Not stupid. Just, like, lazy.
We live in a culture of Selective Stupidity. Most people can do the basic maths of: + – x % $$$$, but many don’t bother. We leave maths thinking to machines and their algorithms.
So you buy 4 chocolate bars at 50 cents each and, for fun, ask the shop assistant ‘how much?’
K-ching!
They work the answer out on the cash register. They have to record the purchase. Still, how hard would it be to say $2? We don’t even try.
Leigh Thomas, REUTERS reported (6 Dec, 2023) ‘On average across the OECD, one out of four 15-year-olds tested as a low performer in maths, reading and science, which means they could not use basic algorithms or interpret simple texts, the study found.’
But where you live in the world counts, right?
Yeah! But Who Cares? ….
To challenge middle school students to think about the numbers they read here are a few tricky questions:
Look at the following questions and see if you can work out why the maths is totally dodgy.
1. Dumb and Dumber
Solar Plus claimed, after a survey of 60 customers, that 99.98% of customers would recommend their product.
What’s wrong with their Maths?
Answer here.
2. Wanna get rich? Look at the Graph, Dude!
Financial advisers around the world wheeled out graphs like the one below to show that investing in the stock market is very secure and that down turns in the market in 2007 were minor. Oh Yeah!
What is wrong with this graph!
Answer here.
3. Run a Red Light. 0.9 sec! $234 fine! Is that fair?
Look at the maths. How far would a Mazda 3 travelling at 60 kph (37.3 mph) travel in 0.9 seconds?
Ans here.
4. Can you out run a fireball?
This is a Movie Cliché we see over and over. But is it possible?
A Fireball travels at 400 m/sec. That’s metres/sec. Now can you do the maths?
Answer here.
5. You could win the lottery! The least drawn numbers are ….
If the least drawn numbers are 41, 32, 10, 43, 35 and 20 will picking these numbers improve your chances of winning the lottery?
Answer here.
6. The Equation for the Funniest Joke is:
According to The Telegraph UK the formula for the funniest joke is:
x = (fl + no ) / p
Where
x = funniness of joke
f = funniness of punchline
l = the length of the build-up
n = the amount some falls over
o = the “Ouch” factor of physical pain or social embarrassment
p = power of the punchline
So, what’s wrong with this equation? Ask Weird Al Yankovic.
Ans here.
(Quick Ans: It’s all rubbish. Guess work x cow manure = bulldust. You cannot measure any of these variables. What’s the unit for measuring funniness?)
7. Coconuts kill 150 people a year. Does that sound right?
OK. You are not a crazy death-by-coconut research scientists. But have a guess. Are coconuts that dangerous?
Answer here.
8. 9 out of 10 serial killers prefer murdering kids with Emo hair.
Does this sound reasonable?
Answer here.
Quick Answer: There’s a lot of joke maths out there but some folk take it seriously.
Takuo Toda, a Japanese Engineer, broke the world record for the longest flight for a paper plane again when his 10cm long plane stayed in the air for 29.2 seconds. 
Mathspig Blog 