When Singapore parents proudly (or boastfully) display their child’s “academic achievement” or “leadership or volunteering award” on Facebook to tell the world how “exam-smart,” “inspiring,” or “caring” he or she is—or maybe to boost their own fragile egos.
Besides showcasing on social media the exotic food they’ve partaken of, or the branded goods they’ve purchased, during their overseas trips, few vain Singaporeans would miss awardising their children’s school achievements, desiring to get dozens of likes from friends and fans.
by MathPlus January 14, 2018
A problem-solving heuristic or strategy that is not a product of imported approaches or procedures—for example, a deductive proof in geometry is unmistakably Greek in origin.
The bar model method, which is a mix of strategies from China, Russia, and the US, can’t be labeled “organic math”—ironically, this commonly known “Singapore model method” is anything but native math from Singapore.
by MathPlus December 03, 2018
When an unvaccinated tourist planning to stay a night or two at Romania’s Bran Castle, the home of Count Dracula, has a choice: Receive two jabs at once in the neck on arrival, or wait for at least two weeks after receiving the second jab.
Dozens of tourists wishing to make a trip to Dracula’s Castle during this pandemic are in a dilemma: ✈️ 🇷🇴 🏰 🧛 ♂️ = 2💉 🕰.
by MathPlus May 16, 2021
The unspoken slogan by employers to legally add a clause in their new hires’ contracts to have them vaccinated before they start work, and to expect existing staff to be inoculated if they want to keep their job.
Guesstimate how many people worldwide would challenge or sue their employers for implementing the "No Jab, No Job” policy, who argue that it is discriminatory to force any staff to be immunized.
by MathPlus February 19, 2021
When South Africa is the birthplace of at least two Covid-19 mutants—the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) and the Beta variant (B.1.351)—where gangs have often filled in the spaces the state has not filled, such as distributing soap, masks, food, and drugs, thus exposing the failure of the resources-rich nation to meet people’s basic needs.
What are the odds that presently WHO-approved vaccines are quasi-defenseless against the infectious and transmissible Covid-🇿🇦 variants?
by MathPlus November 27, 2021
A killer that has garnered undue attention vis-à-vis other global killers like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), diabetes, and cancers, as a large number of the middle-class and some wealthy families and celebrities in the developed world have disproportionately been affected.
Unlike other main causes of death that mostly affect the poor and the marginalized in the developing countries every year, COVID-19 appears to be a great leveler in indiscriminately choosing its victims—for example, it is blind to people’s race, religion, or social status.
by MathPlus June 27, 2021
The planetary equivalent of someone who suffered a heart attack that nearly killed them—which often arises due to zero exercise, unhealthy diet, or high-stress lifestyle—because earthlings made bad choices like deforesting and polluting the earth, ignoring the poor and the marginalized, and overspending on the military but underspending on health care systems.
COVID-19 exposes how fragile global supply chains are, how under-funded health or medical systems worldwide are, and how vulnerable the poor and marginalized in both developed and developing countries are.
by MathPlus March 11, 2021