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Look-and-say: The puzzle for words people
Read more: Look-and-say: The puzzle for words peopleAs a “words person”, you may like the fact that I am asking you to look at each line and say it out loud. No arithmetic is required! Figure 1 below shows the first six rows of a number sequence. Can you guess the next row of numbers? How the look-and-say sequence works I have…
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Adding an infinite number of fractions using our imagination!
Read more: Adding an infinite number of fractions using our imagination!Have you ever found a task difficult, and adding fractions can certainly be that, but then had the insight: “If I simply think about repeating this an infinite number of times, it will be easy”? This may sound absurd, but stick with me and you will see. Our infinite fraction sum We want to perform…
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Fractions for footballers!
Read more: Fractions for footballers!The last two posts discussed fractions. I know that some of you are thinking: Apart from cake-eating contests, where am I ever going to need them in my life? Well, you could march into AFL house, the headquarters of the Australian football league, and declare: “I am here to simplify your points system!” The curious…
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Comparing fractions without tears!
Read more: Comparing fractions without tears!This is the second instalment in a series on fractions. In the last post, we made sense of fractions and their two parts: The numerator and the denominator. This post will look at ways in which we can compare fractions with different denominators. If I say I ate 4 pieces of cake and you say…
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Don’t be afraid of fractions
Read more: Don’t be afraid of fractionsI have been reliably informed by students that fractions were concocted by a bunch of teachers who wanted to find the most effective way to torture children! In this first instalment on fractions, I aim to explain what they are and how we determine that two fractions are equivalent. I will also give you a…
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You are not average!
Read more: You are not average!Phoebe, a 21 year old entrepreneur, is done with all forms of elitism! She has started two new clothing brands: Average Annie, and Average Aaron! The clothes are aimed at the average sizes for women and men, respectively. Pants all come in one waist size: 39 inches for men, and 35.8 inches for women. Why?…
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Sampling and the Survivorship Bias
Read more: Sampling and the Survivorship BiasMy family and I were driving back home one evening, when my wife, Terri, asked our son, a Grade Three student at the time, “Dimitri, which friends do you play with?” Dimitri answered with a few names, including “Ashley”. Terri: “Boy Ashley or girl Ashley?” Before he could answer, I interjected: “Don’t be silly! I…
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Sunrises Impossible without Roosters: Studies Show!
Read more: Sunrises Impossible without Roosters: Studies Show!If you watch a lot of health related videos on YouTube, you may have heard claims such as: Since humans started eating x, the rate of metabolic disease has increased. X can be seed oils, processed meats, oats, or fruits. These are hypotheses that can be tested. The problem is when we assume that, if…
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Even professional mathematicians doubt themselves
Read more: Even professional mathematicians doubt themselvesA fortnight ago, four mathematicians were awarded the Fields Medal, arguably mathematics’ highest honour. The medal is awarded every four years to four mathematicians under the age of 40. In this post, I want to talk about one of them: Hong Wang The beginnings Wang was born in 1991, in the Guangxi region of China.…
Numbers for Words people is a blog that explains mathematics in plain language. The aim is to show the beauty of mathematics from first principles. For regular updates, subscribe by typing your email address in the box at the top of the page.