Category: Math Around Us

  • Lands' End f(x) Collection — What's the Message?

    Lands' End f(x) Collection — What's the Message?

    I was told about the Lands’ End f(x)™ Collection by a reader a few days ago. She was excited to see that Lands’ End had used the traditional function notation for a line of clothing that was very functional.

    And indeed it is. If we didn’t live in Houston, this coat, and all it’s functional bits, would be a perfect coat for K8.

    I wanted to know more.

    I was excited to be able to write about this line of clothing — and be able to quote Lands’ End on how “functional” it was. I wanted to share how “up on math” this very popular clothing store was.

    So I started searching.

    During the search, Husband peeked over my shoulder. I told him about it and showed him the ad.

    “They probably mean effects,” he said calmly.

    I was horrified. “What do you mean?”

    “You know,” he explained, “When you put F and X together, it is effects. That’s probably what they mean by it.”

    So I dug deeper!

    I found nothing written to support the naming of the Lands’ End f(x)™ Collection after anything math or even claiming functionality. But I wasn’t deterred.

    After all, they are using the standard notation, right down to the italics.

    So off to twitter I went.

    According to a tweet from @LandsEnd, the official pronunciation is FX (like effects) not “f of x” as the math world knows it. Husband was right!

    What’s the message?

    Does the presence of the italicized f(x) in popular print help us to be more familiar with the notation? Absolutely.

    And since familiarity leads to comfort and then engagement, this advertisement is a definite cultural boost for math.

    But what effect does the mispronunciation have? And since the branding has minimal (or no) association to math functions — what message does that send?

    I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Please share them in the comments or on twitter/x.

    P.S. I also find it strange that they trademarked it. Can you really trademark functional notation?

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  • Extreme Sports with Extreme Math — Kitesurfing

    Extreme Sports with Extreme Math — Kitesurfing

    While at the beach, we got to see an amazing sport in action: kitesurfing!

    I couldn’t help but marvel at all the math this guy was doing automatically and at great speed.

    And he did it effortlessly!

    He probably didn’t even recognize he was doing math the whole time.

    He was managing the angles of his board on the waves and calculating the angle of the kite with the wind.

    And every so often he had to recalculate to turn and surf in the other direction!

    Everyone does this with normal activities.

    Do you know anyone who thinks they don’t do math? Watch their activities carefully, you’ll soon see that even in walking, they’re doing fast and furious calculations!

    Share your thoughts in the comments or on twitter/x.

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  • Nature's Wonders

    Nature's Wonders

    Part of Wordless Wednesday…

    Share your thoughts in the comments or on twitter/x.

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  • Time Zone Math: Using the Fret & Grind Method

    Time Zone Math: Using the Fret & Grind Method

    It took me a long time to learn how to figure out what time it was in Los Angeles when it was at 7 AM in Houston.

    Notice on this time zone map that the numbers count in a very intuitive way across the US:

    This works just fine if you’re managing locally.

    Global time zones are more of a challenge.

    I used to send out a weekly newsletter. Generally it was set to arrive in people’s inboxes between 3 PM and 6 PM Thursdays — in their local time zone.

    Which means any changes that I had to do would have to happen before they got the e-mail at 3pm on Thursday.

    But not everybody lives in Texas. So my deadline was not 3 PM on Thursday, really. It was the first time anyone in the world encountered 3 PM Thursday.

    In order for me to make the deadline for a global audience, it was essential to figure out what time in Houston that is.

    Greenwich Mean Time -6

    According to the website Greenwich Mean Time:

    Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) was established in 1884 at the International Meridian Conference, when it was decided to place the Prime Meridian at Greenwich, England.

    All time zones range from GMT -12 hours GMT +12 hours. Houston is Greenwich Mean Time -6 hours. Which means it should be a rather easy exercise.

    All I have to do is add my six hours on the left side of the Meridian to the 12 hours on the right side to see that I’m 18 hours difference.

    I subtract 18 hours from 3 PM Thursday to arrive at 9 PM Wednesday as my true deadline.

    But we all know what happens when you say, “all you have to do is.”

    I used maps, charts and a lot of time.

    As I mentioned in the discussion of the book What Your Math Problem?, I often use very crude methods to solve problems.

    I opened up a world time zone map, started counting and making charts:

    I didn’t solve the problem traditionally.

    Often when grownups present math problems to kids, they’ve prepared. They demonstrate working a problem like I worked it above:

    Add my six hours on the negative side of Greenwich Mean Time to the 12 hours on the positive side. I’m 18 hours difference. Subtract 18 hours from 3 PM Thursday to arrive at 9 PM Wednesday as my true deadline.

    But that’s not the real way we do math. We often use the Fret & Grind method. Fret about what’s going on, grind out some rough sketches. Then fret some more…

    So why do we show kids the nice way?

    If they see the “all you have to do is” way, then they won’t gain the confidence to use the Fret & Grind method.

    And the Fret & Grind method is the best way — sometime the only way.

    How do you teach time zone math? Do you encourage Fret & Grind?

    Share your thoughts in the comments or on twitter/x.

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  • Furry Fibonacci Numbers

    Furry Fibonacci Numbers

    A strange mixture of birthday party planning, birthday present searching and math magic landed the new #MathShack mascots in my house. Seems the “Furry Fibonaccis” are here to stay.

    They are Fibonacci numbers in action!

    Notice there is one white bunny (already named Abek). And one is a Fibonacci number.

    There are two brown bunnies (yet to be officially named). And two is a Fibonacci number.

    And there are three total bunnies, another Fibonacci number.

    My friend Lisa Pennington assured me that a fluffy addition would not break the bank. Apparently, she didn’t realize that I would end up with three of these furry cuties.

    We’ll see…

    It’s not so easy to determine the sex of these three little guys.

    Assuming there’s an equal probability of a rabbit giving birth to a male as a female, I have a one in four chance that they won’t be able to reproduce.

    Keep your fingers crossed for me!

    According to the traditional Fibonacci rabbits explanation, each pair of rabbits can reproduce every month.

    Keep your fingers crossed that I get lucky, and we don’t end up with 987 bunnies a year from now!

    But they ARE cute!

    K8 totally loves them. And they’re a great way to teach caring, responsibility and, well… maybe the facts of life.

    And if we do end up with 987 bunnies next year, we’ll have an economics lesson too. After all, I paid $10 for each of these — that could be a significant profit!

    Have you ever had bunnies? What do you think’s going to happen with Kate’s Furry Fibonaccis? Share your thoughts in the comments, and on twitter.

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  • Science Shows Math Too!

    Science Shows Math Too!

    The 2012 STEMie Award competition is open to all schools and homeschools in the United States and is sponsored by McGraw-Hill. The deadline to enter has passed.

    I work hard to convince you to see math around you — in even the most obscure things like lipstick, tattoos and cheese.

    You may not have noticed that none of these, or any other articles I’ve written about the math you can find around us, contain science. At least not in the textbook sense.

    But one of the fastest and easiest ways to see math around you is through science. So it’s kinda ridiculous that I haven’t really talked about it.

    My Nephew is Learning Science

    I received an e-mail from my dad today encouraging me to vote for my nephew’s school’s science program, SMORE. Turns out, they’re in competition to win a grant from McGraw-Hill, and 30% of their score comes from online voting for their video. (BTW, that’s math too!)

    Knowing that he’ll be learning a lot of math when he’s learning the science, I’m supporting his school.

    Make sure to support your kids and schools in science — they’re doing math!

    Share your thoughts in the comments.

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  • Concrete Math — Like in Your Driveway

    Concrete Math — Like in Your Driveway

    They poured my new driveway yesterday. We ate breakfast and watched as they worked.

    And we witnessed an amazing feat of engineering.

    A tiny twist is all it takes!

    I was watching one of the workers smooth the concrete. He was using a bull float:

    I noticed he was twisting the handle as he worked. On closer inspection, I saw the engineering of the device:

    And here’s the other side:

    As the worker twisted the handle, it would change the angle of the surface of the bull float. This prevented him from having to change the angle of the handle. Like this:

    Watch it in action:

    Oh, yeah — those angles and changing the of length of the chain… That’s Math!

    Share your thoughts in the comments or on twitter/x.

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  • Lipstick Math

    Lipstick Math

    My best friend used to buy $1 lipstick when we were in high school. I think she still does.

    Her logic: “If I only pay a dollar for it, I can have lots of different ones. And I don’t have to fret about losing it or having it melt in the car.”

    Like a good friend, I went along with this logic.

    For years.

    Is expensive lipstick really expensive?

    I’m not here to convince you of the quality of expensive lipstick. There are blogs out there dedicated to lipstick. I’m merely a serious lipstick user.

    I will, however, attempt to convince you of the math (economics?) in lipstick.

    There’s some psychology in this.

    Suppose you buy your own lipstick (which you probably do). If you pay $1 for it, the perceived value is quite low – regardless of the actual quality. And you treat it like that — leaving it in the car to melt, forgetting it in a public restroom, etc.

    Just like my friend does.

    Now let’s assume that you pay $10 for a tube of lipstick. That’s ten times what you’ve been paying.

    All of a sudden the perceived value is huge!

    The loss factor is indirectly proportional to the price of the lipstick!

    If you pay ten times as much for a tube of lipstick, you’re 1/10 as likely to lose it. Okay, I have no empirical evidence to confirm this, merely empirical experience.

    But it’s true!

    As soon as I started buying expensive lipsticks, I quit losing them. And I quit leaving them in the car to be melted by the Houston heat!

    Note for my mathematician friends — the constant of proportionality is affected by the lipstick wearer and that crazy butterfly down in South America. There’s not strict math here. Yet. 😀

    The finish-factor is directly proportional to the price of the lipstick.

    Not only do I keep an expensive tube much longer, but I tend to finish it. In fact, the more expensive it is, the more likely I’ll use a lip brush to dig out the stuff crammed deep in the tube!

    My current favorite, Chanel Allure Rouge, is a shocking $30 per tube. I keep the old broken tube in the Math Shack so I can dig lip color out of the bottom of it when it’s time to video or do a daily mug shot.

    Lipstick Math applies to everything!

    If your child uses his own allowance to buy a new toy, he really knows the value. Furthermore, if he spends more, he’s more likely to care for it.

    When you notice this, point it out. Make sure to note how it’s math – and that your kiddo is doing it effortlessly!

    Share your thoughts in the comments or on twitter/x.

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  • On Time? You Used Math!

    On Time? You Used Math!

    Are you ever on time? Are you always on time?

    Are you sometimes close to being on time?

    Chances are, you did math to make that happen.

    And you do a lot of math to be on time.

    If you have to be at work at 8:30, you might do math like this:

    8:30am – 30 minutes – 1 hour – (3 x 9 minutes) = 6:30am

    or

    be there at 8:30am – 30 minutes drive time – 1 hour get dressed time – (3 x 9 minute “snooze” on alarm) = set alarm for 6:30am

    Which means you did conversions (minutes to hours), approximations (a 9 minute snooze is basically 10 minutes), subtraction and multiplication.

    You might even do algebra to be on time.

    You might even do some “what can I give up to sleep more” algebra. It goes like this:

    7:00am + 30 minutes + 1 hour + 9 minutes + x = 8:30am

    or

    it is now 7:00am + 30 minutes drive time + 1 hour get dressed time + 9 minutes for the snooze button I really want to hit – x (approximately 9 or 10 minutes of something like washing hair, eating yogurt instead of eggs or shaving legs) = be there at 8:30am

    Notice this is also substitution!

    Use this to positively influence your children.

    The next time someone says, “I haven’t done math in years,” point out to them they do math all the time. In fact, they likely did math to get there on time!

    Especially point this out if you’re in earshot of a child.

    When kids hear how math is used effortlessly and frequently, it helps to demystify it. And when it’s demystified – they become more familiar and comfortable with it.

    And you know what that means? They’re more engaged!

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  • Birthday Party Fibonacci Style!

    Birthday Party Fibonacci Style!

    This year K8 is turning 3, a Fibonacci number. So we’re having a Fibonacci Birthday Party!

    Her birthday parties the previous two years have been non-math. And I’m fairly certain at some point she’ll want to choose her own birthday party theme. So this might be my last chance to do a Fibonacci birthday party.

    Fibonacci Birthday Party Decorations

    Spiral streamers, pinecones, whole pineapples and sunflowers will adorn the house.

    We’ll have blue painter’s tape outlining the spiral on the tiles of the floor. And we’ll each wear a fun Fibonacci t-shirt!

    Birthday Party Foods

    We’ll have bananas, apples and pineapples as healthy snacks for the kids. And I’ll likely do an arrangement of Cheez-its glued down with peanut butter. Of course there’ll be plenty of free floating Cheez-its too!

    For the grownups, we’ll have broccoli and cauliflower along with cucumbers.

    If we serve a meal, we’ll do lasagna with Fibonacci rectangles outlined in spinach fettuccine noodles!

    Party Favors

    I’ll buy a bunch of Fibonacci paperback children’s books, including Rabbits Rabbits Everywhere and Wild Fibonacci. I’ll print some fun stickers to put on them that read

    And those will be the party favors!

    Fibonacci Birthday Party Gimmicks

    We’ll play some games, including Fibonacci Hopscotch (as suggested by @mathhombre). The adults can play, “What is My Fibonacci Number?” based on the popular party game, Who Am I?

    And the best part – we’ll have live rabbits for the kids to pet!

    What do you think?

    Have you ever given a Fibonacci Birthday Party? or a math party? Do you have any other ideas to make this awesome?

    Please share via twitter or in the comments!

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