Mathematics

How To Use Science To Answer: “Should You Walk Or Run In The Rain?”

Published on January 11, 2022 by Hemanth

A stick figure image with dark clouds on top. As rain pours down, a stick figure walks on the left and a stick figure runs on the right. There is a red, circled question mark at the centre. Question: Should you walk or run in the rain?

When you are caught off guard, should you walk or run in the rain? I was four or five years old when this question first crossed my mind. This article answers..

How To Tell A Real Law From A Fake One?

Published on January 9, 2022 by Hemanth

Telling a real law from a fake one: A flowchart with "Observation" at the bottom. Observation leads to "Facts", and Facts lead to "Hypothesis". And hypotheses warrant "Experimentation". Experimentation leads simultaneously to laws as well as theories. Laws and theories intereact with each other as well as with experimentation.

When was the last time you believed someone quoting a so-called scientific law? Telling a real law apart from a fake one is a necessary skill.

The Strong Law of Small Numbers

Published on January 9, 2022 by Hemanth

A picture of Richard K. Guy who humorously stated the strong law of small numbers. Beside Guy's picture is a reference to his original scientific article on the topic.

The strong law of small numbers was a scientific article originally written by R.K. Guy in 1988. This funny proposal teaches us how tricky small numbers can be!

What Really Happens When You Measure A Coastline?

Published on January 9, 2022 by Hemanth

How to measure a coastline: An arbitrary island with an arbitrarily curved and jagged coastline. The coastline of the island is drawn using a peculiar brown colour. The island is surrounded by blue water waves of the sea.

Say that you are tasked with figuring out how to measure a coastline. To do this, you are given a very detailed map of an arbitrary island. How do you procced?

What Is the Shortest Road Connecting 4 Cities?

Published on January 9, 2022 by Hemanth

Puzzle: Shortest Road Connecting 4 Cities. The image has 4 points: bottom left: A, bottom right: B, top right: C, and top left, D. The points together form a square that has a side length of 1 Km.

Say that you have been tasked with figuring out the shortest road connecting 4 cities. These four cities are located at the vertices of a square. What now?

The Thrilling Story Of Calculus

Published on January 9, 2022 by Hemanth

A picture of Newton's personal copy of "Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica" - to illustrate the thrilling story of calculus

The story of calculus is seldom told in schools. Most students learn calculus as a rigid block of algorithms. This article aims to to change this situation!

How To Make Working With Squares Fun in Math?

Published on January 9, 2022 by Hemanth

How to make working with squares fun in math

In mathematics, squares are typically defined as numbers multiplied by themselves. However, there is a more intuitive definition of a square in geometry.

How Easy Is It Really To Predict The Future?

Published on December 31, 2021 by Hemanth

Image of a postcard trying from victorian Germany in 1900 trying to predict the future year 2000. People are seen to be flying using dragon-wing and bee-wing like contraptions.

It takes skill and knowledge to predict the future. In fact, most scientific methods revolve around this notion. Yet, we are unable to predict the future. Why?

How Imagination Helps You Get Good At Mental Math?

Published on December 31, 2021 by Hemanth

How imagination helps you get good at mental math

Imagination is the last word that comes to mind when you wish to get good at mental math. But it is crucial if you want to get good at mental math!

How To Quickly Calculate Percentages In The Head?

Published on December 27, 2021 by Hemanth

An image asking the question: What is 7% of 7200?

How often do you typically need to quickly calculate percentages in the head? More often than you think, and there is often money involved in the decision.

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