Few agnostics and believers would disagree that the rainbow is enchantingly and mesmerizingly beautiful to the naked eye.
To faithful believers, the rainbow reminds them of its spiritual connection to their existence — it’s more than just a pretty arc of color.
A rainbow, which doesn’t exist in any particular part of the sky, is an intangible interaction between the natural world and our eyes and brains. No two people see or experience the same rainbow in their mind’s eye.
While there is a tension between poetry/beauty and science/physics, that unease shouldn’t destroy the wonder (“magic”) of the rainbow vis-à-vis its technical side (“math/geometry/science”). More often than not, science helps us better appreciate nature’s beauty.
The Magic and Math of Rainbows
Below are four tanka that imperfectly capture the many perspectives on a rainbow.
ScreenshotScreenshotScreenshotScreenshot
That God established the rainbow as the sign of His covenant with Noah (and all living creatures) after the flood comes from Genesis 9:13:
“I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.”
Nearby verses (12, 15–16) reveal that God promises never again to destroy all life on earth with a flood.
The rainbow serves as the visible sign and token of that covenant and reminds Him of His promise.
When I saw the three-in-one kind of ranking below, which is creatively (or comically?) created by summing the PISA scores from Math, Science, and Reading, those aggregates make some high-GDP countries like the U.S. look much better than their actual performance in each individual subject, especially when American students nationwide have so far disappointingly performed below the global average in math and science.
The PISA “overall score” table prompted me to irreverently tweet the following:
[Fake] Math News: DJT plans to inflict higher tariffs on no fewer than 17 “allies” because of their “rigged” PISA scores—they’d allegedly stolen “American IP” to give their students an asymmetric or unfair edge over their MAGA counterparts.
In the mind of the “very stable genius,” the “low mathematical proficiency of nonwhite/immigrant/migrant kids” (from blue or woke states?) could arguably be attributed to the nation’s unacceptable pseudo-PISA ranking. Not a promising sign for America’s “Golden Age”!
Maybe the tariff thug should federally restore the Dept. of Education to MATH (Make America Think Harder!), or to pull the “exceptional country” out of PISA and TIMSS, because the true performance of its students isn’t being reflected accurately—others are cheating by unfairly “over-preparing” their exam-smart students to rig the ranking.
Did the Simpsons’ math scores pull the U.S. down?
What’s noticing about this unofficially created PISA table is the absence of heavyweights like China, India, and Russia. At least, Communist China (not just Taiwan), which took part in past PISA surveys and performed unsurprisingly well, ought to show up in the top three or five.
Had autocratic nations like North Korea and Iran taken part, it probably wouldn’t have been surprising to see them outrank the U.S. However, this prediction would probably fail for most African countries, which have generationally been plagued by wars, corruption, and dictatorship. For instance, would decades-long crime-ridden South Africa even make it in the top twenty in PISA or TIMSS even if “white privileged students” (or children of allegedly “persecuted white farmers”) weren’t excluded from the global comparative study?
Flawed or biased as they are, PISA (and TIMSS) rankings do subtly reveal a fair bit about how much each government around the world values the education of its citizens, while recognizing that more spending doesn’t always translate into better students’ performance.
The U.S. and most oil-rich countries are living examples of that educational failure—where mostly corrupt lawmakers and monarchs seem to pay lip service to raising the literacy and numeracy levels of their people, or often undervalue math educators, by paying them less than ICE or security personnel.
Could these underperforming nations continue to prosper without importing or allowing foreign (legal and illegal) talents to their shores? Do the millions of “America First” patriots who’re being “marginalized” due to the influx of “foreign cheap white-collar labor” have the immigrant mindset or the skill set to achieve their American dream?
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.
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?
Way back in 2017, when ISIS or radical Islamist ideologies were making inroads in a number of developing or war-torn countries, and North Korea then looked like the safest place on the planet from green terrorism, I coined North Korea as follows:
North Korea: Where jihadists daren’t go in trying to Islamize infidels unless they don’t mind going to hell sooner than later to meet up with ex-dictators Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung.
ISIS or the Taliban is no match for Dictator Kim Jong Un’s trained killers, if these Mohammedan jihadists dream of going to North Korea to set up their Caliphate.
by MathPlus May 31, 2017
The Kim Dynasty
The Kim dynasty is “like grandfather, like father, like son.” Would the world witness a gender change at the top, if a sister (and subsequently a daughter, legitimate or not) were to be reluctantly appointed, thus breaking the decades-long patriarchal political order? A modern-day Jezebel in waiting!
North Korea &Math Education
Imagine if North Korean students were to take part in TIMSS and PISA, what are the chances that they would outrank or outwit their Singaporean or mainland Chinese counterparts in both math and science?
Or, if you needed a part-time or freelance value-for-money coder (or licenced hacker), would you choose one from Singapore, India, or North Korea? The choice is pretty clear, isn’t it?
DarkPolitical Math
From Reel Trump to Real Kim
After Comrade Kim’s last heartbeat, what are the odds that the two Koreas might be reunited as one? Or would this reunification happen earlier, say, if the hermit nation was forced to surrender following a series of bombings on Pyongyang or on its nuclear sites by the Allies?
Broken Bromance Blossomed
Imagine that Donald J. Trump is miraculously re-elected in 2024, and the Trump-Kim lukewarm bromance is rekindled with a flurry of more “love letters.”
Reel Leaders Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
What are the odds that they’d eventually have a tête-à-tête at the White House? A post-pandemic reunion between two vainglorious rogues that could help raise their chances of being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for the nth time, as their actions (or inactions) arguably prevented a WW3!
The Peacefakers Sans Clothes
What if fearing that he’d end up on the wrong side of eternity, and also be remembered as a modern-day Hitler or Stalin, comrade Putin decided to return the annexed lands, including Crimea, to Ukraine? Would the world witness a peace prize being shared by the unholy Kim-Putin-Trump trio? Or would all three be re-nominated for the Ignoble Peace Prize instead?
The Leadershit Series for Rogue Leaders
Fake Missile for Anti-NATO*
Would the US and allies (yes-nations) only stop playing the more-sanctions game when Kim Jong-un’s patience ran out—when he decided to launch a “fake” missile targeting one of its neighbours, which would force them to take the rogue nation seriously or to treat the Kim dynasty with respect or reverence?
Based on newspaper headlines over the years, how would you characterize or describe North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un? Or how would you compare him vis-à-vis other rogue heads of state in terms of IQ and EQ?
With recent or renewed interest into the warped mind of the North Korean dictator, especially with pictures of him and his (“overfed” or “overweight”) daughter, I wanted to use Kim Jong-un as “Word of the Day.”
My recent irreverent description of the über-fat soul in a land of millions of undernourished fellow citizens is the following:
A potential Nobel Prize winner
The Unholy Trinity
A less-than soothing decision: Is North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, a wolf in sheep’s clothing or a wolf in wolf’s clothing?
Erdogan or Modi or Xi: “a wolf in sheep’s clothing” Putin: “a wolf in wolf’s clothing” Kim: “a wolf in sheep’s/wolf’s clothing”?
A blasphemous political question to ask is: “What are the odds that Kim Jong-un might be “a sheep in wolf’s clothing”?
Kim & Twitter
Does the “Supreme Leader” Kim Jong Un have a Twitter account? The Pope and the Dalai Lama have one. Shouldn’t the dictator-murderer have one, too?
Kim’s fake Twitter account
Of course, there are fake Twitter accounts of Kim, mostly demonizing rather than deifying him, but it’d be interesting that he makes a digital presence on Elon Musk’s platform to spice up the Twittersphere, while ex-comrade Trump is itching to tweet again, if not because of the financial penalty he’d face if he deserted Truth Social.
The Anointed One
If ex-president Trump was the “Chosen One,” aren’t rogue leaders like Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Xi Jinping also God’s “political appointees” to rule or misrule their nations? Are they the modern-day Babylonians or forerunners of the Beast?
A Health Hub for Dictators
[Fake] Math News: Singapore took in rogue leaders like Thein Sein, Robert Mugabe, Hun Sen, Kim Jong-un, and Rajapaksa despite their manifold crimes. What are the odds that Donald J. Trump would likely add the “fine” city as his sanctuary of choice should he be imprisoned and become a fugitive for his Jan. 6 coup?
To Bomb or Not to Bomb
Political Calculus: How long would the US & allies ignore Dictator-Murderer Kim Jong-un & gang? Would they be forced to bomb Pyongyang to prevent the “little rocket man” from accidentally hitting his neighbors?
Kim & Trump as Putin’s Special Guests
What are the odds that Donald J. Trump could be the only ex-President from the U.S. (or the West) who is still welcome in Moscow besides pro-Putin dictators Alexander Lukashenko & Kim Jong Un—and Xi Jinping if he’d compromise to supply weapons to Russia?
Who’s the Baddest of All?
Faux Leadership: Does comparing Abraham Lincoln’s leadership with Donald Trump’s leadershit sound like contrasting Lee Kuan Yew’s wisdom with Kim Jong Un’s wisdoom?
Kim’s Covert Salespeople
An “unlucky” North Korean caught for shipping luxury goods to his comrades at home was given a symbolic one-month jail sentence in the “fine” city. Estimate how many dozens of Kim Jong Un’s salesmen and saleswomen are currently in Singapore, and thousands of them in the region.
A while ago, I tweeted the following math or language or brain question, hoping for a layman answer from math educators or linguists or brain specialists, who might offer a quick-and-dirty explanation to that puzzle.
Tweet from @MathPlus
Another nontrivial question is: “For a number of us who’d no choice but to learn or master a few languages or dialects to survive, why do we feel at home decades later still vocalizing or reciting numbers in the (foreign) language we used while we’re growing up rather than in our mother tongue or lingua franca?”
Personally, I find it easier to recite or utter a sequence of consecutive numbers, or to work with mathematical symbols, in French rather than in English or Chinese—or in my Hakka dialect. I find it puzzling because French has now been relegated to my third or fourth language, and I hardly ever use it in my daily communication, or in any tête-à-tête meetings, other than occasionally dropping some French jargon in my writing to appear like a faux Francophone.
Although today English is my second language and lingua franca, French remains my language of choice when it comes to self-talking (or maybe even daydreaming or dreaming) in numbers or numerals.
It looks like if we learn numbers and symbols in a certain language or dialect in our formative years, we’re brainwired to recall or recite numbers in that particular language later in our adult life. This occurs especially when we’re on our own, even though we may be equally versed or quasi-fluent in other languages or dialects.
Like cycling, driving, or swimming, it appears that reciting numbers in the language of our childhood days in later years is something that stays with us for life.
When self-talking about numbers, do the majority of you who’re forced to be bilingual, trilingual, or multilingual to survive (or thrive) in school and in the workplace also share my experience? Sounds like it’s a neuro rather than a numero question we’re trying to address here!
Today is the last day of the annual 15-day Chinese New Year (or Lunar New Year) festival in China and Chinese communities around the world.
The Lunar New Year is so-called because the dates of celebration follow the phases of the moon—the new moon could fall on dates between January 21 and February 20, which is similar to Easter that could take place between March 22 and April 25.
Due to its “movable” date, the Lunar New Year (which is unspokenly steeped in superstition and divination, but unquestionably or expectantly celebrated by a billion-odd mainland Chinese and the forty-plus million faithfuls in the Chinese diaspora as part of Chinese tradition) serves as a rich recreational math or calendrical activity for teachers or educators worldwide.
In the Year of the Ox (or “Covidox”), which ushered in a palindromic date (12/02/2021), I pondered: “Any sexy formula that tells us when the Chinese New Year falls in a given year? Not calendrical recipes meant for symbol-minded geeks, but one for the majority of us, the simple-minded folks who’d key in the year and out come the CNY date & day of the week.”
With superstitious couples unfairly or irrationally treating baby tigers and bulls as “inauspicious,” but don’t mind baby bunnies, could supposedly conservative or puritan “fine” Singapore with a frightening low fertility rate of 1.2—below its replacement rate of 2.1, which could see its population heading the way of the dodo sans selective immigration and baby bonus cash incentives—expect a mini-baby boom in the Year of the Rabbit?
With few Covid restrictions still in place, would Singaporeans and permanent residents (and tax fugitives fearing political persecution or prison) be more excited this year to play their part in producing an above-average number of newborns-bunnies? And with Valentine’s Day around the corner, could the nation expect an overbooking of hospital beds or single wards in November?
I completely forgot that I wrote A Dozen Numerical Deeds for the Chinese New Year eight [sounds like a numerologically Sino-auspicious number?] years ago. If you want to keep the spirit of giving alive in the new bunny year, help yourself with some of the suggested gifts to bless others, Chinese and non-Chinese.
On May 26, 2021, I hypocritically posed the following:
Family Math: The positives and negatives of formula feeding vis-à-vis breastfeeding. How to get millions of fathers involved in parenting, while giving the mother a break if formula feeding isn’t an option.
Below are three tweets, two of which are more than a decade old.
Got 🥛 : 🐄 or 🐐?
Lactose intolerant? Allergic to cow milk? Nature “next best thing to mother’s milk”: Singapore’s Goat Milk vine.co/v/i7OiHuQW62K (@MathPlus on 12/6/15)
Zero Fat≠ No Fat
Beware of labels: Zero fat, no-fat (skim milk) contains 0.4 grams of fat per cup (or 86 calories per cup). A “zero lie”! #zero (@Zero_Math on 1/7/11)
Meeting & Milking the Cow!
You don’t get milk from a cow by sending a letter, or by calling on the phone. You get milk from a cow by sitting by its side & milking it. (@MathPlus on 12/2/12)
You may also be interested in Crime Watch and Crime Math, which is related to infant formula or powder milk.
I’ve been discreetly and randomly working on thetentative The Little Toilet Math Book in the bathroom, where my best thinking often takes place. I suppose a number of you too get your aha’s or eureka’s there, albeit understandably you wouldn’t admit it.
Yesterday, as I was passing by a community center, I happily saw a toilet rolls collection box. I immediately took a photo shot of its front and side views. And my mind started rolling in some real-world questions that could match the pictures.
Below are a sample of these toilet math (🧻🔢) questions:
If residents in the “fine” city of Singapore were to recycle their toilet rolls, guesstimate how many trees could be saved every year.
How much more space could be used if donors were considerate enough to flatten their toilet rolls before dumping them into the collection or recycle box?
If citizens and residents decided using water rather than toilet rolls to clean themselves up, how many millions of liters of water they would need per day after visiting a public toilet (excluding those hundreds of thousands of men who hardly ever wash their hands after relieving themselves or doing their dirty business)?
For a household, would using a bidet or water at home be dearer or cheaper than relying on toilet rolls in the long run (including medical bills for piles and other related health issues that are directly or indirectly due to paper uncleanliness or poor hygiene)?
Imagine that Singapore could no longer import toilet paper from its neighbors. Wouldn’t switching to NEWater—Singapore’s homemade drinkable water, which comes from polluted sea water and “toilet water” mixed with bacteria-killing agents, and which disputably smacks of or smells like sewage—cost for for the population than using toilet paper for doing their business?
Often times, for a community project to succeed, not only do we need that little extra effort but also an iota of thought to ensure that all stakeholders mindfully (or inconveniently) play their part.
Let’s all do the right thing and the thing right, because success often lies not so much in the doing but rather in the caring.
Remember: There is no Planet B (for Generations 𝛼, 𝛽, and 𝛾).
