MathPlus's definitions

COVID-λ

Read as “Covid-Lambda.” A Covid-19 “variant of interest” according to WHO, which was first identified in Peru in December 2020—it is believed to be more transmissible than the original strain of the coronavirus, but less deadlier than the delta variant.

To protect against variants like Covid-⍺, Covid-𝛿, and Covid-λ, getting vaccinated, avoiding international travel, mask wearing, physical distancing from others, and not attending large social gatherings would minimize the odds of infection and reinfection.

by MathPlus August 8, 2021

Maskopause

When some people at a certain age can do without a face mask, because apparently their immune system by then is strong enough to fight coronaviruses or their deadlier variants, which goes against the fact that adults or seniors are more prone to getting infected compared to the younger generation.

Guesstimate how many corona-proof people worldwide fall under the maskopause category.

by MathPlus August 4, 2021

Coronabyte

A unit of information equal to ten billion billion (or ten million trillion) bytes: 10¹⁹, or a 1 with 19 zeros at the end—sometimes known as 10 giga-gigabyte (10 × 10⁹ × 10⁹), and written as 1 🦠B.

If all of earthlings’ talks and tweets about Donald J. Trump’s lies and white lies while he was at the White House were to be made available online, would a coronabyte suffice to storing them?

by MathPlus August 2, 2021

The Cecanization of Singapore Math

When the quality of Singapore math textbooks and supplementary titles took a beating in the last one and a half decades, because both local and foreign math editors were reporting to their oft-clueless bosses, who were recruited under the Singapore-India “Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement” (CECA), many of whom with quasi-zero understanding of the Singapore educational system and the local educational publishing industry.

It’s hard to estimate the reputational and economic costs suffered by publishing houses in the aftermath of the Cecanization of Singapore Math: resignation of editors, frustration of authors, rejection of textbooks, brand dilution, and the like.

by MathPlus July 30, 2021

Piralysis

A mental condition when the irrational number π suffers occasional bouts of depression, especially during a pandemic, when fewer theorems on pi grace the pages of reputable math journals and periodicals.

As the most beloved constant in mathematics, it’s not surprising that π is prone to piralysis every now and then, as it pops up in fewer proofs from delayed publications that came out when the world was on lockdown.

by MathPlus July 27, 2021

Corona Olympics

When deadlier variants of Covid-19 from different countries compete with each other to see which of them could cause the most damage or pain to earthlings until effective vaccination forces them to journey to other planets.

At the 2021 Corona Olympics, which country is likely to strike gold in both the infection and mortality events? A nation with low vaccination rate; or one that is continually plagued with nationwide protests, where citizens’ personal choices with regard to masking and vaccination overrule any political mandate to protect themselves and others?

by MathPlus July 27, 2021

Masked by Math

When someone’s worth as a person in society is often defined by their grade in school math, which means that the odds of their securing a promising career or future look bleak if they were not born with the “mathematical gene” or didn’t have a silver-spoon upbringing.

Guesstimate how many millions of otherwise intelligent people worldwide have their dreams dashed every year, because the course they plan to study in college requires them to have a passing grade in math or statistics or calculus—in other words, what percentage of the world’s population has been unfairly or unjustifiably been masked by math?

by MathPlus July 27, 2021