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A friend sent me a video about a multiplication trick.
The person draws out a certain number of lines for each number, and then counts out points to determine the answer.
It’s a bit hard to explain, so watch this video to see the method:
I may look out of place for wearing these to bars or clubs, but I can rest comfortably knowing I am doing something good for myself.
Identity theft is serious business. According to the Bureau of Justice, U.S. households suffered $13.3 billion in DIRECT financial losses from identity theft in 2010. A few households were lucky to have identity theft with no financial loss. Those that did suffer had an average loss of $2,200. That doesn’t even account for the hassle of the time spent resolving problems.
While you may not be able to prevent identity theft entirely, you can take steps to reduce your risk. Simple things like shredding up personal information and being vigilant can help you avoid being an easy target.
How good are you in protecting yourself? I found an interesting “risk assessment survey” that gives some idea.
This is an interesting game I found in the book Introduction to game theory by Peter Morris that reminds me about the board game Risk.
The Colonel Blotto problem is a zero-sum game about how to best position resources. While Colonel Blotto games are described in a military context, I will explain in future articles some of its useful applications in sports, advertising, elections, and many other areas.
Today I want to highlight a specific Colonel Blotto game that is convenient to solve mathematically.
This is a fun geometric problem with a practical solution:
How can one measure the diagonal of a brick without any formula, using three bricks and a ruler?
Can you solve it? Give it a try before reading the answer below.
I rode in my first buttonless elevator recently at the New Orleans Marriot. I have a mild interest in cool elevators and elevator routing, so I thought I’d share some trivia about these destination elevator dispatch systems.
Destination elevators do not have buttons inside the elevator. Instead, they work like this: you request your floor on the outside, and a routing system tells you which elevator to enter.
Since the elevators are less common, they have instructions, as follows:
I was recently at Jupiters Pizza in Champaign, IL, and we were trying to figure out what to order.
We were deciding between getting individual 9 inch pizzas at $7 a piece, or splitting a couple of medium 14 inch at $14 a piece.
For fun, I wanted to know which pizza was a better value in terms of total area (as is customary, the size refers to the diameter of the pizza). Usually it is the case that larger pizzas are better values, but it is not always the case, so I like to verify.
As I was slowly making the calculation on my cell phone calculator, my friend quickly calculated the 14 inch pizzas were a better deal.
How did he figure it out so fast? Here’s the neat trick he used.
You have no doubt heard that appliances use energy even when not in use. This standby power slowly drains energy at night, and these energy vampires can comprise up to 5% of energy usage.
Accordingly, some people I know save energy by unplugging big energy devices like gaming systems or TVs, or by using power saving surge protectors.
But occasionally, it’s worth applying the same principle to smaller devices, as explained in the story below.
You want to watch the football game. She wants to go out for a movie. Guess which one you end up doing.
It’s not exactly a scientific observation, but time and again, I have seen friends whipped by crazy girlfriends. (I would equally say there are a lot of crazy boyfriends, so don’t get caught up in the gender).
It turns out there is a game theory explanation for this phenomenon which is what I want to explore in this article.
You’ll see why crazy people get their way, and how you can use a similar strategy to fight back.
In a previous post, I discussed ways to design a better blind taste test.
This puzzle is about a taste test with historic significance to statistics.
In the winter, do you ever get back into your car while filling up gas to avoid the cold?
It’s tempting, but it’s a habit that you might want to reconsider. As miserable as it is outside, you are probably better off facing the cold than facing the risk of a refueling fire. (Edit: a couple of comments have pointed out how rare this fire is. I should rephrase: it’s your choice whether to face the cold or the small risk of a fire)
The problem is that re-entering your car encourages static charge buildup, which can ignite gasoline vapors at the pump.
Here’s a video that demonstrates a refueling fire:
This is one of the most important financial lessons. I still remember learning it in high school, particularly because the numbers were so compelling.
Here is a problem that demonstrates the value of investing at a young age.
It’s an old idea that if you carry large bills, you will be less likely to spend than if you carry singles and smaller bills. In fact, some people intentionally carry large bills as a means for spending self-control.
But how much more likely is it you will spend the small bills? And are there any undesirable side effects to carrying large bills?
I did some searching and found these questions were investigated in a 2009 study from the University of Maryland.
I came across a very interesting game theory example in the book The Survival Game.
Let’s you and I play this very simple game and analyze the best strategy.
There are tons of probability puzzles related to coin flipping.
This one is about the topic of hitting a lucky streak in flipping the same outcome repeatedly:
(the puzzle is a problem from one of my college math books, Apostol Calculus Volume II)
