Numerati's definitions

πX

The minimum number of times a company’s profitability could grow, because its employees’ career pathways are T-shaped (The Anything Workforce)—the opposite of an I-shaped (One Thing Workforce), which is siloed, rigid, and fixed.

With Trump’s yo-yo tariffs and threats vis-à-vis allies, the chances of witnessing more πX American companies emerging around the world in coming years look pretty slim.

by Numerati July 5, 2025

Math is for girls, too!

An arguably male chauvinist or sexist slogan that subtly implies that girls and women are inferior in math or logic than boys and men, rather than an attempt to educate an oft-male-biased society that both sexes are equally qualified to read math in college or academia.

The manuscript entitled “Math is for girls, too!” was twice rejected by the publisher, which specializes in DEI and feminist titles, without any reasons whatsoever.

by Numerati July 3, 2025

Pismith

A coiner or christener of π-related words or phrases, most of which have made Urban Dictionary their dwelling of choice.

With the advent of the metaverse, what are the chances that pismiths would soon show up there too?

by Numerati July 1, 2025

Is Pi Democrat or Republican?

When politicians and philosophers fail to agree whether the irrational number π subscribes to the liberal or woke ideology of the Democratic Party, or shares the conservative or puritan beliefs of the Republican Party (and maybe even the MAGA gospel of the Trumpublican cult).

Metamathematicians don’t think that π will ever conform to the biblical value of three, which is preached by some alt-right Christian nationalists, while far-left ethnomathematicians divine that π holds the secret to the workings of the universe. Is pi Democrat or Republican?

by Numerati June 28, 2025

The Grobalization of Singapore Math

When both local and foreign math publishers in Singapore—with the backing of government-linked businesses or organizations, and positive feedback from thousands of homeschoolers overseas—aim to influence or impose their ways of teaching and learning elementary school math around the world—they desire to grow in power and profits to an eager global audience that is keen to emulate Singapore’s math success at home.

Just as the principles of McDonaldization has been applied to the church and religion, mathepreneurs aren’t shy to apply the grobalization of Singapore math to colonize math education around the globe.

by Numerati June 21, 2025

Precalculus

A euphemistic term for a course study on middle-school and high-school algebra and trigonometry for those who have to read calculus, or who have flunked their calculus before—a prerequisite for those who sign for STEM modules in college.

Without precalculus, the chances of someone graduating with a STEM degree are quasi-zero.

by Numerati June 19, 2025

Mathematical Purrfection

When educators who are cat lovers love to pose creative math questions—and mathematical quickies or trickies—that center around their pets (or “masters of the house”), or are attracted by real-life word problems that embrace the feline family.

Two brain-unfriendly questions that exhibit mathematical purrfection are:

1. At a Cats’ Café, how many cute kittens are there if there are 9 more legs than tails?

2. Guesstimate the average cat bill at the veterinarian over her lifestyle.

by Numerati June 18, 2025