math
Space and Time Are Illusions, Apparently
Hamilton Nolan · 09/18/13 11:00AMScandal: 'Double Stuf' Oreos Don't Actually Contain Double the Stuff
Neetzan Zimmerman · 08/20/13 04:17PMHow to Beat the Wall Street Pros in One Easy Step
Hamilton Nolan · 06/19/13 11:48AMMax Read · 06/04/13 10:25AM
There Are Now 1,426 Billionaires on Earth, and You Are Each Worth Exactly $762.95 to Them
Adam Weinstein · 04/10/13 09:30AMForbes published a rundown yesterday of America's top-paid CEOs, based on data from its annual billionaires list. That's how we learned that there's an annual billionaires list, because apparently billionaires need something to obsess over besides billions of dollars. There are 1,426 billionaires among the human race's 7 billion or so members, meaning you have a roughly .00002 percent chance of becoming a billionaire, all other things being equal. But of course all things are unequal, and your odds are pretty improved if you didn't grow up in a favela or a shanty on the banks of the Ganges. (Good news, developed America: You account for 442 billionaires, the most of any country on the list!)
Hamilton Nolan · 03/13/13 09:18AM
Manhattan School Apologizes After Assigning 'Slavery Word Problems Homework' to Fourth Graders
Taylor Berman · 02/21/13 10:10PMMath is obviously an important skill for elementary students to learn, and we support creative methods for teaching what, for some, is a boring subject. But, as we noted last year, there are much better ways to teach math than by using word problems about slavery. Alas, a fourth grade teacher at Manhattan's P.S. 59 failed to heed our warning and thought it would be a good idea to distribute a worksheet titled "Slavery Word Problems Homework," which included questions such as:
Making Subways Safer Is a Poor Use of Money
Hamilton Nolan · 01/29/13 12:10PMIn New York City last year, 141 were struck by subway trains, and 55 were killed. There have been several recent high-profile deaths on the tracks, including one that made the cover of the NY Post. Falling (or being pushed) in front of a train is a classic nightmare scenario. So what should we do to prevent it? Well... something cheap, if anything.
You Are Not Going to Win the Lottery This Time Either, You Fool
Hamilton Nolan · 11/28/12 01:05PMLet's Play 'Drunk Nate Silver,' the Hilarious New Twitter Game
Max Read · 11/08/12 11:24AMShooting the Messenger's Numbers: Nate Silver's Struggle (The Redux)
Mobutu Sese Seko · 11/02/12 11:02AMNate Silver, the famed statistician behind the FiveThirtyEight election forecast blog at the New York Times, is wrong. And gay. At least according to the more virulent elements of right-wing media. That he's wrong is only confirmed by his gayness, just as surely as his gayness is the source of his wrongness. Nate Silver is a tautology of being queer as hell about everything.
Why Are You Playing the Lottery?
Hamilton Nolan · 08/15/12 02:36PMThe Powerball jackpot is up to $320 million. Why do you play the lottery? Is it because you have a dream? Because you have hope of a better future? Because—though you know it's a long shot—you just have a good feeling about this one? Because the twinkle in your eye and the spring in your step signify your jaunty, devil-may-care attitude towards the naysayers, and a firm belief that you, a fundamentally good person, will one day get your proper reward?
You Are Not Going to Win the Lottery, You Fool
Hamilton Nolan · 03/29/12 12:45PMCasinos Are for Losers
Hamilton Nolan · 03/15/12 01:34PMMichael Sokolove's NYT Magazine cover story this week is about the decline of the casino gambling industry—overinvestment followed by the recession, and oversupply of casinos which raises competition for a declining amount of disposable income. What will this mean for state tax revenue? What will this mean for Native American tribes? What will this mean for gamblers with money burning holes in their pockets?
Happy Pi Day, Nerds! Here's Pi to Around 100,000 1 Digit
Max Read · 03/14/12 10:14AMAn Exact Formula For Balancing Work and Happiness
Hamilton Nolan · 02/06/12 05:43PMSlavery Probably Not the Best Subject for Third-Grade Math Word Problems
Max Read · 01/09/12 05:40PMWhile we admire the clear desire for efficient pedagogy displayed by teachers at Beaver Ridge Elementary in Norcross, Ga., we can't help but feel that there is probably a better history lesson to include in math problems than "slavery," or maybe a better way to teach students about slavery than by providing them with questions like "Each tree had 56 oranges. If eight slaves pick them equally, then how much would each slave pick?" (For the record: seven.)
Pigeons, Like Monkeys, Are Better at Math Than You
Max Read · 12/23/11 09:45AMKids These Days Don't Read No Better'n They Used To
Hamilton Nolan · 11/02/11 02:25PMWhat is it with kids these days? Amirite? You know what I'm talking about. In this particular case, I'm talking about how kids in elementary and middle school have, sure, okay, improved their standardized test scores in math over the past two decades—but in reading, there's been only "modest improvement." Kids these days! From the NYT: