MathPlus's definitions

Symbolless Math

A politically correct term for “Elementary school math for the simple-minded or numerically challenged.” Math concepts explained in layman terms, which is targeted at those who are allergic to hearing or seeing numerical notations or equations.

Like sugarless chocolate or vegetarian chicken, promoters of symbolless math show that no groups or peoples should be excluded, especially the math-anxious or mathophobic—no one is beyond mathematical comprehension.

by MathPlus January 19, 2021

Trump’s Second Coming

The “Great Awakening” among diehard Trumpists-QAnonists for their twice-impeached “political savior” and the “anointed one” to come back to free the country from the “Deep State” and to make America greater again—they couldn’t believe that President Biden is officially inaugurated, because they were expecting President Trump to declare martial law to remain in power for four more years.

With millions of hardcore supporters itching to hear from their ex-Twitterer-in-Chief directly, their only hope now is to keep the faith in Trump’s second coming, which might take place in 2024 or 2028, if he’s not barred from public office by Senate lawmakers.

by MathPlus January 20, 2021

Pinographic Memory

When an oft-autistic person can see the first few hundred or thousand digits of the number π in their mind’s eye.

Don has such a pinographic memory that he can effortlessly recite the first ten thousand digits instantly, as he sees them flowing down a mountain top.

by MathPlus January 20, 2021

RCPL

Short for “Royal College Port Louis.” Once Mauritius’s premier boys’ secondary school that would take in the country’s top primary school “tuition-reliant, exam-smart” pupils, and would nurture future political and business leaders to run the volcanic island, where the dodo used to roam freely.

For decades, the day-to-day running of RCPL was like a sheep managing 1,000-odd lions—when the school principal was often someone who self-glorified himself, by attributing the number of high-school laureates the school produced every year to his “leadership,” when his priority should be to improve the school’s perennial mediocre 50⁺% passing rate to 90⁺% for high school students, based on the caliber of students being admitted every year.

by MathPlus January 21, 2021

π

An irrational number that is traditionally defined with respect to the circle, such as the following:
The length of a semicircle of radius one unit.
The angle measure of a straight line segment in radians.
The number of times the perimeter of a circle is more than its diameter.

To help students appreciate π beyond the canned definition that it is the ratio of circumference to diameter, teachers ought to define it in terms of other quantities not related to the circle.

by MathPlus January 21, 2021

2π

The number of times the circumference of a circle is more than the radius of the circle.

If a radian is defined as the angle formed by an arc length of a circle subtended at the center that is equal to its radius, then there are 2π radians, or 2π radii, that fit around the circumference of the circle. In other words, 360° equals 2π radians, or one radian is 180°/π, which is about 57.3°.

by MathPlus January 21, 2021

MAGA

Short for “Make America Godly Again.” A mantra preached by a group of evangelical pastors, who had brainwashed diehard supporters of Trump, the “anointed one,” by proclaiming that there exists a parallel between Trump and Jesus, who have both come to deliver and save them—they need to stand up for Trump, who had selfishly used religious leaders as pawns and disinformation to incite an insurrection.

Evangelical leaders who risk losing (or have sold) their souls for grasping political power are preaching Trumpism or white supremacy under the flag of Christian nationalism—aren’t their preaching the political slogan MAGA, instead of the Magi, a stumbling block to millions of pre-believers of Christianity?

by MathPlus January 22, 2021