An introductory course on the number zero offered at some community colleges as part of the popularization of mathematics to an oft-semi-innumerate public.
by MathPlus August 26, 2021
Short for “Singapore’s Gifted Education Programme,” that has sulked up so much taxpayers’ money, yet has achieved so little—an elitist programme that equates high academic achievement with giftedness.
At best, Singapore’s GEP—every parent’s secret desire for their child to get into it—creates the illusion of nurturing individual creativity, when it actually breeds conformity and produces academic snobbery among its members.
by MathPlus October 24, 2018
A “tuition nation” where your grade six exam score more or less determines your future—the fear of failing and not getting into a school of choice reduces your chances of a decent or quality education, because the top or popular schools have “better teachers” and more resources.
Because of its high-stakes exams, Singapore is probably the world’s most stressful country for a child to experience a normal childhood—and she will be at a disadvantage if her parents can’t afford to send her for private tuition.
by MathPlus July 11, 2018
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 08, 2021
A cute sounding phrase, which is 99.99% bullshit, that is used to justify the high royalties demanded by half-baked math authors in academia, or the high fees charged by most overrated textbook math consultants or general editors (who are notorious in giving cosmetic feedback to a manuscript).
Educational publishers in Singapore reluctantly give in to trickle down mathematics, hoping to increase the odds of their approved textbooks to be adopted by more local schools, by displaying as many PhDs on their book covers.
by MathPlus November 17, 2021
The Chinese equivalent of “Who wants a Covaxin jab?” When China is aggressively involved in vaccine diplomacy, by donating millions of its home-made partially trialed and 50⁺% effective vaccines to poor or emerging countries, whose populations have mixed feelings about these WHO-unapproved shots—is China trying to redeem itself or to make up for its earlier lies and cover-ups for failing to alert the world of the pandemic?
When beggars can’t be choosers, even if the vaccines have got zero WHO approval, how dare millions of recipients worldwide cynically or skeptically ask: “Who wants a Sinovac shot?”
by MathPlus March 23, 2021
The latest notorious title conferred on Donald J. Trump for the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol, when his diehard supporters-turned-terrorists stormed the building, and threatened to kill the Vice President and endanger the lives of lawmakers.
Liar-in-Chief, Pinocchio-in-Chief, Divider-in-Chief, Faker-in-Chief, …, Pharisee-in-Chief, Hoaxer-in-Chief, Conspiracist-in-Chief, White Terrorist-in-Chief, it’s hard to imagine another rogue or fake leader collecting so many ignoble titles while in office, except perhaps for Kim Jong Un who has been honored with dozens of laughably flattery titles.
by MathPlus January 25, 2021