Category Archives: Theomatics

The Joy of Swiftematics

Humor, Mathematical Humor, Problem Solving, Recreational Math, Singapore Math, Theomatics, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Last July, millions across Asia competed for just 300,000 tickets to see Taylor Swift in the “fine” city of Singapore, which will host the only stop in Southeast Asia for the singer’s Eras Tour. Organizers said 22-plus million people registered for pre-sale tickets while online registrations passed the one million mark.

And last night, even pop singer Swift, who kicked off her six sold-out shows at the 55,000-seat National Stadium, couldn’t avoid creating some light-hearted political rift or jealousy among some ASEAN members.

Time magazine’s Person of the Year in 2023

Last month, after Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin “complained” that Singapore had brokered a deal to “pay the pop star up to US$3 million for each of her six concerts—in exchange for keeping the shows exclusive to Singapore in Southeast Asia,” the Singapore Tourism Board admitted it “supported the event through a grant,” sans revealing its size or any conditions attached to it. Guesstimate the amount of grant that was given to stage these coveted events.

Even one unhappy politician from the Philippines said “this isn’t what good neighbors do” and called for his country to register its opposition with Singapore’s embassy. Go ahead, Mr. Joey Salceda.

Cartoon by Shannon Wheeler. #NewYorkerCartoons

Political instability, radical ideology that threatens violence to Western values, and poor infrastructure are oft-unspoken key factors for concert promoters to convince the pop superstar to give regional hubs like Bangkok, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, and Jakarta a miss as part of her “Eras Tour.”

Math in Pop Culture

With so much excitement (and concern from conservative or puritan parents) about Swift’s six-show tour in Singapore, how could math educators seize the opportunity to excite otherwise mathematically indifferent or apathetic students with some Swift-related math questions or activities?

For instance, what about coining some math or dismal science terms like Swiftematics and Swiftonomics to promote some creative problem posing?

A Singapore Math Definition of Swiftematics

Text © Anon.

Could the Boyfriend Make It on Time?

Posing real-life Swift-related math questions is only limited by our imagination. Below is a nontrivial question that was posted on Facebook, whose solution is anything but straightforward.

Posted by Judy Smith Hallett on “Maths Jokes Daily”

Swift’s Carbon Footprint

In 2022, Swift topped the list of celebrities with the highest private jet CO₂ emissions. If her jet pollution were about x times more than the average person’s total annual emissions, estimate x.

The next item is a Swift- or math-friendly question posted by news anchor Peter Busch.

A Math-Friendly Question for Swifties

The Numerology of Taylor Swift

Last month, after reading about Swift’s serial infatuation with her “lucky” number 13, I made an attempt to define Swiftie Math, which is based on the numerology (or pseudoscience) of Taylor Swift.

Since I’ve yet to receive any approval or rejection of the term—whether the editors see it fit for publication—I’d skip posting it online for now.

The Swift-Biden Conspiracy

Theomatically, MAGA evangelicals (or MAGA Xtians, where X ≠ Christ)—a subset of Christian nationalists—in red-pilled states haven’t failed to warn netizens about the “satanic” influences of Taylor Swift’s songs, but have hypocritically or selectively remained silent about the fraudulent, criminal, and sexual activities of their “political savior.”

Does Taylor Swift CAST SPELLS On Her Listeners?!

Conspiracies about the singer’s alleged support for President Biden have been rife in political and religious circles to paint Ms. Swift as an “ambassador of Satan,” who’s shown zero sign in supporting Trump and his cult.

Photo © 2024 CNN

Puritan Trumpublicans are hell-bent to warn millions of Swifties from unknowingly becoming witches lest they and their idol lose their souls, but, interestingly, hardly anything from these patriots calling for a nationwide corporate prayer for the soul of their beloved un-Christian ex-president.

Musically & mathematically yours

References

Taylor Swift named Time’s ‘Person of the Year’ https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/06/media/taylor-swift-time-person-of-the-year?cid=ios_app

‘Cruel Summer’ for Taylor Swift fans in Asia as Singapore shows sell out https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/14/business/taylor-swift-tour-singapore-asia-popularity-intl-hnk-dst

Taylor Swift’s journey from country icon to pop superstar https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/21/entertainment/gallery/taylor-swift/index.html

Does Taylor Swift CAST SPELLS On Her Listeners?! https://youtu.be/SDmzNDrj2NI?si=-gWMOb7CwsswytYV

© Yan Kow Cheong, March 3, 2024.

Mathematical BS

Humor, Mathematical Humor, Recreational Math, Singapore Math, Theomatics, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
A math definition that has miraculously survived the attack of digital green terrorists.

Are you guilty of speaking (even mild) mathematical bullshit with your fellow math educators? How often do you use these BS phrases consciously or unconsciously to sound more educated or “mathematically civilized”?

If your math HOD talks about squaring the circle, thinking outside (or inside) the box (or cube), or going the extra (second) mile, do you really understand what the heck they’re talking about? Or are they just trying to impress or persuade their teachers to “walk their talk” (yes, another BS term); or worse, to cover up their shortcomings or confuse the new novice teachers?

What are the chances that they may to some degree be farting around some annoying and tiresome jargon to sound like a mathematical bore?

Of course, mathematical BS goes beyond language. Think of those sadistic statistics, data graphics, or infographics, which are often intended to mislead or confuse the audience. Misinformation, disinformation, and the Trump lies—you’re lured by them, because most are often music to the ear, especially if you love indulging in conspiracies, hoaxes, and white supremacist talks.

Context Matters

If a math teacher or educator talks about pushing the envelope, the chances that they may be legitimate are pretty high. If Pinocchios like Donald J. Trump, Boris Johnson, Vladimir V. Putin, and Kim Jong-un do, then it’s probably not—the odds are quasi-zero.

How to Be a Mathematical Bullshitter

How many of these phrases mostly convey empty words trying to sound smart?

always in beta
think outside the box
zero sum game
square the circle
make a 180° turn
the common denominator
360° appraisal
walk the talk
walk the walk
big picture
big ideas
blue sky thinking
pie in the sky
go the extra (second) mile
24/7 or 24/7/365
9 out of 10 agree
journal writing
push the envelope
back to square one
learning experiences
growth mindset
problem-based learning (PBL)
the new (new) normal
miss the forest for the trees
moral calculus

To Bull or Not to Bull?

Is spewing out mathematical BS a form of ineffective communication? A linguistic malpractice you’d try avoiding to reduce any chances of being misinterpreted?

Or do you like them because they make the speaker sound intelligent or educated, albeit their meanings or interpretations are often vague or even dangerous in some extreme cases or contexts?

In most cases, they arguably add spice to the conversation or impress the listeners, because most people who use them aren’t necessarily dishonest or evil-minded, unlike Trump and his gang of morally corrupt advisers and lawyers.

If BS can get Mr. Pinocchio into the White House or remove a country from the WHO, why not you? Your politicians, bosses, and pastors do it all the time (and probably you too), whether you want to admit it or not, so shouldn’t you do it as well since everyone else is guilty of it?

Until we meet again, know that my job isn’t to cure you from any honest or dishonest mathspeak. Why?* You can’t count on me to free you from a life of mathematical BS.

BS-freely yours

© Yan Kow Cheong, December 31, 2023

* The writer is currently undergoing weekly counselling sessions for excessively using BS or PC words in his formal and informal writing; he hopes (and also prays) that he’d find freedom from linguistic obfuscation in using only simple language that even his pets at home could understand him.

The Million Mistake Club

Humor, Mathematical Humor, Problem Solving, Recreational Math, Theomatics, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Shot from Ed Rush’s “God Talks” (2023)

If we’ve been an employee rather than an entrepreneur or businessperson for most parts of our working life, most of us would probably not be eligible to join the Million Dollar Club.

Even for those of you who’re frequent flyers, the chances that you’d qualify for a Million Mile Club are probably not that high, too.

On the other hand, for an obscene number of us who’ve made at least a million mistakes, we’re likely to meet the criteria of becoming a member of the “Million Mistake Club.”

If you’re the lucky ones who’d never qualify for this notorious club, congratulations to you for living a life defined by manifold successes and few failures, either because you’re blessed with an Einstein brain (or born with a silver spoon in the mouth), or you’re simply averse to taking any risks (which would help reduce your failure rate).

An Age Problem

On average, guesstimate how young or old someone in most parts of the world would be by the time they make their millionth mistake. In their late 20s or early 30s? Go ahead and figure this out—it’s good for your left brain!

In TrumpLand (plagued by an unrighteous party and ruled by a self-righteous party), PutinLand (misruled by self-glory and orthodox church history), or XiLand (ruled by capitalist dictatorship and hostage diplomacy), what percentage of their politicians and prisoners (or even prosperity pastors) might have already joined the “Billion Mistake Club,” or are about to do so if they’d live beyond the three- or four-scores-and-ten lifespan?

A nation of aged oft-morally corrupt politicians and presidents

The Positives of a Million Mistake Club Member

Do you qualify as a member of the Million Mistake Club? If you’re a life member like me, what are the chances that you’d be a lot nicer to others by then?

Wouldn’t the world be a better rather than a bitter place if we celebrated members of the Million Mistake Club (instead of canceling or condemning them)?

Think of ex-convicts who’re now a free man or woman after paying for their mistakes. Or those who’ve been pardoned or released early for good behavior.

A screen shot stolen while attending a service

Why not uninhibitedly post on social media that you’ve joined the Million Mistake Club, and as a result your friends, fans, and followers could positively expect a different you—someone who’s less critical or condemning.

A new you who’s more understanding, forgiving and gracious, and less on comparing, competing, and complaining.

Of course, it’s easier preached than practiced, but nevertheless embarking on a life of contentment and consensus is the beginning of a life journey that would bear much fruit now and in future.

Remember: Your past doesn’t define you. What counts in the end: It’s not so much how you start, but how you finish.

Freely & truly yours

© Yan Kow Cheong, October 24, 2023.

Formula One Singapore: Blessing or Curse?

Humor, Mathematical Humor, Recreational Math, Theomatics, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Since 2008, except in 2020 and 2021, when the night race was cancelled due to Covid-19, Singapore Grand Prix has had its highs and lows.

Most locals would hardly shed a crocodile tear should the three-day noise-pollution event cease to be held in the “fine” city in future, albeit a record 302,000 “fans” turned up for the 2022 F1 Singapore GP.

In 2019, when the hazy event venue was at an unhealthy level, race organizers were giving away thousands of free F1 tickets to beef up the number of attendees for the F1 night race to avoid the sight of empty seats. Who says that begging and betting are mutually exclusive?

The environmentally unfriendly event appeals mostly to diehard F1 fans, as F1 fatigue had already set in among locals who’d attended a few more canned events after 2008.

The Singapore F1 night race looks more like a curse than a blessing for a segment of the population, especially retail shop and restaurant owners (with cancelled meal orders and table reservations), and service providers (few gym or tuition classes, haircuts, etc.) in the Marina Bay area.

Some of them have their sales dwindled this week due to customers’ difficulties of navigating around road closures, or the latter’s decision to give their venue of choice a miss to avoid any inconvenience.

And religious services and recreational activities in the area had to be cancelled as a result of noise pollution from this weekend event. Even the holy souls or health freaks, who need to be in the vicinity, rain or shine, pollution or not, would have to find alternative parking space to attend to their weekly rituals.

A Hell of a Race

Deemed the “most difficult race of the year,” Singapore’s Marina Bay circuit is notorious for its plethora of 90-degree corners along the 23-turn lap. And F1 drivers’ annual complaining mantra is the sauna- or oven-like conditions of warm and sweaty Singapore.

God in the Wheels—F1 Goes Spiritual

Pray for the F1 Singapore Grand Prix

In the aftermath of F1 race organizers seeking protection from God, gods, or goddesses, back in 2016, I’d irreverently coined “F1 Blessing”:

F1 Blessing: When religious leaders from various faiths come together annually to pray for the Singapore Grand Prix and to bless the Formula One night race.

Example: The public has no idea whether the F1 blessing requires the holy men to go through a list of prayer items; if not, what exactly are they praying about?—safety of drivers? good sale of tickets? no crazy spectators crossing the racing track when the race is on? God knows!

by MathPlus September 09, 2016

F1 Prayers

Let’s pray these three F1 prayers for 2023:

1. Pray that few diehard (or better still, zero) fans at the Singapore Grand Prix would be infected with Pirola, the newly recognized variant of Omicron (Covid-19 virus strain BA.2.86), and that no foreign spectators would bring any WHO-undetected variants into the local community.

2. In past events, we’d had unexpected guests like lizards and snakes at the Formula One Singapore event. Pray that no reptiles, giant hornets, or extraterrestrials would show up on Sunday.

3. Pray that all corrupt men and women, be they billionaires, ministers-millionaires, or organizers, who’re behind the “success” of the F1 Singapore Grand Prix, would be exposed, fined, and imprisoned for their illicit financial gains.

F1 Math

A math quickie on Singapore’s “Highest Noise Pollution Day”: Local drivers have so far failed to make the grade at the Singapore GP. Which is more likely: A Singaporean F1 driver making it to the top ten, or Singapore getting into the World Cup final?

Prayerfully and environmentally yours

© Yan Kow Cheong, September 17, 2023.

Taliban Math

Problem Solving, Recreational Math, Singapore Math, Theomatics, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
A math definition that has since been hijacked by digital terrorists.

Early this week, we read in the news that the Taliban were stopping female Afghan students heading to the university from leaving the country to study in Dubai.

What kind of society or ideology would prevent girls and women from pursuing an education that would empower them to live productive or fruitful lives, and to help raise the literacy and numeracy rate of their country?

If a government don’t respect the human rights and fundamental freedom of women and girls, it speaks volumes what kind of radical thinking is behind their spiritual or ideological decision and action.

Just when the civilized world thought that forcing people to be attired in a certain way based on man-made laws is bad, banning them from attending secondary schools and universities makes a mockery of all the rites and rituals that are practiced to moralize or de-infidel-ize them.

Meme © Anon.

In most developed or semi-democratic societies, not sending your children to school, or depriving them of a formal education, for no valid reasons, could land parents and caregivers in deep trouble with the authorities.

Singapore: Lifelong Opportunity for All Minority Muslim Girls & Women

In multicultural Singapore, even educated parents can’t simply homeschool a child just because they want to without a valid reason from the Ministry of Education. For example, religious-minded parents can’t conveniently send their children to a madrasah for their formal education if they can’t convince the authorities that their children’s educational, emotional, and social needs would be well taken care of.

Art ©Edelman Rodriguez @edelstudio

A government that fail to provide formal education for its citizens, male and female (or whatever other labels some might prefer to be identified themselves with), or discriminate against girls and women, or alienate certain racial or religious groups, and minorities, makes us wonder how far these people have been radicalized, or are ideologically brainwashed or spiritually blinded.

When rogue rulers or radical religious leaders in a theocratic state control the lives of millions of men, women, and children based on radical ideology, by dictating them how they ought to live and be taught, one can imagine what kind of citizentry they’d produce for future generations.

The marginalization and objectification of girls and women is condoned in many Mohammedan milieux or Islamist circles, and these practices hardly ever make the headlines, compared to the misinformation or disinformation on the repression of Uyghurs and genocide in Xinjiang.

As someone aptly commented, it sounds like Americans “don’t like Chinese and also don’t like Muslims, but they seem (or pretend) to like Chinese Muslims.”

An e-card that proves ISIS values math education.

For “infidels,” selling or marketing Singapore math titles to the Taliban or Boko Haram (which outwardly or publicly abhor and denounce anything Western or Christian) is like running a half-priced campaign for ice cubes in Alaska.

Politics 1 Math Education 0

Since the U.S. pulled out of Afghanistan, after trying to free the people from terrorism and radical Islamism for two-odd decades, arguably, both Trump and Biden are directly or indirectly responsible for the current deprivation of education among girls and women in the country.

It’s a back-to-square-one situation before 9/11, when radical Islamists and terrorists religiously relegated girls and women to domestic slaves.

The Western media put a premium on “radical democracy” but pay lip service to the lack of educational and job opportunities for millions of girls and women in Afghanistan and many so-called “moderate Muslim” countries.

Radical Math Questions

Below are some previously x-ed (or tweeted) politico- or religio-mathematical questions non-NATO [no-action-talk-only] math educators would like to reflect on if they wished to play an active part in the education emancipation of girls and women in many oppressive or rogue regimes around the world.

1. Guesstimate how many millions of girls and women in Afghanistan would be denied of their human and educational rights, as the Taliban start enforcing their man-made Sharia law to oppress or enslave them in most spheres of life.

2. How many Afghan girls and women would be robbed of an education under the Taliban in 2021 and beyond, as radical Islamists and terrorists force them to be subservient to men?

3. If Section 377A humiliates and hurts gay people, doesn’t the men-designed Sharia also “discriminate or disadvantage girls and women”? Shouldn’t those discriminatory laws against them be repealed?

4. [Fake] Math News: Trump & the Taliban. Afghan judges are deliberating what sharia punishments should be meted out to Trump for his financial, political & sexual crimes. What are the odds that he’d be spared of barbaric amputation, caning or stoning?

5. How many Malala Yousafzai’s Afghanistan and other Muslim-majority nations like Iran and Saudi Arabia—where women and girls are often discriminated and enslaved—would need to fight for women’s and children’s rights against the Taliban and the ayatollahs?

Photo © Anon. Before and After the Taliban

© Yan Kow Cheong, September 3, 2023

Calculus for Mature Students

Humor, Mathematical Humor, Recreational Math, Singapore Math, Theomatics, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Math Meme from Math Lady Hazel

Like math, calculus needn’t sulk (to any degree)! In the hands of an excited middle-school or high-school math teacher, or with access to some creatively written (or online free) resources, the ABCs of calculus can even be taught to elementary school kids.

Think of Mr. Jaime Escalante who had successfully taught calculus to cohorts of Mexican-American students. There is zero excuse why we can’t emulate him to teaching it to financially disadvantaged or minority groups.

What’s Calculus to You?

Do you parrot the textbook definition of calculus to your students? The mathematics of (instantaneous) change. Or do you share it as the branch of mathematics that measures “how far an object has been going fast,” and “how fast an object has gone far”?

Moons ago, I cheekily approached or indirectly defined calculus via the division of zero as follows:

0 ÷ 0: The Raison d’être of Calculus

With some dose of irreverence, the bête noire of high-school or college math could turn out to be a much beloved topic even among the so-called innumerates or mathematically challenged.

Calculus for the Numerati

It’s debatably said that without an exposure of some delta-epsilon calculus, no man or woman can honestly claim to be “mathematically educated” or “mathematically civilized.” Sounds like mathematical pride or arrogance, isn’t it?

Or just an example of “mathematical elitism” à la Trump for those fakes who declare themselves as being a “very stable genius.” Even Einstein had remarked that calculus was “the greatest advance in thought that a single individual was ever privileged to make.”

Fr: Ryan Truong on Facebook’s “Mathematical Mathematics Memes”

Recently, while working on the Urban Calculus manuscript, I forced myself to reread some of the out-of-print pop calculus titles like David Berlinski’s A Tour of the Calculus, Steven Strogatz’s The Calculus of Friendship, and Mary Stopes-Roe’s Mathematics with Love to get an intuitive feel of the subject again.

For a long time, the thought of taking up the challenge to read Newton’s The Principia (even its annotated version) frightens me, because the complexity of the content is beyond me. I’ve a good excuse not to borrow the thick copy from the university library unless I want to look like a “mathematical snob” carrying it around, or use it as a temporary doorstop.

When Comics and Calculus Converge

Calculus for All

Let’s play our part in sharing the mathematical gospel of Newton and Leibniz that calculus needn’t be a four-letter word—how these two mathematical greats had exorcized the demon out of the division of zero.

Why not strive to be the “James Escalante” of your school, state, or country? You’d be the changemaker or mathematical savior in motivating some undecided or mature students to read a calculus course or module in college?

Differentially and integrally yours

© Yan Kow Cheong, July 30, 2023.

The Mask of Math

Humor, Math Publishing, Problem Solving, Recreational Math, Singapore Math, Theomatics, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Mask Art as Therapy. Original un-memed photo from Hunny & Lummy’s “Masks of Singapore” (2021).

What mathematical or nonmathematical crisis are you presently facing or undergoing? Mid-life crisis? Existential crisis? Financial crisis? Relational crisis? Post-pandemic crisis?

Have you forgotten what it means to enjoy math? If you’re a school teacher or university lecturer, are you planning to leave the [Singapore’s or US’s or XYZ’s ] rigid educational system to pursue your mathematical dream?

If you’re an editor, are you longing for the day when you don’t have to handle those quasi-uneditable manuscripts once you’ve paid up your mortgage or send your children to college?

And if you’re a writer, do you long (or pray?) for those pseudo-math editors to get promoted to their next level of incompetency, where they’re less likely to adulterate your manuscript?

Math & Mask

Beyond the mask that we wear to function in our daily lives as math educators (lecturers, teachers, tutors, editors, writers, consultants, managing editors, publishing managers, …), who are we?

Do you see yourself enjoying the mathematical journey while you’re building your career or struggling to pay the bill? When you take off your daily masks, when you don’t feel the pressure to pretend, when you’d simply be yourself, what does it feel like? What does it smell like? What does it taste like? What does it sound like?

A Commandment to Deal with the Mask of Pride

Mathematical Synesthesia

Can you visualize the color of infinity? Taste the number zero? Smell the fragrance of pi? Or you think these synesthetic experiences are only reserved for autistics or idiot savants?

We all came into this world with zero, and we’ll also leave it with zero but the [mathematical] spirit of life we’ve lived in our lifetime. Are you always waiting for permission to write that math book? Or hoping that when you retire, you’d have the time (and space) to explore and pursue that math pet project?

Are you petrified that others might witness that you’ve been a victim of the imposter syndrome, as you get promoted and being tagged with bigger flowery job titles? Still struggling to fake it until you make it?

Unmask Your Math

To make a mark in math or math education in the local, regional, or international community, you need to strip your mask away. People want to see and work with vulnerable or fallible folks, who’re prepared to make a fool of themselves, to be a laughable stock or mathematical clown, and not to take themselves seriously.

What are you waiting for? Not some other time when you’ve accumulated enough zeros in your bank account, or next semester (or pandemic?), but today. Because when you’re financially free, you’re unlikely to have the energy to do that math thing you so desire.

Don’t die with a book inside you! Or miss tithing one or two years of your life to volunteer as a math teacher in some low-GDP countries to help raise the numeracy level of the locals. Or fail to resurrect that off-atrophied “math & art” project for a solo exhibition. It’s better to fail or experience the journey than regret on your deathbed.

Remember: Let not pride, insecurity, or failure prevent you from fulfilling your God-given purpose on this side of eternity, as you embark on your mathematical journey.

You needn’t do it alone: Seek Him and His wisdom for your mathematical needs and wants. Be fearless and free.

Fearlessly & faithfully yours

© Yan Kow Cheong, July 23, 2023.

Singapore’s PSLE Math Paper

Mathematical Humor, Problem Solving, Singapore Math, Theomatics, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

There is an educational (or psychological or emotional) price a country has to pay if it wants its students to continually rank among the top three in international comparative studies like TIMSS and PISA, or in regional or international math contests and competitions.

An irreverent definition of Singapore’s most dreaded school exam paper

Understandably, parents in Singapore are unhappy about the difficult PSLE (grade 6) math questions that are used to assess their children, before they’d graduate from primary (grades 1–6) school to secondary (middle) school.

And the oft-politically correct or modeled answers from the city-state’s Ministry of Education (MOE) hardly ever pacify or satisfy teachers, parents, and caregivers; in most cases, the canned suggestions or quasi-laughable solutions only make them angrier or more cynical.

PC Slogans for Kiasu Parents

Be it the mantra that “every (local) school is a good school,” or that parents need to help or educate their children believe that “their self-worth or value isn’t dependent on their exam grades” is easier preached than practiced.

When politicians or MOE officials preach to parents that they needn’t be paranoid about their children’s PSLE exam or math score, because it’s not the end of the world, it’s like ex-loansharks-turned-philanthropists or ethically challenged ex-CEOs- or ex-bankers-turned-preachers now telling the financially struggling public that money isn’t everything, or that they’d not make money their god. For the haves to tell the have-nots, it’s utter hypocrisy, to say the least.

Answers and oft-ill-edited half-baked solutions are usually from tutors or teachers-moonlighters.

Tuition: A Necessary Evil for the Nation

Without compulsory tuition or heavy parental involvement, the majority of elementary math students in local schools would likely struggle to score a decent grade in their PSLE math paper.

Singapore’s PSLE math paper with its quota of brain-unfriendly questions looks like a necessary evil that would help define or maintain the “fine” city’s high standard of mathematics regionally and internationally.

From Mid-Year to Mock Exams

This year, Primary 6 students didn’t have to sit for mid-year exams at school, because last year, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing had said that the move would allow them to “focus more on their learning and less on marks.”

In the aftermath of the MOE’s move to do away with all mid-year exams for primary and secondary schools, tuition centers saw a golden opportunity to lure kiasu parents with their mock mid-year exams, whose questions are generally harder (not better) than those set in the PSLE math paper.

Other than parental or peer pressure to excel, most students’ undue stress could be traced to the difficulty of math questions set by neighborhood schools (driven by school rankings) and tuition centers (powered by profits), which are generally harder than those that appear in the PSLE math paper. Yes, they’re the two big culprits that set an unhealthy number of nonroutine questions that often demoralize the kids, by making them feel like they still “aren’t that good in math.”

A Promised Land for Geeks—and Tax Fugitives

Singapore is a “promised land” for those who’re born or blessed with the “mathematical gene” or for those who’d afford a private tutor. However, for the majority of average or math-anxious school children, we can only pray that PSLE math wouldn’t become their bête noire, and that God would keep them motivated and focused as they go through this oft-stressful rite of passage of their schooling years.

I might sound like a mathocrite (short for “mathematical hypocrite”) in giving mathematical or parental advice; nevertheless, let me end with this educational slogan that is worth reiterating, because I believe that the sooner we put it into practice, the less stressful (or peaceful) our life will be: Our math scores or grades don’t define us—in or out of school, and certainly not in life.

Grade-consciouslessly yours

© Yan Kow Cheong, June 18, 2023.

What’s Your Life PhD?

Humor, Mathematical Humor, Recreational Math, Singapore Math, Theomatics, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

For the majority of people around the world without a PhD, the academic title is often creatively or cynically assigned a different meaning. Talking of poking fun at those who make a living in an ivory tower—the image of an “ivory tower” is used in the Bible in the Song of Songs (7:4) to describe a woman’s purity—the lay public’s general impression or perception of most PhDs is often anything but positive. Could this be due to some subconscious “intellectual envy”?

Maybe because when they think of academics becoming politicians or of them serving as consultants or advisors for an oft-inept or corrupt government (or of an educational consultant for a publishing house hoping to boost their school adoption rate), many have mixed feelings about these exam-smart folks, who are mostly “un-street-smart,” when it comes to solving everyday life or real-world problems for their fellow citizens—their oft-halfwitted decisions often serve as a living proof of their (practical) unintelligence rather than their intelligence.

PhDs to Save the Planet from Covid-19

Below are three entries I submitted during the lockdown two-odd years ago.

Trump’s Covid-19 Con-sultant
Was Cummings, ex-PM Johnson’s “corona jerk”?
One rule for the Cummings and
one for the common people.

Be it the canned “Permanent Head Damage” or “Post Holiday Depression,” new meanings associated with the acronym are only limited by our imagination.

Boosted Jabs at PhDs

A few years ago, I started relooking at new meanings of a PhD. Two such revised definitions were:

Cheat PhD on the Cheap
God’s Doctorate Disciples

What’s your life’s PhD, especially when you respectfully compare yourself with those with big titles, most of whom often have infinitesimally positive or quasi-zero impact on those around them?

Meanwhile, why not pray, help, and do rather than just preach, hope, and delay?

© Yan Kow Cheong, March 25, 2023.

Math Word of the Day: Covid-🇸🇬

Humor, Mathematical Humor, Problem Solving, Recreational Math, Singapore Math, Theomatics, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

On Monday, Singapore’s Health Minister Ong Ye Kung reported that 80,000 seniors aged 60 and above have yet to take their Covid-19 booster shots, urging them to do so as the city-state is expecting a new wave of Omicron infections in the next few months.

The minister added that the first batch of Covid-19 vaccines were engineered more for the “wild-type” virus, and now that the coronavirus has mutated into the Delta and Omicron variants, we need at least three doses of vaccines for “effective” protection—and a fourth jab (or a second booster shot) is recommended for those who’ve so far lived on this planet for at least three scores and two tens (or four scores)—aged 80 and above.

Like thousands of my fellow skeptics, when we read or hear this kind of corona update from a local politician on a Monday, our skepticism index goes up at least twenty points. It sounds more like an indecent number of WHO-approved vaccines are nearing their expiry dates, so they need to come up with some creative eleventh-hour strategies not to waste away those tens of thousands of doses.

These days, even developing countries with low vaccination rates are likely to turn down any donated near-expiry vaccines from those high-GDP hoarders. They’d reply, “Thank you very much for your [“insincere”] donation!” followed by some PC excuses not to offend the donors.

One subtle way to salvage a fraction of these surplus doses is to use some mortality statistics to scare off those who’ve yet to be jabbed or boosted.

For instance, we’re statistically being told that the probability of unvaccinated seniors aged 60 and above ending in the intensive care unit (ICU) or dying from Covid-19 is 1/25, but the figure drops to 1/100 if they’ve been doubly jabbed, or nosedives to a mere 3/1000 if they’ve been boosted.

Minister Ong emphasized that “It makes a difference whether you have taken 0, 1, 2 or 3 shots.” So, the unvaxxed would better pay heed to his life-and-death warning unless they plan to journey to the other side sooner than later.

The sombre message is: Wake up to your minister’s advice if you don’t want to have a minister at your premature wake conducting nightly services to your loved ones and friends and colleagues. The decision is yours to act if you want to prolong your stay on this planet by an extra few years or decades.

Let’s pray that the unvaccinated or unboosted lot would fear Covid-19 more than Covid-🇸🇬, while not letting themselves be paralyzed by either one.

© Yan Kow Cheong, June 20, 2022

The Fear Factor in the “Fine” City