piralysis,” “Covid-π,” and “pi in the sky”; or by letting her and other pi expressions being redefined with new meanings, often associated with Covid-19 or its variants.
Like the top billionaires who became wealthier during the coronavirus crisis, thanks to Urban Dictionary, pi in the pandemic was productive in producing a few dozen new pi-words and phrases to keep the mathematical brethren in some quasi-aha! mood in the midst of fear and pain.
by MathPlus October 14, 2021
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Pi on Earth

When the symbol π is stone-carved against a circular background of a different color on the ground.
If the value of π in heaven is arguably 3, which is computed based on two biblical verses (1 Kings 7:23 and 2 Chronicles 4:2), what is the value of pi on earth then?
by MathPlus December 4, 2020
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Pandemic Purgatory

When countries are caught between the desire to open up their borders to lure tourists to their shores and the fear of triggering new waves of infections.
Singapore finds itself in a pandemic purgatory situation: Should it allow thousands of migrant workers back to revive its comatose construction industry, or should it wait until the infection rates in the countries where these workers come from to head south?
by MathPlus March 21, 2022
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