Tag Archives: social media

Poop Calculus

September 30, 2019Singapore MathCalculus, civet, coffee, derivative, differentiation, Donald Trump, enrichment math, humor, integral, integration, Jeffrey Epstein, math teacher, politics, poo, poop, pop math, President Trump, Singapore math, social media, Trumpematics, TrumpulusKow-Cheong Yan

A National University of Singapore’s brochure cover promoting math and art.

A fortnight ago, Center of Math (@centerofmath) tweeted the following picture:

Imagine if Donald Trump were your high school math teacher. How would he disruptively or irreverently use the above illustration to teach some “pop (or poop) calculus” to his math-anxious Liberal Arts students?

From Epstein to Trump

President Trump’s “fun buddy” of yesteryear, Jeffrey Epstein, was unverifiably a pretty good math teacher before he became a successful financier, whose sinful soul had since journeyed to that hot fiery place, on the other side of eternity, sooner than later.

And not too long ago the president who claimed to have a “genius IQ” boasted that his “favorite” daughter is very good at numbers, which indirectly implies that she must have inherited his (or his first wife’s) “mathematical gene.”

An e-card promoting the disruptive title, “If Trump Were Your Math Teacher” (2020).

A phrase that had made its way into Urban Dictionary, but had since mysteriously disappeared from cyberspace.

Trump’s Calculus

Based on the defined meanings of f(x), what could f′′′(x) represent?

The distance between two peeing men is inversely proportional to the degree of friendship between them. (Photo © Anonymous)

If F′(x) = f(x), then F(x) might depict the dear speciality coffee beans eaten and excreted by civets.

The sought-after civet cat poo that meets the wants of filthy-rich coffee drinkers.

And what if G′′(x) = f(x)? Would G(x) represent the following picture?

Calculus for Civet Cats (and Their Humans)

Can we expect “Calculus for Civet Cats” in a-not-too-distant future?

The Calculus of Donald Trump

Let me end with two “urban calculus definitions” I coined in the aftermath of President Trump’s irrational behaviors.

Did President Trump and gang order this definition to be taken off the Urban Dictionary?

Another approved definition whose days were numbered.

Differentially and integrally yours

Number Patterns on Social Media

June 11, 2014Problem Solving, Recreational Math, Singapore Mathaptitude tests, creative problem solving, creative thinking, critical thinking, Facebook, Google+, IQ, LinkedIn, logic, logical intelligence, mathematical intelligence, MENSA, number pattern, number puzzles, Pinterest, problem solving, sequence, series, Singapore math, social media, TwitterKow-Cheong Yan

If you had been on Facebook for some time, it’s very likely that you would have come across a certain type of numbers puzzles streaming your feed. Clearly, they’re not quite the typical numerical puzzles that often appear in school math books; rather, they’re closer to the types of questions posed in aptitude or IQ tests. One such number puzzle is the following.

Unlike in textbooks that often present these logic puzzles in an uninteresting way, by seeing these colorful number puzzles on Facebook or Pinterest, and being hinted that only a small percent of the problem solvers apparently managed to get the correct answer, this entices readers to give it a try to see how well they’ll fare vis-à-vis their oft-mathematically challenged Facebook friends. Here’s another such number puzzle.

Arguably, these numbers-and-words puzzles have a certain charm to it, because they often require just simple logic to solving them, unlike similar brainteasers that may require some knowledge of elementary or middle-school math. What about the following Facebook numerical puzzle?

What is 1 + 1?

What do you make of this one?

If these on-line numbers puzzles indirectly help promote logic and number sense among math-anxious social-media addicts; and along the way, provide them with some fun and entertainment, let’s have more of them in cyberspace!

Let me leave you with half a dozen of these numerical puzzles, stolen from my Facebook feed. Note that these types of brain-unfriendly math or logic questions may have more than one mathematically or logically valid answer, depending on the rule or formula you use—they serve as numerical catalysts for promoting creative thinking in mathematics.

Happy Creative Problem Solving!

Life’s Simple Mathematical Pleasures

November 10, 2013Problem Solving, Singapore Mathaha!, aha! math, blessing, Facebook, favor, four-function calculator, humor, joke, joy, life, log tables, math education, mathematical delight, mathematical moment, mathematical writing, Pinterest, recreational math, simple pleasures, social media, TwitterKow-Cheong Yan

Stealing the idea from Nancy Vu’s “Just Little Things,” I tried to reflect on some mathematical things that give us delight and pleasure as we go about our hectic 24/7/365 lives.

Here are some of my personal mathematical pleasures.