|
I'd like to talk to you a bit about my two favorite holidays that exist between Valentine's Day and my birthday (April 14th). The first is Pi Day (March 14th, 3/14), and the second is April Fool's Day (April 1st). Obviously, the former isn't recognized by unimportant non-nerds, and the second one can be abused (there is a fine line between subtle humor and blatant douchebaggery), but I do enjoy them both... and the past month has included my first ever Pi Day and April Fool's Day... as a college professor (of mathematics).
Pi Day
Every year, I celebrate Pi Day. I go out with my math friends, and occasionally we play beer pong with the cups line up in the shape of the pi symbol. I post a celebratory status at 1:59 AM or PM (to keep the digits going... and you should figure out why next year's Pi Day is going to be even more significant!). I eat pie and I wear my pi tie and pi shirts.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/czCAs4n.jpg)
Yes, plural.
But this year was special (although I did still wear my pi attire). I had classes of students to entertain! And as luck would have it, Pi Day fell on a Friday- the Friday right before our spring break.
I had given my precalculus and calculus classes exams on the Wednesday before break, and I wasn't about to start teaching them brand new material on the day before spring break. (Besides, I was already ahead of our syllabus.) So instead, I celebrated Pi Day with them.
Some students and I brought in pies, cookies, and anything else tasty and round (not that I had them compute circumference or area anyway). And so, for three hours (two 1.5-hour classes), I gave them math puzzles, paradoxes, interesting proofs, and other math-related entertainment that I had compiled into a powerpoint presentation. I gave the same presentation to both of my classes, as none of the problems required any math that the students couldn't handle.
1. The pictures and one-liners between math problems and activities, although corny, were much appreciated by my students. I also gave my calculus kids a pro-tip for dating- using the best pick up line ever: I wish I were your derivative so I could lie tangent to your curves  + Show Spoiler +The one I couldn't tell them was: I wish I were your second derivative so I could explore your concavities.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/XQBGqSA.jpg)
And one of my students thought Bill Cosby was Morgan Freeman.
2. I showed them two paradoxes in particular. I presented the students with the two questions, had them try their best to figure out the solutions, and then we all collaborated and talked about the problems, the math behind the procedures, and the surprising solutions.
I gave them the Birthday Problem and the Monty Hall Problem.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with either of them, here's a brief explanation for each:
+ Show Spoiler +Birthday Problem: This problem revolves around solving for the likelihood that a certain number of people in a room have at least two people that share a birthday. So basically, if there are five people in the room (or ten or fifty or a hundred people), what is the likelihood that at least two people share a birthday? How would you compute it? This framework sets the stage for the central question of the Birthday Problem: How many people must be in a room for there to be at least a 50% chance that you share a birthday with at least one other person? We make some general assumptions to make the problem manageable and minimize variables: -365 days in a year = 365 possible birthdays (ignore leap years/ February 29th) -The year doesn’t matter (October 6, 1989 = October 6, 1990; etc.) -All 365 days are equally likely to be a birthday (Sorry, “9 months after Valentine's Day”.) -There are no tricks or hidden variables (e.g., not considering P(twins) ). -Therefore, the probability of any two people sharing the same birthday is equal to 1/365, as the first person’s birthday is arbitrary but the second person has to match with the first’s, regardless of what day that ends up being. Most students (or people, really), tend to guess a number that's around half of 365 (so ~180). But the answer is, counterintuitively, + Show Spoiler +much smaller: 23. Only 23 people are needed in a room for there to be a 50% chance of at least one birthday match. I don't really feel like writing out the entire list of computations right now, but here's the Wiki on it, with different wordings for questions: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthday_problem . Monty Hall Problem: Suppose you're on a game show, and you're given the choice of three closed doors, each of which is hiding a prize: Behind one door is a brand new car! Behind the other two are identical goats. (Let’s assume you want the car and don’t find goats particularly wonderful.) You pick one of the three doors (it stays shut for now), and then the host, who knows where each prize is, opens a different door (one of the two you haven’t chosen), purposely revealing a goat. He then offers you the choice to either keep the door you first selected, or switch your choice to the other unopened door. Which do you choose to do? Does switching help or hurt your chance of winning? Does it change anything? Interestingly enough, the answer is that + Show Spoiler +it's in your best interest, mathematically, to always switch to the other unopened door, as this increases the likelihood of selecting the car from 1/3 to 2/3. Can you figure out why? Here's the Wiki on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Hall_problem
3. We discussed a series of false proofs. Here's the first slide with three very short false proofs. Surely you can figure out which step is "illegal" in each of these?
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/vkyoJzV.jpg)
I also presented them a math "proof" for 1 = 2 that I had written out last semester... along with a poem to complement every step. I wrote another TL blog on this false proof and poem a few months ago, so I'll just link it here: http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/436043-math-poetry I recited the poem to my students and scrolled through the slides (each slide showing the next step), and the students were quite impressed. I gave them time to figure out what was wrong with the proof, and then I finished the poem (it ends with the solution).
4. I ended with two of my favorite math problems. The first one, The Doubling Problem, was given to me in a problem solving class during college. The second one, The Perfect Square, was assigned to us on our first day of Introduction to Abstract Algebra. Here they are:
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/TASIuEl.jpg)
I gave my students the remaining half hour or so in the period to pick one of these and focus their energy and attention and critical thinking skills (and ability to collaborate with others) to solve it. They were incredibly engaged in the problems, and slightly frustrated (which is good, as it showed they were emotionally invested in math!). At the end of the period, they insisted I tell them the solutions.
I told them: Maybe after break.
And remarkably, some of the students actually went back over the problems during their spring break and made more progress. I solved both for them the day we came back to class.
If you'd like the solutions to those two problems: + Show Spoiler +Nope. Not right now, anyway. Figure it out on your own!
April Fool's Day
April Fool's Day is the one day that my entire family understands the need to prank the hell out of each other. In good fun. I've flipped beds, switched out all the clothes in dressers for canned food in cabinets, rearranged pretty much everything in the house... and had similar things done back to me. Because my two younger brothers, my mom, and I have an agreement to enjoy our April Fool's Day together. It's consensual  And sometimes I'll recruit others to help (e.g., my girlfriend and I got "engaged" on Facebook last year and changed our pictures and everything). It's always in good fun.
Unfortunately, I had no time to prepare anything this year, except for the few Facebook statuses and one particular prank that I decided to play on my students.
One of the most annoying things that my students do is ask me questions that I've answered dozens of times already, and is explained in the syllabus, and can be solved via Google. I love them dearly, but sometimes they're just lazy.
And just as a frame of reference, all math midterm exams are always on Wednesdays (there are three midterm exams before the final exam).
And April Fool's Day was on a Tuesday this year.
And students kept asking me when the next exam was, despite that knowledge being available to them in about ten different ways other than "disrupt class and ask about the date of the exam which isn't for at least another month".
So... I sent out an e-mail on April 1st.
Heading: Review Sheet for Tomorrow's Exam
Body: The math coordinator has created a very thorough document containing review questions that will be related to tomorrow's exam, and he sent it out to the professors to then pass on to students. I strongly recommend completing the review for practice, along with our usual syllabus homework problems and our online assignments.
The document is attached to this e-mail. Please open it and quickly look through the problems to see if you have any questions about the topics presented. Do not hesitate to e-mail me if you have any concerns.
As you're all aware, tomorrow's exam is in the same place as the previous two exams, at the same time. Pretty easy to remember!
Attachment Title: Exam 3 Review
Attachment Body: April Fool’s!
No exam this week, but I’m looking forward to shocked responses from those who never look at the syllabus or online for answers to their basic questions about our class, and/ or are too lazy to actually save and open this seemingly vital document.
Within an hour, I had ten immediate responses, most of them flipping out. (Some of them recognized the joke and found it funny.) My top three favorite replies:
3. Dear Professor Mango,
I cried.
2. I literally started sweating and freaking out until I opened the attatchments. That was a good one professor but I really hate you now lol
1. AYO TEACH, NOT FUNNY. I ALMOST HAD A HEART ATTACK.
(She didn't really.)
I love being a math professor. Happy belated Pi Day and April Fool's Day to everyone ♥
~DPB
|
your Country52797 Posts
Math blog, instant 5/5.
Reading now.
Perfect square:
+ Show Spoiler +Obviously, all even numbers have a square divisible by 4. Any odd number can be expressed as 2n+1 for some n. The square is 4n^2+4n+1, which is 4k+1 for some k.
Oh man, that exam story is evil.
As for the doubling problem, + Show Spoiler +There seem to be none with 2 or 3 digits, and I suspect it's impossible, for setting up an equation for digits a, b (and c) gives 200a+20b+2c = 100c+10a+b, which reduces to 190a+19b = 98c, meaning c would have to be divisible by 19. Similar thing for the tripling problem.
|
On April 03 2014 00:52 The_Templar wrote:Math blog, instant 5/5. Reading now. Perfect square: + Show Spoiler +Obviously, all even numbers have a square divisible by 4. Any odd number can be expressed as 2n+1 for some n. The square is 4n^2+4n+1, which is 4k+1 for some k.
Oh man, that exam story is evil. As for the doubling problem, + Show Spoiler +There seem to be none with 2 or 3 digits, and I suspect it's impossible, for setting up an equation for digits a, b (and c) gives 200a+20b+2c = 100c+10a+b, which reduces to 190a+19b = 98c, meaning c would have to be divisible by 19. Similar thing for the tripling problem.
Glad you liked it
Perfect square response: + Show Spoiler +You've shown 4k+1 for odds, but you need to show 8k+1
Doubling problem response: + Show Spoiler +You're right that no 2-digit or 3-digit numbers work, but there do exist a few larger-digit numbers that work for doubling (and tripling, and quadrupling too!).
|
You sound like a cool math teacher.
One solution to doubling problem:
+ Show Spoiler +105263157894736842
You can figure it out by going backwards.
|
On April 03 2014 02:01 Laurens wrote:You sound like a cool math teacher. One solution to doubling problem: + Show Spoiler +105263157894736842
You can figure it out by going backwards.
Well done!
My students like me and they're doing well in the course, so I guess I'm doing something right lol.
|
you sound like an awesome professor, I would've loved to have you.
maybe then I wouldn't have fallen asleep during all my college math classes and barely made it through with my GPA intact...
|
your Country52797 Posts
On April 03 2014 01:54 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:Show nested quote +On April 03 2014 00:52 The_Templar wrote:Math blog, instant 5/5. Reading now. Perfect square: + Show Spoiler +Obviously, all even numbers have a square divisible by 4. Any odd number can be expressed as 2n+1 for some n. The square is 4n^2+4n+1, which is 4k+1 for some k.
Oh man, that exam story is evil. As for the doubling problem, + Show Spoiler +There seem to be none with 2 or 3 digits, and I suspect it's impossible, for setting up an equation for digits a, b (and c) gives 200a+20b+2c = 100c+10a+b, which reduces to 190a+19b = 98c, meaning c would have to be divisible by 19. Similar thing for the tripling problem. Glad you liked it Perfect square response: + Show Spoiler +You've shown 4k+1 for odds, but you need to show 8k+1 Doubling problem response: + Show Spoiler +You're right that no 2-digit or 3-digit numbers work, but there do exist a few larger-digit numbers that work for doubling (and tripling, and quadrupling too!).
Perfect square:
+ Show Spoiler +n^2 and n are both odd, so n^2+n is even, 4n^2+4n is divisible by 8, and 4n^2+4n+1 = 8k+1. Misread the problem 
Doubling problem: + Show Spoiler +Damn it I over-thought it. Smallest solution seems to be 105263157894736842 as already posted.
Tripling problem: + Show Spoiler +2068965517241379310344827586
|
On April 03 2014 03:22 The_Templar wrote:Show nested quote +On April 03 2014 01:54 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:On April 03 2014 00:52 The_Templar wrote:Math blog, instant 5/5. Reading now. Perfect square: + Show Spoiler +Obviously, all even numbers have a square divisible by 4. Any odd number can be expressed as 2n+1 for some n. The square is 4n^2+4n+1, which is 4k+1 for some k.
Oh man, that exam story is evil. As for the doubling problem, + Show Spoiler +There seem to be none with 2 or 3 digits, and I suspect it's impossible, for setting up an equation for digits a, b (and c) gives 200a+20b+2c = 100c+10a+b, which reduces to 190a+19b = 98c, meaning c would have to be divisible by 19. Similar thing for the tripling problem. Glad you liked it Perfect square response: + Show Spoiler +You've shown 4k+1 for odds, but you need to show 8k+1 Doubling problem response: + Show Spoiler +You're right that no 2-digit or 3-digit numbers work, but there do exist a few larger-digit numbers that work for doubling (and tripling, and quadrupling too!). Perfect square: + Show Spoiler +n^2 and n are both odd, so n^2+n is even, 4n^2+4n is divisible by 8, and 4n^2+4n+1 = 8k+1. Misread the problem Doubling problem: + Show Spoiler +Damn it I over-thought it. Smallest solution seems to be 105263157894736842 as already posted.
Correct on both accounts You can create other doubling numbers using that solution too!
|
your Country52797 Posts
On April 03 2014 03:26 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:Show nested quote +On April 03 2014 03:22 The_Templar wrote:On April 03 2014 01:54 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:On April 03 2014 00:52 The_Templar wrote:Math blog, instant 5/5. Reading now. Perfect square: + Show Spoiler +Obviously, all even numbers have a square divisible by 4. Any odd number can be expressed as 2n+1 for some n. The square is 4n^2+4n+1, which is 4k+1 for some k.
Oh man, that exam story is evil. As for the doubling problem, + Show Spoiler +There seem to be none with 2 or 3 digits, and I suspect it's impossible, for setting up an equation for digits a, b (and c) gives 200a+20b+2c = 100c+10a+b, which reduces to 190a+19b = 98c, meaning c would have to be divisible by 19. Similar thing for the tripling problem. Glad you liked it Perfect square response: + Show Spoiler +You've shown 4k+1 for odds, but you need to show 8k+1 Doubling problem response: + Show Spoiler +You're right that no 2-digit or 3-digit numbers work, but there do exist a few larger-digit numbers that work for doubling (and tripling, and quadrupling too!). Perfect square: + Show Spoiler +n^2 and n are both odd, so n^2+n is even, 4n^2+4n is divisible by 8, and 4n^2+4n+1 = 8k+1. Misread the problem Doubling problem: + Show Spoiler +Damn it I over-thought it. Smallest solution seems to be 105263157894736842 as already posted. Correct on both accounts You can create other doubling numbers using that solution too!
Yes. The tripling problem is slightly harder. -.-
|
TLADT24920 Posts
Cool blog! Sounds like those were some fun classes. Also, you are an evil teacher for pulling that April fools joke. Sounds dark to me
|
Canada7170 Posts
This blog gave me flashbacks to "explaining" the Monty Hall problem to people.
I swear it's the quickest way to lose patience.
Next year you should assign a proof of the Collatz Conjecture as homework.
|
On April 03 2014 03:30 The_Templar wrote:Show nested quote +On April 03 2014 03:26 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:On April 03 2014 03:22 The_Templar wrote:On April 03 2014 01:54 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:On April 03 2014 00:52 The_Templar wrote:Math blog, instant 5/5. Reading now. Perfect square: + Show Spoiler +Obviously, all even numbers have a square divisible by 4. Any odd number can be expressed as 2n+1 for some n. The square is 4n^2+4n+1, which is 4k+1 for some k.
Oh man, that exam story is evil. As for the doubling problem, + Show Spoiler +There seem to be none with 2 or 3 digits, and I suspect it's impossible, for setting up an equation for digits a, b (and c) gives 200a+20b+2c = 100c+10a+b, which reduces to 190a+19b = 98c, meaning c would have to be divisible by 19. Similar thing for the tripling problem. Glad you liked it Perfect square response: + Show Spoiler +You've shown 4k+1 for odds, but you need to show 8k+1 Doubling problem response: + Show Spoiler +You're right that no 2-digit or 3-digit numbers work, but there do exist a few larger-digit numbers that work for doubling (and tripling, and quadrupling too!). Perfect square: + Show Spoiler +n^2 and n are both odd, so n^2+n is even, 4n^2+4n is divisible by 8, and 4n^2+4n+1 = 8k+1. Misread the problem Doubling problem: + Show Spoiler +Damn it I over-thought it. Smallest solution seems to be 105263157894736842 as already posted. Correct on both accounts You can create other doubling numbers using that solution too! Yes. The tripling problem is slightly harder. -.-
Yep, although I do recall one of the later ones (maybe it was quadrupling?) cycling quite quickly!
On April 03 2014 03:46 BigFan wrote:Cool blog! Sounds like those were some fun classes. Also, you are an evil teacher for pulling that April fools joke. Sounds dark to me
Haha touche ^^ Yeah the students had a good time
On April 03 2014 04:08 mikeymoo wrote:
This blog gave me flashbacks to "explaining" the Monty Hall problem to people.
I swear it's the quickest way to lose patience.
Next year you should assign a proof of the Collatz Conjecture as homework.
Haha or the Riemann hypothesis or the P vs. NP problem ^^;;
|
Did you know pi day is also Steak and a Blow Job day?
|
DarkPlasmaBall what classes do you teach? Let me get in on some of those :D
|
On April 03 2014 04:46 neoghaleon55 wrote:
Did you know pi day is also Steak and a Blow Job day?
Yup I do You really can't get much better than the Unholy Trinity of Math, Meat, and Fellatio in a single day!
On April 03 2014 04:55 Yorkie wrote:
DarkPlasmaBall what classes do you teach? Let me get in on some of those :D
Haha last semester was just statistics and precalculus, while this semester is just precalculus and calculus 1 (right now I do a lot of other things besides teach college).
|
your Country52797 Posts
On April 03 2014 04:24 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:Show nested quote +On April 03 2014 03:30 The_Templar wrote:On April 03 2014 03:26 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:On April 03 2014 03:22 The_Templar wrote:On April 03 2014 01:54 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:On April 03 2014 00:52 The_Templar wrote:Math blog, instant 5/5. Reading now. Perfect square: + Show Spoiler +Obviously, all even numbers have a square divisible by 4. Any odd number can be expressed as 2n+1 for some n. The square is 4n^2+4n+1, which is 4k+1 for some k.
Oh man, that exam story is evil. As for the doubling problem, + Show Spoiler +There seem to be none with 2 or 3 digits, and I suspect it's impossible, for setting up an equation for digits a, b (and c) gives 200a+20b+2c = 100c+10a+b, which reduces to 190a+19b = 98c, meaning c would have to be divisible by 19. Similar thing for the tripling problem. Glad you liked it Perfect square response: + Show Spoiler +You've shown 4k+1 for odds, but you need to show 8k+1 Doubling problem response: + Show Spoiler +You're right that no 2-digit or 3-digit numbers work, but there do exist a few larger-digit numbers that work for doubling (and tripling, and quadrupling too!). Perfect square: + Show Spoiler +n^2 and n are both odd, so n^2+n is even, 4n^2+4n is divisible by 8, and 4n^2+4n+1 = 8k+1. Misread the problem Doubling problem: + Show Spoiler +Damn it I over-thought it. Smallest solution seems to be 105263157894736842 as already posted. Correct on both accounts You can create other doubling numbers using that solution too! Yes. The tripling problem is slightly harder. -.- Yep, although I do recall one of the later ones (maybe it was quadrupling?) cycling quite quickly!
Quadrupling: 230769
Yeah, I think that's it.
|
On April 03 2014 05:28 The_Templar wrote:Show nested quote +On April 03 2014 04:24 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:On April 03 2014 03:30 The_Templar wrote:On April 03 2014 03:26 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:On April 03 2014 03:22 The_Templar wrote:On April 03 2014 01:54 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:On April 03 2014 00:52 The_Templar wrote:Math blog, instant 5/5. Reading now. Perfect square: + Show Spoiler +Obviously, all even numbers have a square divisible by 4. Any odd number can be expressed as 2n+1 for some n. The square is 4n^2+4n+1, which is 4k+1 for some k.
Oh man, that exam story is evil. As for the doubling problem, + Show Spoiler +There seem to be none with 2 or 3 digits, and I suspect it's impossible, for setting up an equation for digits a, b (and c) gives 200a+20b+2c = 100c+10a+b, which reduces to 190a+19b = 98c, meaning c would have to be divisible by 19. Similar thing for the tripling problem. Glad you liked it Perfect square response: + Show Spoiler +You've shown 4k+1 for odds, but you need to show 8k+1 Doubling problem response: + Show Spoiler +You're right that no 2-digit or 3-digit numbers work, but there do exist a few larger-digit numbers that work for doubling (and tripling, and quadrupling too!). Perfect square: + Show Spoiler +n^2 and n are both odd, so n^2+n is even, 4n^2+4n is divisible by 8, and 4n^2+4n+1 = 8k+1. Misread the problem Doubling problem: + Show Spoiler +Damn it I over-thought it. Smallest solution seems to be 105263157894736842 as already posted. Correct on both accounts You can create other doubling numbers using that solution too! Yes. The tripling problem is slightly harder. -.- Yep, although I do recall one of the later ones (maybe it was quadrupling?) cycling quite quickly! Quadrupling: 230769 Yeah, I think that's it.
I prefer to start with 1 as my one's digit to generate a cycle... so I end up with 025641, 102564, etc.
|
On April 03 2014 05:26 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:Show nested quote +On April 03 2014 04:46 neoghaleon55 wrote:
Did you know pi day is also Steak and a Blow Job day? Yup I do You really can't get much better than the Unholy Trinity of Math, Meat, and Fellatio in a single day! Show nested quote +On April 03 2014 04:55 Yorkie wrote:
DarkPlasmaBall what classes do you teach? Let me get in on some of those :D Haha last semester was just statistics and precalculus, while this semester is just precalculus and calculus 1 (right now I do a lot of other things besides teach college).
Damn I'm in Calc 2 now TT
|
On April 03 2014 05:37 Yorkie wrote:Show nested quote +On April 03 2014 05:26 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:On April 03 2014 04:46 neoghaleon55 wrote:
Did you know pi day is also Steak and a Blow Job day? Yup I do You really can't get much better than the Unholy Trinity of Math, Meat, and Fellatio in a single day! On April 03 2014 04:55 Yorkie wrote:
DarkPlasmaBall what classes do you teach? Let me get in on some of those :D Haha last semester was just statistics and precalculus, while this semester is just precalculus and calculus 1 (right now I do a lot of other things besides teach college). Damn I'm in Calc 2 now TT
Best of luck!
|
Damn I wish I had had you as my math teacher. In high school I had 3 math teachers. One of them reminds me a bit of you in the way you've described your class time and he was literally the most gifted teacher (or at least in the top 3) I'd had up until college (I'd still put him in the top 5 now). The other two were awful. Very cool blog DPB .
|
On April 03 2014 06:20 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:Show nested quote +On April 03 2014 05:37 Yorkie wrote:On April 03 2014 05:26 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:On April 03 2014 04:46 neoghaleon55 wrote:
Did you know pi day is also Steak and a Blow Job day? Yup I do You really can't get much better than the Unholy Trinity of Math, Meat, and Fellatio in a single day! On April 03 2014 04:55 Yorkie wrote:
DarkPlasmaBall what classes do you teach? Let me get in on some of those :D Haha last semester was just statistics and precalculus, while this semester is just precalculus and calculus 1 (right now I do a lot of other things besides teach college). Damn I'm in Calc 2 now TT Best of luck!
Thanks, although Dr. Corwin doesn't do anything nearly as fun as this stuff 
|
On April 03 2014 06:51 docvoc wrote:Damn I wish I had had you as my math teacher. In high school I had 3 math teachers. One of them reminds me a bit of you in the way you've described your class time and he was literally the most gifted teacher (or at least in the top 3) I'd had up until college (I'd still put him in the top 5 now). The other two were awful. Very cool blog DPB .
Haha thanks Yeah it's interesting how much of an impact one teacher can have on a student's perspective on an entire subject. Math seems to be extremely polarizing in this respect, where many students (even in middle school and high school) "hate math" because of one teacher (more commonly than those who love math because of one teacher), and that's a pity. It's usually those teachers that aren't passionate and don't take the time to cater to the students' needs that turn away the class from enjoying the subject for the rest of their academic careers. But on the other side of the spectrum, some teachers really get students fired up and eager to learn
On April 03 2014 07:18 Yorkie wrote:Show nested quote +On April 03 2014 06:20 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:On April 03 2014 05:37 Yorkie wrote:On April 03 2014 05:26 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:On April 03 2014 04:46 neoghaleon55 wrote:
Did you know pi day is also Steak and a Blow Job day? Yup I do You really can't get much better than the Unholy Trinity of Math, Meat, and Fellatio in a single day! On April 03 2014 04:55 Yorkie wrote:
DarkPlasmaBall what classes do you teach? Let me get in on some of those :D Haha last semester was just statistics and precalculus, while this semester is just precalculus and calculus 1 (right now I do a lot of other things besides teach college). Damn I'm in Calc 2 now TT Best of luck! Thanks, although Dr. Corwin doesn't do anything nearly as fun as this stuff
I'm not sure of your professor's personality, but a lot of time educators feel that they aren't able to make class as fun or as interesting because of certain curricular constraints (what they have time to cover) and political pressure (how they need to cover it). Fortunately, there is a lot more freedom as a professor than as a high school teacher, and I was fortunate enough to get a job where my administrators basically tell me "Here's the syllabus, teach it however you want, just get the kids to learn it". And that's really the way it should be; teachers should have more control over how they teach the material, since they're already bound by what content to teach.
And I've found that one of the best ways to get students engaged during class is if the professor is enthusiastic (why should students care if the professor doesn't care?), as it tends to become contagious, and if you center the instruction around the students (answering questions, collaborating, etc.) more frequently than you center the instruction around the teacher as a lecturer (direct instruction).
|
TLADT24920 Posts
On April 03 2014 04:24 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:Show nested quote +On April 03 2014 03:46 BigFan wrote:Cool blog! Sounds like those were some fun classes. Also, you are an evil teacher for pulling that April fools joke. Sounds dark to me Haha touche ^^ Yeah the students had a good time
I was hoping you got the reference ^^ ya, it does sound like fun. I think as long as you can show students that you are engaged in teaching as they are in learning and not a straight forward didactic lecture, you'll have their attention and respect as well
|
On April 03 2014 09:17 BigFan wrote:Show nested quote +On April 03 2014 04:24 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:On April 03 2014 03:46 BigFan wrote:Cool blog! Sounds like those were some fun classes. Also, you are an evil teacher for pulling that April fools joke. Sounds dark to me Haha touche ^^ Yeah the students had a good time I was hoping you got the reference ^^ ya, it does sound like fun. I think as long as you can show students that you are engaged in teaching as they are in learning and not a straight forward didactic lecture, you'll have their attention and respect as well
I did get the reference And I agree with you. Especially at the college level (where they're mature enough to make decisions like not attending class), you definitely need your students' respect if you want them to take your class seriously.
|
United States97276 Posts
|
On April 03 2014 09:27 Shellshock wrote:
mole day >>>>> pi day
6/2? By June, everyone's already checking out though! It's nice to break up the monotony of March with some yummy pi How do you even celebrate Mole Day anyway? My mom's taught chemistry for like 35 years and even she hasn't done anything special on that day (although she notes its existence) lol.
EDIT: Or 10/23? Two different mole days lol >.<
|
United States97276 Posts
|
Haha nice
Pie >>> Lollipops though, sorry!
|
United States97276 Posts
Math alone is too cruel though. Science is much better :D
we did the birthday problem in my stats class. that was one that really surprised me. we luckily had 23 people in the class and happened to have 1 repeat birthday (Dec 5)
|
That's pretty cool Math is the language of science, so I think they complement each other quite beautifully ^^
|
On April 03 2014 09:50 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:That's pretty cool Math is the language of science, so I think they complement each other quite beautifully ^^
Math is a shovel. It's only a tool. I dislike Math for Math's sakes alone. Most academic mathematicians pride themselves on researching useless stuff.
Hehe
|
On April 03 2014 10:05 neoghaleon55 wrote:Show nested quote +On April 03 2014 09:50 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:That's pretty cool Math is the language of science, so I think they complement each other quite beautifully ^^ Math is a shovel. It's only a tool. I dislike Math for Math's sakes alone. Most academic mathematicians pride themselves on researching useless stuff. Hehe
Them's fightin' words, friend
|
|
|
MK is a beast. He also clearly advocates both math and physics ^^
Also, we can be useless when we want to be, but we can also be necessary
|
On April 03 2014 10:15 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:
MK is a beast. He also clearly advocates both math and physics ^^
He's clearly calling you guys shovel carriers... or gardeners.
hehe
|
On April 03 2014 10:18 neoghaleon55 wrote:Show nested quote +On April 03 2014 10:15 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:
MK is a beast. He also clearly advocates both math and physics ^^ He's clearly calling you guys shovel carriers... or gardeners. hehe
DongRaeGuldenRatio would disagree
|
On April 03 2014 10:24 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:Show nested quote +On April 03 2014 10:18 neoghaleon55 wrote:On April 03 2014 10:15 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:
MK is a beast. He also clearly advocates both math and physics ^^ He's clearly calling you guys shovel carriers... or gardeners. hehe DongRaeGuldenRatio would disagree
You leave him out of this!
fighting dirty...
|
On April 03 2014 10:25 neoghaleon55 wrote:Show nested quote +On April 03 2014 10:24 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:On April 03 2014 10:18 neoghaleon55 wrote:On April 03 2014 10:15 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:
MK is a beast. He also clearly advocates both math and physics ^^ He's clearly calling you guys shovel carriers... or gardeners. hehe DongRaeGuldenRatio would disagree You leave him out of this! fighting dirty...
You mess with the bull...
|
All kidding aside, I have a lot of respects for mathematicians.
As long as they're not useless.
hehe.
I'm a chemist and there are plenty of useless research floating about.
A few years back I remembered someone presenting the third ionization state of Cesium Oxide under near absolute zero...wth, when is that ever going to be useful?
Who keeps giving these dumb groups all these monies?!
heh.
|
I like this one personally:
![[image loading]](http://sciencegeekgirl.com/personal/1images/girls%20are%20root%20of%20evil.jpg)
|
+ Show Spoiler +On April 03 2014 09:04 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:Show nested quote +On April 03 2014 06:51 docvoc wrote:Damn I wish I had had you as my math teacher. In high school I had 3 math teachers. One of them reminds me a bit of you in the way you've described your class time and he was literally the most gifted teacher (or at least in the top 3) I'd had up until college (I'd still put him in the top 5 now). The other two were awful. Very cool blog DPB . Haha thanks Yeah it's interesting how much of an impact one teacher can have on a student's perspective on an entire subject. Math seems to be extremely polarizing in this respect, where many students (even in middle school and high school) "hate math" because of one teacher (more commonly than those who love math because of one teacher), and that's a pity. It's usually those teachers that aren't passionate and don't take the time to cater to the students' needs that turn away the class from enjoying the subject for the rest of their academic careers. But on the other side of the spectrum, some teachers really get students fired up and eager to learn Show nested quote +On April 03 2014 07:18 Yorkie wrote:On April 03 2014 06:20 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:On April 03 2014 05:37 Yorkie wrote:On April 03 2014 05:26 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:On April 03 2014 04:46 neoghaleon55 wrote:
Did you know pi day is also Steak and a Blow Job day? Yup I do You really can't get much better than the Unholy Trinity of Math, Meat, and Fellatio in a single day! On April 03 2014 04:55 Yorkie wrote:
DarkPlasmaBall what classes do you teach? Let me get in on some of those :D Haha last semester was just statistics and precalculus, while this semester is just precalculus and calculus 1 (right now I do a lot of other things besides teach college). Damn I'm in Calc 2 now TT Best of luck! Thanks, although Dr. Corwin doesn't do anything nearly as fun as this stuff I'm not sure of your professor's personality, but a lot of time educators feel that they aren't able to make class as fun or as interesting because of certain curricular constraints (what they have time to cover) and political pressure (how they need to cover it). Fortunately, there is a lot more freedom as a professor than as a high school teacher, and I was fortunate enough to get a job where my administrators basically tell me "Here's the syllabus, teach it however you want, just get the kids to learn it". And that's really the way it should be; teachers should have more control over how they teach the material, since they're already bound by what content to teach. And I've found that one of the best ways to get students engaged during class is if the professor is enthusiastic (why should students care if the professor doesn't care?), as it tends to become contagious, and if you center the instruction around the students (answering questions, collaborating, etc.) more frequently than you center the instruction around the teacher as a lecturer (direct instruction).
Yeah it's definitely partially due to the curriculum. Especially with the snow day we've been on a tight schedule. He's also fairly distant, speaks very quickly and quietly, and has a very uniform structure to class that I could basically predict by the minute at this point. Gets the job done I suppose, but I find myself drifting off in class and the whole subject feels like a drag. Hasn't hurt my results so far, but I'm going to have to bust my ass studying for this next exam because i haven't been nearly as engaged in class these past few weeks.
|
On April 03 2014 10:42 neoghaleon55 wrote:
All kidding aside, I have a lot of respects for mathematicians.
As long as they're not useless.
hehe.
I'm a chemist and there are plenty of useless research floating about.
A few years back I remembered someone presenting the third ionization state of Cesium Oxide under near absolute zero...wth, when is that ever going to be useful?
Who keeps giving these dumb groups all these monies?!
heh.
Yeah I'd imagine there's gotta be something it for the groups funding these super-abstract and seemingly-just-for-fun projects lol
On April 03 2014 10:48 NeuroticPsychosis wrote:I like this one personally: + Show Spoiler +
As do I! Hahahaha
On April 03 2014 10:51 Yorkie wrote:+ Show Spoiler +On April 03 2014 09:04 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:Show nested quote +On April 03 2014 06:51 docvoc wrote:Damn I wish I had had you as my math teacher. In high school I had 3 math teachers. One of them reminds me a bit of you in the way you've described your class time and he was literally the most gifted teacher (or at least in the top 3) I'd had up until college (I'd still put him in the top 5 now). The other two were awful. Very cool blog DPB . Haha thanks Yeah it's interesting how much of an impact one teacher can have on a student's perspective on an entire subject. Math seems to be extremely polarizing in this respect, where many students (even in middle school and high school) "hate math" because of one teacher (more commonly than those who love math because of one teacher), and that's a pity. It's usually those teachers that aren't passionate and don't take the time to cater to the students' needs that turn away the class from enjoying the subject for the rest of their academic careers. But on the other side of the spectrum, some teachers really get students fired up and eager to learn Show nested quote +On April 03 2014 07:18 Yorkie wrote:On April 03 2014 06:20 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:On April 03 2014 05:37 Yorkie wrote:On April 03 2014 05:26 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:On April 03 2014 04:46 neoghaleon55 wrote:
Did you know pi day is also Steak and a Blow Job day? Yup I do You really can't get much better than the Unholy Trinity of Math, Meat, and Fellatio in a single day! On April 03 2014 04:55 Yorkie wrote:
DarkPlasmaBall what classes do you teach? Let me get in on some of those :D Haha last semester was just statistics and precalculus, while this semester is just precalculus and calculus 1 (right now I do a lot of other things besides teach college). Damn I'm in Calc 2 now TT Best of luck! Thanks, although Dr. Corwin doesn't do anything nearly as fun as this stuff I'm not sure of your professor's personality, but a lot of time educators feel that they aren't able to make class as fun or as interesting because of certain curricular constraints (what they have time to cover) and political pressure (how they need to cover it). Fortunately, there is a lot more freedom as a professor than as a high school teacher, and I was fortunate enough to get a job where my administrators basically tell me "Here's the syllabus, teach it however you want, just get the kids to learn it". And that's really the way it should be; teachers should have more control over how they teach the material, since they're already bound by what content to teach. And I've found that one of the best ways to get students engaged during class is if the professor is enthusiastic (why should students care if the professor doesn't care?), as it tends to become contagious, and if you center the instruction around the students (answering questions, collaborating, etc.) more frequently than you center the instruction around the teacher as a lecturer (direct instruction). Yeah it's definitely partially due to the curriculum. Especially with the snow day we've been on a tight schedule. He's also fairly distant, speaks very quickly and quietly, and has a very uniform structure to class that I could basically predict by the minute at this point. Gets the job done I suppose, but I find myself drifting off in class and the whole subject feels like a drag. Hasn't hurt my results so far, but I'm going to have to bust my ass studying for this next exam because i haven't been nearly as engaged in class these past few weeks.
Gotcha. Yeah, I'd like to think that students generally give their professors the benefit of the doubt early on in the semester, but once students realize that the pace and enthusiasm won't pick up, they tend to become disinterested and start to disengage.
|
I would recognize Pi day, but there is no 31/4
|
On April 03 2014 23:17 a_flayer wrote:
I would recognize Pi day, but there is no 31/4
What about May 1st? :D
|
TLADT24920 Posts
On April 03 2014 09:20 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:Show nested quote +On April 03 2014 09:17 BigFan wrote:On April 03 2014 04:24 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:On April 03 2014 03:46 BigFan wrote:Cool blog! Sounds like those were some fun classes. Also, you are an evil teacher for pulling that April fools joke. Sounds dark to me Haha touche ^^ Yeah the students had a good time I was hoping you got the reference ^^ ya, it does sound like fun. I think as long as you can show students that you are engaged in teaching as they are in learning and not a straight forward didactic lecture, you'll have their attention and respect as well I did get the reference And I agree with you. Especially at the college level (where they're mature enough to make decisions like not attending class), you definitely need your students' respect if you want them to take your class seriously.
ya, figured as much but double checked lol. Excellent
On April 03 2014 12:11 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:Show nested quote +On April 03 2014 10:42 neoghaleon55 wrote:
All kidding aside, I have a lot of respects for mathematicians.
As long as they're not useless.
hehe.
I'm a chemist and there are plenty of useless research floating about.
A few years back I remembered someone presenting the third ionization state of Cesium Oxide under near absolute zero...wth, when is that ever going to be useful?
Who keeps giving these dumb groups all these monies?!
heh.
Yeah I'd imagine there's gotta be something it for the groups funding these super-abstract and seemingly-just-for-fun projects lol As do I! Hahahaha Show nested quote +On April 03 2014 10:51 Yorkie wrote:+ Show Spoiler +On April 03 2014 09:04 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:Show nested quote +On April 03 2014 06:51 docvoc wrote:Damn I wish I had had you as my math teacher. In high school I had 3 math teachers. One of them reminds me a bit of you in the way you've described your class time and he was literally the most gifted teacher (or at least in the top 3) I'd had up until college (I'd still put him in the top 5 now). The other two were awful. Very cool blog DPB . Haha thanks Yeah it's interesting how much of an impact one teacher can have on a student's perspective on an entire subject. Math seems to be extremely polarizing in this respect, where many students (even in middle school and high school) "hate math" because of one teacher (more commonly than those who love math because of one teacher), and that's a pity. It's usually those teachers that aren't passionate and don't take the time to cater to the students' needs that turn away the class from enjoying the subject for the rest of their academic careers. But on the other side of the spectrum, some teachers really get students fired up and eager to learn Show nested quote +On April 03 2014 07:18 Yorkie wrote:On April 03 2014 06:20 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:On April 03 2014 05:37 Yorkie wrote:On April 03 2014 05:26 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:On April 03 2014 04:46 neoghaleon55 wrote:
Did you know pi day is also Steak and a Blow Job day? Yup I do You really can't get much better than the Unholy Trinity of Math, Meat, and Fellatio in a single day! On April 03 2014 04:55 Yorkie wrote:
DarkPlasmaBall what classes do you teach? Let me get in on some of those :D Haha last semester was just statistics and precalculus, while this semester is just precalculus and calculus 1 (right now I do a lot of other things besides teach college). Damn I'm in Calc 2 now TT Best of luck! Thanks, although Dr. Corwin doesn't do anything nearly as fun as this stuff I'm not sure of your professor's personality, but a lot of time educators feel that they aren't able to make class as fun or as interesting because of certain curricular constraints (what they have time to cover) and political pressure (how they need to cover it). Fortunately, there is a lot more freedom as a professor than as a high school teacher, and I was fortunate enough to get a job where my administrators basically tell me "Here's the syllabus, teach it however you want, just get the kids to learn it". And that's really the way it should be; teachers should have more control over how they teach the material, since they're already bound by what content to teach. And I've found that one of the best ways to get students engaged during class is if the professor is enthusiastic (why should students care if the professor doesn't care?), as it tends to become contagious, and if you center the instruction around the students (answering questions, collaborating, etc.) more frequently than you center the instruction around the teacher as a lecturer (direct instruction). Yeah it's definitely partially due to the curriculum. Especially with the snow day we've been on a tight schedule. He's also fairly distant, speaks very quickly and quietly, and has a very uniform structure to class that I could basically predict by the minute at this point. Gets the job done I suppose, but I find myself drifting off in class and the whole subject feels like a drag. Hasn't hurt my results so far, but I'm going to have to bust my ass studying for this next exam because i haven't been nearly as engaged in class these past few weeks. Gotcha. Yeah, I'd like to think that students generally give their professors the benefit of the doubt early on in the semester, but once students realize that the pace and enthusiasm won't pick up, they tend to become disinterested and start to disengage.
there is likely a reason though I don't see how that oxidation state would be important for cesium oxide since you require near absolute zero to achieve it. It could also be just an interest to work with the prof and this is his kind of research, not that it doesn't sound interesting lol.
|
United States97276 Posts
On April 04 2014 00:29 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:Show nested quote +On April 03 2014 23:17 a_flayer wrote:
I would recognize Pi day, but there is no 31/4 What about May 1st? :D
May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii
|
On April 04 2014 05:58 Shellshock wrote:Show nested quote +On April 04 2014 00:29 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:On April 03 2014 23:17 a_flayer wrote:
I would recognize Pi day, but there is no 31/4 What about May 1st? :D May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii
Yeah well Pi Day is willing to share with steaks and blowjobs, so if you're gonna have a blowjob you might as well get leied too.
|
|
|
|
|
|
EPT
