Math in grade school, hs and college.

This reminds me of a dumb card game we would sometimes play called "Indian poker". Everyone would be dealt a hand (usually just one card). You wouldn't look at your card(s). Then everyone would raise their cards up to their forehead so that everyone else could see them (kind of like a feather headress in reverse, hence the name). You would look around, and seeing everyone else's cards, you'd make some assumptions on what you had (e.g., if there weren't a lot of face cards showing your chances of having one went up, but if you saw 4 aces, you'd know that you didn't have one). It was an interesting, humorous twist, but only good for a game or two, and it helped to be under the influence.

The Birthday Boy wrote:

It is a case of people not reading the question correctly and/or applying erroneous methods.

for part i) ie probability of at least two of 23 people in a room having same birthday, that has been answered well enough ie P(A) = 1 - 365*364*...*(365-n+1)/(365^n)

sub in for n=23 gives P(A)=0.507...

Part ii) if A is the event of someone else having the same birthday as you. It is easier to calculate (not A). There are 364 ways that a single person can have a birthday different to your own.

P(A) = 1 - (364/365)^n

Let P(A)=0.5, therefore n=253

Got it. Tricky, tricky. Apparently I interpreted the question wrong equating number of people to number of birthdays. Had you asked how many unique birthdays, rather than number of people, for a 50% likelihood of one matching your own, then 183 is correct.

Good stuff.

In keeping with the math theme. Here is a little brain teaser.

Given five zeroes, using any mathematical operations, can you make a total of 120?

If you let me use the factorial ie (x! with x interger and x!= x(x-1)(x-2)...2x1

then (0! + 0! + 0! + 0! + 0!)! = 120

(0! = 1 by definition)

Factorial Man wrote:

If you let me use the factorial ie (x! with x interger and x!= x(x-1)(x-2)...2x1

then (0! + 0! + 0! + 0! + 0!)! = 120

(0! = 1 by definition)

That's correct. Maybe a little too easy?

Disturbing?

I blundered into this thread and, until the last page, found it one of the most interesting I ever saw here.

I'd accepted the fact that I was one of those few who were doomed to spend their lives loathing their math teachers.

I still do, and have the odd flashback now and then, but am surprised to see I am not in such as small a % as I thought.

Nice quote, but what do you say to those who try something

repeatedly and still come up short?

I remember my own frustration and sorry to say tears

when math class was involved. I'd have washed the school floors instead if they'd let me back then.

I haven't met an illiterate yet who was in the least embarassed by their inability to read.

You might be advised to note the employees in some stores here in the US who cannot even speak English.

Does that count as a form or illiteracy?

How did they even get into this country in this age of Terror?

"Why would anyone want to major in math" is a lot like asking "Why would anyone want to run a marathon." Some people just like it.

An interesting question that often comes up is: Why do so many Americans hate math? I do not know of any official poll that has been done, but I would bet that the U.S. would lead the world in the "people who hate math" category.

USA is NUMBER ONE again!

J. T. wrote:

"Why would anyone want to major in math" is a lot like asking "Why would anyone want to run a marathon." Some people just like it.

An interesting question that often comes up is: Why do so many Americans hate math? I do not know of any official poll that has been done, but I would bet that the U.S. would lead the world in the "people who hate math" category.

I'd say America has enough math lovers to produce a country that is the technological envy of the world. What more do you want? An overabundance of eggheads?

Really? What sort of technology does the average American citizen have access to that the average resident of, say, Western Europe or Japan doesn't (and wants)?

I'll assume the final point was tongue-in-cheek as I can't imagine anyone saying that having more smart people in a society is a bad thing.

Face it, the average American reads at the 6th grade level and probably computes at the 4th. Heck, my experience is that the average guy can't do Algebra which is normally taught in the freshman year of high school.

You're either an egghead yourself or you've never been around many.

There are tens of millions of "SMART" people who don't care to waste their time with anything beyond basic math. Being enamored with Algebra isn't THE ticket to intelligence. You outta know better.

You might be great at math but your historical acumen needs some working on.

Let's settle here and be nice, eh?

How is math taught in foreign lands that score higher than the US in math?

What techniques, methodologies and approaches are used?

The answer to that question would seem to be the key, right?

This is the 1st long thread in Letsrun.com history that did not become a name-calling, trash-talking affair.

It wasn't intended to be.

This stemmed from my asking about why anyone would Want to major in Math, honest.

The truth can be strange sometimes. I never expected this to get this long and, to be honest, interesting.

On the Run wrote:

It wasn't intended to be.

This stemmed from my asking about why anyone would Want to major in Math, honest.

The truth can be strange sometimes. I never expected this to get this long and, to be honest, interesting.

It's really not that hard to understand. The growth of mathematics has been an integral part of human development over the millennia, from when people first started making scratch marks on stones to the ancient greeks to the studies of algebra, calculus, and all the branches that have grown out of them. Some people like challenges, and many of us find that in the study of mathematics. Without higher mathematics, none of the technology today would exist, such as your television or computer.

It's a combination of personal satisfaction and also a chance to contribute to the most basic science of all. Math is the foundation for all the sciences, just like running is the foundation for most sports. Math majors also tend to be some of the most diligent, driven people (based on my experience). Why people hate math so much is beyond me; no one who has possibly studied the evolution of mathematics over the course of history could be anything but fascinated by it. Maybe it's taught the wrong way in schools, I don't know, my question is why WOULDN'T someone want to pursue the knowledge of mathematics?

you suck at life.