Fasters's definitions

Algebra

The branch of mathematics that turns simple-minded people into symbol-minded citizens, who work out the values of unknowns x’s, y’s, z’s with the help of constants a’s, b’s, c’s.

Algebra helps students to move from the particular to the general, by enabling them to speak the language of science so that they’d make sense of the workings of the universe.

by Fasters June 26, 2022

≤ and ≥

Two inequality or “woke math” symbols, formed by the portmanteau symbols for the equals (=) symbol and the less than (<) and greater than (>) signs—they are read as “less than or equal to” and “greater than or equal to.”

When ≤ and ≥ are brought together, they look like ≤≥.

by Fasters July 8, 2023

Pitrepreneur

A math educator or geek who plans to turn their passion or obsession for the number π into cash.

Be it via newly coined pi-related definitions, factoids, and jokes on mugs and T-shirts; pop math books on or about pi for dummies, idiots, and morons; or pi NFTs and PiCoins, Prof. Ian, a self-professed pitrepreneur, wants to turn his geeky passion into obscene profits.

by Fasters March 31, 2022

Mathematical Weirdo

A math educator who approaches a question or problem from a new angle, by not thinking outside the box, but throwing out the box entirely, to increase their chances of experiencing an aha!

Be it trying to think about a wicked problem from a rogue leader’s viewpoint (like Trump, Putin, or Kim) and see what pops up; or self-imposing a set of rules and a time limit to focus on the issue; or reading the Bible and praying in the Spirit, is what some mathematical weirdos would playfully do to tackle their problem.

by Fasters February 2, 2023

Timeshitting

Timesheeting at a public toilet. When a public toilet cleaner ticks off their daily assigned tasks at regular intervals, while reporting any defect or breakdown, on a washroom inspection card.

The poor sanitary conditions at most public toilets worldwide shows that most janitors pay lip service to timeshitting, who are often pissed off by the inconsiderate behaviors of some members of the public, such as squatting with their dirty shoes on the toilet bowl, failing to flush the toilet after use, and stealing toilet rolls.

by Fasters January 26, 2022

Coffining

Punishing someone who refuses to wear a mask by making them lie in an open coffin, or forcing them to dig graves for Covid-19 victims, if they refuse to pay a fine or to do community service, such as cleaning public toilets and acting as a scarecrow under the hot sun for hours.

Some couples, who aren’t scared of coffining, are deliberately not wearing a face mask, so that they’d have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get intimate inside a fake coffin.

by Fasters September 15, 2020

DEI Math

Short for “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Math.” Math products or services that right-wing math educators and MAGA parents have chastised for their “woke” content, and have called on their lawmakers to censor them from their states to protect the young minds from “foreign indoctrination.”

Some Singapore math publishers have apparently been warned by some white Taliban curriculum censors in some red states—they need to remove pages that promote multicultural or DEI math, such as depicting Chinese, Arabic, and Hindu numerals for the numbers one to nine, or stating that the theorem named after Pythagoras was known to Chinese and Egyptian mathematicians long before the Greek numerologist was born.

by Fasters June 5, 2023