Tag Archives: Russia

Drink to Derive

June 2, 2024Humor, Mathematical Humor, Problem Solving, Recreational Mathaddiction, aha!, alcohol, algebra, beer, booze, Calculus, creativity, deriving, drinking, Fibonacci numbers, golden ratio, mathematical quickie, phi, productivity, proof, relaxation, Russia, smoking, tobacco, zeroKow-Cheong Yan

Anecdotally or statistically, an unhealthy number of mathematicians and math educators around the globe are chain-smokers. Out of habit or addiction, they need to puff out before any proof.

Likewise, it wouldn’t be surprising that a (smaller) percentage of them would also need to drink before they derive any mathematical result, or prove or disprove any conjecture, which is worth gracing the pages of a reputable journal or periodical.

Strong Zero

On a visit to a local supermarket two years ago, I spotted Strong Zero, which led me to tweet about it:

Strong Zero: Something to reward yourself with at the end of a long fruitful day indulging in mathematical proof to destress yourself with fellow boozers.

Then, I had in mind to “derive, then drink,” rather than the other way around. The choice is yours! Know your limits!

So, a little boozing and smoking (in moderation) might debatably be an unspoken (inexpensive?) boost or catalyst to experiencing an aha! When the product of two negatives produces a positive!

A Quickie from Russia

Since we’re on the topic of drinking alcoholic beverages or liquor to boost mathematical productivity, let’s end with a mathematical quickie from Putinland, which was pre-Xed (or tweeted) slightly less than a dozen years ago:

A man and his wife drink a keg of kvas in 10 days. He alone can drink it in 14 days. How long will his wife take to drink a keg?

Challenge: Try solving the above proportion problem in a nontraditional way (with or without a drink)! Better still, use a bar model to do it.

Creatively & productively yours

A North Korea without the Kims

March 4, 2023Humor, Mathematical Humor, Recreational Math, Singapore Mathannexation, Caliphate, Crimea, Dictatorship, Ignoble Peace Prize, ISIS, Islamism, Kim Dynasty, Kim Jong Un, math, Missile, Nobel Peace Prize, North Korea, parody, politics, Putin, reunification, Russia, Singapore, terrorism, Trump, Ukraine, unholy trinity, warKow-Cheong Yan

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?

Dark Political Math

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?

Peacefully & prayerfully yours

* NATO = No Action, Talk Only

Is a Kim Jong-un one too many?

February 25, 2023Humor, Recreational MathBelarus, Burma, Cambodia, China, Dictatorship, health hub, Kim Jong Un, malnourishment, math, murder, North Korea, politics, power, Russia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Twitter, unholy trinity, ZimbabweKow-Cheong Yan

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:

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?

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.

Math Word of the Day: Dengue-19

June 22, 2022Humor, Mathematical Humor, Recreational Math, Singapore Mathcoronavirus, Covid-19, death, dengue, math, mosquito, Russia, Singapore, Ukraine, virus, warKow-Cheong Yan

On April 26, 2022, after reading in the local papers that almost 5,500 dengue cases were reported in high-GDP Singapore, exceeding last year’s total, I posed and posted the following quiz:

“Covid-🇸🇬: A True or False Quiz: “In living-with-Covid Singapore, people are more afraid of contracting the dengue virus (dubbed the ‘rich man’s threat’) than the coronavirus (coined the ‘poor man’s dread’).”

A Tale of Two Vectors

Last November, I’d somewhat asked a similar question: “What are the odds that in Singapore the wealthy are more likely to go to hospital due to a mosquito bite rather than due to a viral infection? The delta goes for the poor; the dengue targets the rich.”

A month earlier, I’d postulated the following scenario: “In the Singapore 2021 infection contest, the dengue is no match to the delta. Even with more biting opportunities to target potential work-from-home victims, the 🦟 blamed the 🦠 for failing to meet its target.” https://lnkd.in/d5TeNdUA

In fact, way back in 2020, I’d pondered about “Singapore’s double whammy: The dengue (9,261 cases) is catching up fast to give the coronavirus (36,405 cases) some fight. Which one will win the 🇸🇬 infection contest: the mosquito 🦟 or the virus 🦠?” bit.ly/36YIzbh

Fight for Your Life

Today, in a number of war-stricken or terrorism-sponsored countries, the battle cry is: “Be a peace fighter.” In SE Asia, the rallying cry is: “Be a dengue fighter.”

Math Word of the Day: Inflation

June 17, 2022Humor, Recreational Math, Singapore Mathban, beverages, Cai Fan, China, coffeeshop, drink, Economy Rice, humor, Iced Lemon Tea, India, inflation, math, profiteering, Putin, Russia, Singapore, Ukraine, war, Yong Tau FooKow-Cheong Yan

Last week, I read on Facebook that one glass of iced lemon tea at some coffeeshops is now selling at $1.80, up from $1.20. An obscene 50% rise (or ruse?). Or an outrageous 66.67% increase if they charge us $2.00 for takeaway (even before the GST or VAT kicks in next year).

For those of us who’ve already used up our S$100 government voucher in less than a week, which is meant to help us in our daily expenses as part of the Household Support Package, it looks like we won’t enjoy the next iced lemon tea until the next voucher. I wonder when the next one is coming. In late 2022 or early 2023?

Looks or feels like those in the “write” business might have chosen the “wrong” profession, including moonlighters in academia, especially if their royalties since the pandemic—and now the Ukraine-Russia war—have headed south.

For the majority of us who’re not born with a silver spoon in our mouth, I suppose it’s probably not too late to seriously consider selling or distributing slightly dearer home-made iced lemon tea, barley drink, honey tea, and chrysanthemum tea to health-conscious customers.

Pandemic or Putin? Or Both?

A FB netizen commented: “Tea 1% + 1% Lemon + 1% Sugar + ALL 97% Water imply hardly anything to do with FOOD Shortage so please don’t divert the blame to Pandemic, UN or what have you NOT.”

The profit margins for selling beverages are a hundred times better than the returns or royalties earned from posing and solving math questions in school textbooks or assessment (or supplementary) titles.

Not IQ Nor EQ, But FQ

Talking about being street-smart rather than exam- or book-smart! When financial quotient (FQ) is worth more than (IQ + EQ).

Inflation provides an oft-unseized opportunity (disguised as a problem) for mathepreneurs to generate unexpected sources of income to make up for any (potential) loss in royalty or consultancy.

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