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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.…
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Don’t trust your intuition, part 5: The Potato Paradox
Read more: Don’t trust your intuition, part 5: The Potato ParadoxThe potato paradox is a simple question: You have 1 Kg of potato. 99% of the mass of the potato is water. You leave it out to dehydrate until it is 98% water. How much do the potatoes weigh now? Make a guess and keep it in mind as we explore this question. The answer…
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Don’t trust your intuition part 4: The bat and ball puzzle
Read more: Don’t trust your intuition part 4: The bat and ball puzzleThe bat and ball puzzle is almost everywhere and you may well have seen it: Please answer this question before you read on. Your first guess This puzzle has been given to many university students and the majority answer: “The ball costs 10 cents.” Unfortunately, this is incorrect! This is an illustration of what Nobel…
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What’s the Difference?
Read more: What’s the Difference?This post departs from the pattern of presenting an interesting concept from number theory or presenting a solution to a classic problem. We will look at a basic concept and at understanding it in a way that makes some daily mathematical tasks simpler. The concept is difference or the result of subtracting one number from…
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The handshake problem: Couples edition!
Read more: The handshake problem: Couples edition!We have already seen the classical form of the handshake problem, where we asked: If there were 10 people at a party and every person were to shake hands with every other person exactly once, how many handshakes would there be in total? In this post, we will solve the problem but with people arriving…
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.