When problem solving with the lights off could help trigger your imaginary thinking, which could be a catalyst to experiencing that aha! moment in producing a creative or elegant solution to a wicked math problem.
Guesstimate many math educators worldwide could get their imaginations light up if they decided to do math in the dark—when darkness triggers their intuition for that long-awaited lateral solution.
by MathPlus October 12, 2021
When no superpower or developed country alone is able or capable of solving the global coronavirus crisis, whose solution requires the knowhow of both friendly and unfriendly nations.
With Beijing’s initial cover-ups and President Trump’s recurring lies and conspiracies on the coronavirus while in office, the world, which recognizes that Covid-19 is a wicked problem, is skeptical that these two superpowers could put aside their differences to fight the pandemic.
by MathPlus February 06, 2021
Also known as “Singapore model method,” “bar model method,” or “bar modeling.” A problem-solving visualization strategy whereby the problem solver makes use of rectangles or bars to draw a model diagram to represent how the known and unknown quantities in a given problem situation are related, using a part-whole or comparison model.
Using the model method to solve a word problem involving fraction, ratio, or percentage allows the mind’s eye to better grasp the problem situation by making tacit knowledge more explicit or visible—it’s like a “look-see” proof to a problem for kids.
by MathPlus October 06, 2021
Short for “Mathematicians Are Terribly Haughty.” When pure mathematicians who pridefully claims to study math for math’s sake regard applied mathematicians as second-rate, and math educators from the School of Education as third-rate.
When asked what M.A.T.H stands for, a twelve-year-old student answered his math teacher: “Monotonous, Abstract, Terrifying, Hard.”
by MathPlus May 11, 2021
A dirty word among non-symbol-minded folks who are not keen, or find it brain-unfriendly, to learn the language of mass, length, and time; instead, they would rather pay the exam-smart or geeks to do the oft-tedious task for them.
The math guys and gals run the world, but most are clumsy in communicating their ideas to others, thus making them look like cold-hearted beings living in a platonic world of their own.
by MathPlus March 03, 2021
When a head of state is against the use of masks in public in response to widespread violent protests in their land, so that the police could identify and arrest the rioters; or in case any public mask hoarding could deprive hospitals of them—either situation contradicts public health measures in a pandemic.
During the coronavirus crisis, the implicit “Thou needn’t wear a mask” message only raises panic in the population that there aren’t enough masks available for everyone.
by MathPlus April 09, 2021
Commemorative stamps that honor the contributions of Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz, the co-fathers of Calculus, to mankind.
How many philaculus first day covers have so far been issued worldwide that credit the mathematical achievements of co-discovers Newton and Leibniz, who fought a years-old “mathematical war,” by accusing each other of plagiarism?
by MathPlus October 28, 2021