"How did you happen to be so good with fractions," friends used to ask when I was in middle school. Everybody knows everybody universally dislikes fractions. For me, it was all about distance swimming. I knew I could solve the world's problems during a long workout (though I'd forget the solutions to the world's most serious problems as I climbed out of the water); what I didn't know was how I was using swimming to solidify my working facility with fractions. It was simple: as I swam 1,000 meters, I was constantly figuring out what fractions -- and what ratios were identical to the reduced fractions -- could represent how far I had swum and how much further I had to swim before I finished. It started simply: if I swam 40 lengths in a 25 meter pool, then after 7 lengths, I was 7/40th done and had 33/40 to go.
Sometimes, however, I swam in the 20 meter YMCA pool and the numbers became different. I needed to focus and not just rely on memory. I now had to swim 50 lengths to complete 1,000 meters.
My thinking soon became more complicated and required swifter calculations -- I moved to measuring what fraction of the swim I had completed for each stroke -- or even each partial stroke.
Bored with that, I began watching my teammates swimming in the neighboring lanes. What were their ratios and how were their numbers different from mine? At what points would we pass each other?
I long since moved away from my home town, stopped swimming, and became a math teacher. I forgot about fractions in the fast lane.
Then deep into middle age, I started swimming again. And calculating fractions. I kept this secret lest my lane-mates think me insane.
I don't always swim in pools. There are lakes with cool fresh water, sunbeams that cut through the waves, and no visible bottoms. Plants grow through the water towards the source of the sunbeams, branching in infinitely smaller "Y" shapes at the same angles. Bubbles surface and break into more and smaller bubbles from the depths; there are no numbers. Only fractals. And chaos. And new things to think about.
Your blog: where do you use math in secret? Or if you don't use math in secret, where might you start using math in secret or not in secret so you can increase your skills in math?
It's not much of a secret, but I love Marvel, DC, Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, and many other science fictional things like that. Many times when I am watching them on tv, and they do something, like when superman moved the earth after remaining in the sun for 15min. The force needed to move an object out of the sun's orbit is about 1000 times less than the object's mass. The earth's mass is about 6.6 sextillion tons (6,600,000,000,000,000,000,000). So if you take the earth's mass, and divide it by 1000, then you can see how much mass superman could lift. Superman can lift about 6.6 quintillion tons. And because he can infinitely increase his strength by using the sun, his strength is limitless.
ReplyDeletethere are other examples, like when I tried to figure out how fast warp speed was in Star Trek, in which I found a formula: V = W^10/3 * C. V is velocity in meters/second, W is the warp number (like warp 1,warp 7,or warp 8.5), and C is the speed of light in m/s. The only problem with this equation is that it does not apply to any warp number greater than or equal to 9. But, you can calculate any warp under 9 with this formula. For example, at warp 8, a ship is traveling at 3.07 * 10^11 m/s.
I have even spent hours taking all about 200 or more dinosaur toys, measuring their lengths and heights, and seeing what scale size they were to actual dinosaurs. Some were a 1 inch:2 foot scale. Most were 1 inch: 40 inches. And there were a few that were 1 cm: 50 feet. I calculated all of this by measuring my dinosaurs' heights and lengths and then comparing them to the actual length and height of the real dinosaur. It was quite fun to do. And I was doing that when I was in the 1st grade!
Now I know that none of this is really practical in the real world, but the concepts might be useful. I might have a model for a car, and I don't have dimensions, but I have the scale. With this info, I can find out what the dimensions of the car are. There are other ways that this math can be applied, but I think that it's more fun to do it with superheroes and starships.
Trevor, you are amazing. You really did this with Toy DInosaurs? Fantastic. You have a great brain.
DeleteFor six years of my life, I did gymnastics. I would go almost everyday after school and spend my entire evening at the gym. Gymnastics revolves around shapes, angles, and lines. On every event, whether it was vault, floor, beam, or bars, your body was always supposed to be in a certain shape at a certain angle. For me vault was my best event. Why? It was because after years of perfecting my front hand-spring vault, I knew the secret. It started out with a good run, hurdling, and hitting the spring board with your knees should be in-between a 90 and 145 degree angle, for the maximum spring off the board. Next, you should hit the vault at 45 degree angle to the table, so you will pop off the table and reach your maximum height. Throughout the entire vault, your body should remain in a straight line. If you do all of this correctly, you should have an excellent vault.
ReplyDeleteToday, in diving, I use angles and shapes in the same way. Dives are done in four different positions. Tucked, meaning your knees are bent and as close as possible to your chest, piked, meaning your body is folded in half, like a 90 degree angle, but your face should be against your knees. Next, there is the straight position, meaning your body remains in a 180 degree line throughout the dive, and free, which is only used if you are doing a dive with a twist in it. Angles are everywhere. From when you hit the end of the board, to when you are in the air, and lastly when you enter the water. Diving combines power with grace, which can be seen in this video on how angles are relevant to diving: diving.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZGSHAmTspM
Oh my. This is a fab video. Wonderful. Thanks for sharing this. I'm still laughing. I'm so glad you and Trevor, at least, are like me in this regard.
DeleteEvery student has to do homework at some point, and every student at some point just wants to be done with their homework. But unlike what I imagine other students do, when I am in a rush to be done with my homework, I actually end up doing extra work. I want to know how much homework I have left, and how long it will take me, so I use math to figure that out. I count the number of pages in my history textbook that I have to read, and add the fractions of the pages. .25 + .5 + 4 pages = 4.75 pages more to read. I figure out how many math problems I have to do, then how many parts there are in each question, and then I can figure out how the fraction of the homework that I have done, and what fraction more I have to do. I also look at how many subjects I have homework to do for a night, and then assuming that I have the same amount of homework in each subject, I figure out what percentage done I am with my total homework.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to fractions, I figure out at what rate I am doing my homework for a certain subject, or I know my typical rate from past assignments, and so then I can figure out about how much homework to expect. For example: if I am reading a page every 2 minutes, and I have 4.5 more pages to read, I can figure out that I'll be working for about nine more minutes (assuming I don't get distracted again doing math to figure out what fraction of my homework I still have to do).
Really, doing this math is a hindrance to my homework, and I end up doing extra math trying to figure out how much math homework I still have to do, but it helps keep my mental math skills sharp.
A lot of students are either math and science oriented or language and history oriented, but I am one of those students who likes all classes. My best class fluctuates and changes every year.There really hasn't been a class that I have never loved. When I was really young I used to love English, and then in eighth grade I loved math. As a freshman I was extremely interested in history, math and French. Well, last year in the second semester I was taking geometry. The second semester is also when all the freshman write a history term paper. History and geometry were classes that I really enjoyed, and when term paper time came rolling around, I was able to put them together. The idea behind a term paper revolved around proving a thesis statement. We started our term papers by simply gathering facts about our subject. We wrote each fact on an individual note card. Eventually we started putting facts together to form three arguments that would support our thesis. This is where I began to see a connection between geometry and history. I pretended each fact on a note card was a postulate. A postulate does not need to be proved; it is a fact and we can assume that it is true. The facts that I had gathered on my note cards were just like postulates because I could assume those were true too. I didn't have to prove them in my paper. Theorems are proved by definitions and postulates. My paper needed three arguments to prove my thesis statement. I used my three arguments as theorems. I could prove these three arguments with the facts I had collected on my note cards, just like you could prove a theorem with postulates. Then, my thesis statement was what I was ultimately trying to prove. When I wrote my outline for the essay, I wrote it almost exactly as if I were writing a proof. The only difference was that I also had to prove my three "theorems" (the three arguments that I was using to prove my thesis statement). Next time I am assigned a research paper, I will use this strategy again.
ReplyDeleteThere are many different places that i could use math secretly but, rarely do I. On the days that the lawn needs to be mown, I use area equations and estimations on the size of my yard as a way to find out the most efficient route through my yard. Is this secret math? Another example of secret math could be how I think about golf. When standing on the tee box, I sometimes can be overwhelmed by how small the fairway looks way out there at about 270 yards away. A 40 yard gap may look like its really only about 5 yards. I begin to calculate the percent of fairway to rough at that point where my ball will go and the idea of hitting the ball to that tiny spot way out there seems like a more manageable feat after the math has been done. Math on the golf course comes in handy in two ways. The first is to help you understand what shots to hit, and the second is to help you take your mind someplace else so you can stay calm. You keep your mind occupied and at ease for the time being if you do some math about the shot you will hit next. If you understand the mathematics, then you can understand the shot.When trying to think about the shot, you need to think about what angle the ball must take at a certain speed to reach where you want it to reach, factor in the wind and elevation, and you are no longer worried about hitting the shot, but worried about how to figure out what to do with the shot. After the math, the shot is a piece of cake because I have taken my mind away from worrying about golf and made golf (in my mind) way easier than it really is because math says it easy in my head! For me, contemplating all of these things at each shot, helps me relax and stay focused.
ReplyDeleteI use math when I am doing my homework. I use fractions just as you do, to see how much work I have completed and how much I still have left to work on. I like to calculate these fractions into percentages because I feel like I get a better understanding of how much I have done and what is left. This helps me get a better view on how I can reach 100% rather than a number out of a number. I think this helps me push myself to get things done because I think to myself, I can do it just this more percentage to go until I reach 100%.
ReplyDeleteA place I use math in secret is when I am helping my mom put away grocery bags. I count the bags quickly when bringing them in from the car and when I start to put away the bags I get a fraction of how many bags I have put away and how many are left to go. When I first start putting away bags it is tedious because I know this will take a while until I finish. Once I start getting a higher fraction or percentage, I feel relived because I will soon be finishing.
When I use math in secret, I feel like the idea of fractions and percentages help me because they set a goal for me. It helps me get through tedious work. This goal is kind of like a way to keep on track too.I think when my brain is trying to figure out the fractions and percentages it distracts me from work and I will always try to work to a 100%.
It actually made me very excited when I started reading this blog, because I am also a distance swimmer! I can also relate 100% to trying to figure out how much we’ve swam, how many laps are needed for a certain race, or even how to read the clock based on the interval we were given. That last one can be especially tricky. Sometimes my coach will say, “Julia, you go to Academy, I thought you were supposed to be good at math!” I usually just laugh and say that sometimes it’s hard to keep track when we are supposed to go. But that isn’t exactly where math comes into swimming for me.
ReplyDeleteI mainly use it to figure out how long the set is going to take. For example we may be doing 4 X 125’s on 1: 30, a 200 non-free drill, and then 8 X 50’s on 40; do that three times. That’s not a very good set, but it serves its purpose for this blog. First, I would want to figure out how long the 125’s would take, and this is end up being my process of thinking for sets that are over a minute: 1 minute times 4 is 4. 30 seconds times four is 2 minutes. 4+2=6. 6 minutes. For the 200 I would assume it would take about 3 or 4 minutes because it’s drill. For the 50’s I would take a different approach than the 125’s: We are doing 8 and they are on 40, 40X8=320. It would take 3 minutes and 20 seconds. 6+3:20+4 = 13 minutes and 20 seconds, multiplied by 3 = 40 minutes. This workout would take about 40 minutes. Ironically, these sound just like word problems, and I sometimes I don’t care much for those.
I use math for other things than just this for swimming, such as finding my average for my splits in a longer race, or just figuring out how much time we have left in practice. Also, it’s more fun to actually think about something other than cheesy song lyrics when you’re in the water for 2 hours.
Many people use math without even thinking about it. I tend to use it when I'm running in sports. Depending on how many laps, sprints, or conditioning of any sort, I use fractions to figure out how much I have left. Sometimes it can be relieving, but most of the time I keep thinking there's still a lot more running I have to do.
ReplyDeleteI also use math in school, not just in math class. I know, shocker! I'm one of those students who has to see their grade on tests and quizzes the day after I take them. Whenever I get them back if the percentage isn't on the test I use my calculator to figure out my grade, or if the fraction is pretty easy I can do it in my head. Math tends to be a very helpful tool in life.
I use fractions in pretty much every aspect of my life. I don't even consider myself a math-oriented person but this is how my mind works and organizes things. Sometimes it is actually kind of a bad habit. Whenever I'm doing anything at all (unless it is entertaining), I calculate my progress as a fraction every few minutes. That being said, I rarely, if ever, use any kinds of advanced math in my everyday life.
ReplyDeleteOften times it works as motivation to finish what I'm doing. For example, if I'm not feeling good during a run I (involuntarily) use fractions to convince myself that I can finish. If I know the distance and can estimate how far I've gone, I can calculate how far I've gone/need to go. I also do it with homework assignments; knowing that I'm 3/4 done with math homework or that I'm 5/8 done with history reading are reassuring feelings, for example. In essence, I use math to eliminate anxiety and annoyance caused by tasks I don't like.
Before I came to the Academy as a shy sixth grader wanting to dive head first into good grades and new friendships, I use to dance. I would spend all my time talking about dance, watching dance and even dreaming about dance. I was obsessed! When I started dance ten years ago, I didn't think it had anything to do with math. I thought how good you could get relied on how skilled you were and the amount of practice and passion you were willing to dedicate to it. Once I got older, I realized that yes, that was 50% of it. The other 50% relied on math! I started seeing the similarities between math and dance. Dance is based on angles and formations...same as math! For example: when leaping through the air, you want to spread your legs at a perfect 180 degree angle. When turning, you could do a quarter turn (25 degrees) a half turn (50 degrees) and even a full turn (360 degrees). Once I started seeing the connections, I could apply them. Once I was able to apply them, I noticed my leaps were getting better (and prettier) and my turns were getting faster and more precise.
ReplyDeleteSadly, I quit dance for four years. Just recently I started back up and the connection with math is still there. I was surprised because now I have a better understanding of all these relations (and what they mean) so I am able to apply them better. And hey, now I'm as good as I use to be!
GA 2, per 8
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your blog post, I have begun to think about when I truly use math in my daily life, and I realize that I use it quite often. Like you, I have used fractions a lot. They make it easy to categorize my progress. I tend to use it in things that are boring or just strenuous. I will calculate what percentage of a cross country workout we have done and have left. Or even (not in your class) figured out how long we have left in a certain period. It makes homework a more enjoyable situation too. It allows you to actually track your progress and comprehend your time left. Sometimes, I think about how many hours I have left in a day, and that helps me stage my time with homework. Overall, math is a key, underlying tool, used throughout life.
After a long, stressful day at school and a hard volleyball practice I enjoy taking a run around my neighborhood in the cool evening air. It clears my mind of worries of the day, and sometimes I find my mind calculating how far I've come and how much distance I have left to go, much like your swimming. I judge my distance by landmarks, for example, I know that once I pass a certain house around a cul de sac, I have gone 0.5 miles and have 4.5 left to go. My calculations aren't nearly as complicated as the ones you described, and I have a few ideas how I can expand them in order to further improve my math skills. I can start wearing a watch while I run, and therefore approximate my pace, and then try to change it in order to meet my goal. There are many ways in which I can use math secretly, and hopefully my strategy to use it while I run will improve my mental math skills.
ReplyDeleteI never really thought about fractions in my life, but after reading your blog, I see that I use them almost everyday without even thinking about it. Often times I automatically resort to fractions to see how much progress I have made. This happens in running and when I see that I'm almost 1/2 done with the run, I use that to push myself to finish that last half.
ReplyDeleteSimilarly, over the summer I found myself using this subconsciously using fractions to get through the day. During the summer I worked on campus in grounds keeping. It was a long day but after each hour I could mark that I was 1/7 done. With a break at 10:00 and then an hour off for lunch, I would break up the day into thirds rather than sevenths (I would not count the lunch). When it was time for break I would be 1/3 of the way done, then when I was at lunch I would be 2/3 done with the day.
I would also divide up my work into fractions, giving 1/2 of the area we had to rake to my partner and then 1/2 for myself. I would calculate how much I could get done and often times find myself aiming for a specific fraction. An example would be striving myself to finish 1/3 of the weeds by break time so that I could finish another 1/3 by lunch and then hopefully finish up the last third by the end of the day.
The math I use in secret isn't exactly in "secret" so to speak. My family often plays board games where you build out your specific little area or section of the game and then calculate all the points at the end. The addition/multiplication just comes so quickly to my head that I end up knowing who has won the game before we actually tally all the points. My dad yells at me to stop telling us the scores before we get the chance to add them up, but I just end up blurting it out, revealing who the winner is.
ReplyDeleteTime calculations is also a big part of the math I do "secretly". During long cross country runs i will time mile by mile and deduce how far we have gone and how far we have to go. It's not the best habit to get into, but it gives me something to do while I run. I also am constantly making myself timed schedules of the things I will do in a given day, how much free time I will have after them and what I can do to speed things up.
I hope to be able to figure these sorts of things faster and faster as the years go by!
Much like your fractions when swimming, I do the same during volleyball practice! I love volleyball with all my heart, but going to a 2 hr practice after a long grueling day of school and not getting the proper amount of sleep the night before is never ever ever a recipe for success. So more times than not, I find myself looking at the clock, doing simple calculations that make me feel just a little bit more motivated to work hard in practice.
ReplyDeletePractice starts at 3:45 in the weight room. We are usually in there until about 4:15, thats already 30/135 of practice which is roughly 22%. We then warm up our arms until 4:30 leaving there only 90 min left. Once the clock hits 5:00 it's all down hill from there, just one hour left. Sometimes I feel guilty doing these calculations instead of focusing on what I should be doing. I have recently realized that I think way too much while playing volleyball, which doesn't work out too well. But I have changed my ways so I work so much harder when I know I am almost done. I see no reason to be at practice if you aren't going to work hard and push to the end.
I have noticed math come in to sports a lot lately. I think it is pretty interesting. It definitely makes me feel like all those hours I spent memorizing my multiplication table worth it!
During the weekends, when I'm playing video games, I'm having fun with math. (Whoa! Isn't that something?) In a certain game that I play (Dota 2), the engine uses something called Pseudo Random Distribution (PRD) to determine when effects toggle on or off during auto attacking. Basically this means that the game has something in place to determine when you get a slight random advantage when you attack (In gaming terms this is called a proc). Many other games use something similar, but also different called True Random Distribution (or TRD).
ReplyDeleteIn TRD, the chance for your character to get the buff on the attack happens like this: Each time you attack, the game rolls a random integer for this attack on the scale of 1-100. It is then compared to a static value, say 1-25, - where if the integer rolled is in this span of numbers, the effect on the attack (we call it the "passive" ability in gamer terms,) is toggled on for that one attack. In the game I play however, the first parts of the process is identical to TRD, (each attack rolls 1-100, and it is compared to a value,) but after that, something's different.
In Pseudo Random Distribution, the value that the rolled integer is compared to is constantly switching after it has been found (non-static). The equation that is used for this is
P(N) = (C)(N), where P(N) equals the non-static chance value of effect toggling, C equals a smaller constant, and N equals the number of attacks that have gone by without toggling the ability. In-game, each ability that a character has, has a percent chance of toggling. For example, a certain character's ability has a 25% change of toggling on, which gives it a locked value of 8.474% for the variable C. Each time the attack doesn't trigger the toggle effect, the value of ((C)(N)) increases, as N is getting larger, increasing the probability in that specific set of 12 attacks. (After 12, PRD resets, but it is impossible to not get a proc (random effect) once in this set of 12)
In simple words, this game I play uses a certain type of generating engine, PRD, to make the game more fair. By using PRD, the game greatly reduces the chance that a certain person playing will get two random effects in a row, giving them an unfair advantage.
While I play the game, I'm not thinking exactly to this level, but by knowing the percent change that one character's ability has to toggle, I can get a general idea of when the proc will hit, and use it to my advantage. For example, if my character has a percentage change of 25% for their passive ability, I know that the probability, the fraction ((C)(N))/12, increases every time I attack
Hey, when every move can mean the difference between losing a game, or winning it, it's good to know the numbers and fractions backing you up.
Here's a video that outlines what this post was about, and more: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdS-K_rosCI
The math that I use during my daily life isn't exactly "secret" but I do use math in many things I do. In cross country before we run our coach tells us how many miles we'll have to run that day. To keep track of how many miles I've ran I use landmarks or my running watch. After I know how many miles I've ran, I calculate the percentage of miles I have left to run and based on my average pace I calculate how long it will take me to run that length. Although this math is very simple, I do it basically every day and it keeps me constantly working.
ReplyDeleteReading your blog along with everyone else's comments about using such complicated math in their lives in all sorts of different ways, while simultaneously making me feel slightly useless, really gives me a new perspective on the way I think about using math in my everyday life. In all honestly, I can't say that I frequently find myself pondering how much weight superman can lift or wondering how I can optimize my dives during diving season using different angles and hurdling speeds.
ReplyDeleteHowever, as lazy as I might seem by saying this, I truly do use math in my life. During drivers ed being bored out of my mind, I would calculate how much time was left in the class until I got to go home, calculate how much time it would take to do homework, and then finally subtract those numbers from the total time until midnight. The remaining time was of course the amount of time I would be able to spend wasting my life away playing Assassin's Creed. Then, using the average time it would take me to play 1 memory sequence in each game, I would average it and calculate how long it would take me to finish the game spending about the same time playing every night. Combining all these numbers after weeks of drivers ed and after school every day, I came to find to my disappointment that no; I would not be able to finish all three games of Ezio's Trilogy AND Assassins Creed 3 before AC Black Flag is released on October 29th. In any case, subtracting 1 hour of gameplay per week to earn money (at minimum wage) to buy the game on the release date would alas not be enough to even afford the game itself, only subtracting the amount of money it takes to buy myself one hot chai every sunday morning until the date of release.
I use math for a lot of things, but the most prominent one would probably be for my running. We have a certain time or distance goal for each day's workout, and depending on which it is, I will set a pace for myself, see how long it takes me to go a certain distance OR how far I have to go to make a certain time, and then occasionally do the calculation that tells me how far I have gone and how much I have left.
ReplyDeleteAnother good example is I will calculate how long the school week is, I will usually calculate how long each period is in proportion to the school week, so If I know that it is 3rd period on a Tuesday, it is the 11th period of the week, and I am 11/40 done with the school week.
Believe it or not, I use math the same way that you do, except for doing running, and not swimming. If I am ever running long distance, I will make sure that I know where I am going to run to, and how far it is. Although it would seem smart to do this before I start running, I do it during. It helps me keep my mind off running, and it keeps me from getting bored. Sometimes, usually only after I reach the halfway point of my run, I purposefully do the calculations in my head wrong. For example, say I have almost ran 2 miles of a three mile run, instead of thinking to myself that I have 1/3 left to go, I make myself think that I am only halfway done. I am not quite sure of why I do this, but it has become a habit.
ReplyDeleteI not only do this during long distance running, but sprints as well. The only difference is that when I sprint, I am not able to think so I calculate during my rest periods. Also, I still purposefully do my math wrong so that I think I have more sprints than I actually do. I am sure that I "secretly" use math in other types of ideas as well, but not as often.
I use math mainly as just a basis to figure out the amount of time I would need to complete a homework assignment, or to judge how fast I need to go to cover a distance in a certain amount of time, very similar to your swimming, but I use it closer to how Tracey uses it, not swimming, but sprinting. As our coach requires us to run a certain distance in the allotted time, I use the math to figure out how quickly I need to complete the lap. In doing so, this sometimes distracts me from any cramps/pains I might be feeling. But, there are sometimes where calculating math takes away from my focus running, and it hinders me in the long run.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't something I like to admit, but I do use math in my daily life, or at least somewhat daily. To put it into a fraction. I use fractions outside of school 3/7 days of the week at the least. These 3 days of the week are the days that I go to the gym. Each day I go I know exactly how many reps of each exercise I do, and for most of them, I do 25 reps set out over 5 sets. So, using fractions I know how many more reps I need to do in order to complete my workout. Say I do one rep, that means I am 1/25th finished with doing that exercise. When I do the first part of a rep like in a squat where you descend, that descent would count as 1/50th of my workout, and the ascent would make it 1/25th of my workout.
ReplyDeleteGA2: Response to "Fractions in the Fast Lane."
ReplyDeleteBeginning in the fourth grade, every time I looked at a clock, I would try to find a mathematical relationship between the numbers. My brain would try to find a relationship through multiplication, division, square roots, addition, subtraction, fractions, etc. Almost each time I looked at the red numbers counting the hours and minutes of the day, I would be able to find a connection between them. This often kept my mind occupied and exercised my distantly and recently learned math skills. Some mathematical relationships were easy to find like 5:25 p.m. (the square root of 25 is 5, and 5 times 5 is equal to 25), while others were slightly more challenging like 4:17 (7 minus 1 is 6, and both 4 and 6 have a common factor of 2. Another way to find the relationship of these numbers is to think in terms of subtraction and addition: 4 minus 1 equals 3 and 4 plus 3 equals 7). I would not only try to find the relationship of numbers on clocks but on the license plates of cars, as well.
Although it sounds really weird, I would try to do the same thing with license plate numbers. On the twelve hour road trips to California, after I had tired of reading, I would listen to music and keep my mind occupied with trying to find the mathematical relationships between the numbers on the license plate. Almost everyday, I practice my mathematical skills with common, everyday items such as a clock or license plate.
The first thing that comes to mind for using fractions in secret is during our running in soccer. When we do sprints we usually do 10-12 long sprints and each one i count down so that it helps me get through it. With each spring being 1/10 of one, I realize that I am half way done after 5. Nearing the end I've done 8/10 of the sprints and am excited that I only have 2/10 to go. Using the fractions sort of like a countdown really helps me keep my mind off of how tired I am and helps me make it through the sprints.
ReplyDeleteAnother time I use fractions in secret is during a long trip. The trip i make most often is a 4 hour trip to a place called Mosquero. After making the Trip plenty of times I've gotten used to the 4 hours and now it goes by a lot quicker. Still I calculate the time in fractions to help the time go by even fast. Knowing it takes about an hour to get to Santa Fe I know that that I am 1/4 done with the trip when we get there. It then takes about another hour to get to Las Vegas so by then I am 2/4 done. Using this really helps me get a sense of how much time is left and makes the trip a lot faster.
The only time I really use math in secret like that is while i am running. In soccer we often have to run the length of the field 12 times. While i am running i am constantly coming up with fractions to tell my self how much longer i have left. I even do this after the first one. I would often say to myself, i am 1 12th of the way done, or i would say i only need to do 11 more of those sprints. I don't exactly know why i do this. I think i do this so i can sugar coat the amount of running i have to do and tell myself that it is not that far.
ReplyDeleteI also do the exact same thing with the amount of time is left in class. I make up all sorts of fractions trying to tell myself class is almost over. This is the only time i secretly do math
Like a lot of other people, I also find myself using math while playing sports. I play softball, but since I play an outfield position, the ball doesn't come in my direction very often. While I’m standing in the grass waiting, I find myself thinking about both physics and geometry. However, since I can’t do any exact math without a speed gun and a machine to stop time while I do calculations, I just think hypothetically. If the pitcher throws a really fast ball, it’s more likely to fly to the outfield if the batter hits it, because the ball will still have lots of momentum.
ReplyDeleteSo, I usually stand in right field. Let’s say that our pitcher is pretty good, and they throw excellent pitches 60% of the time, at a speed fast enough for the average batter to hit to the outfield. Our batter is decent, so we’ll say that they hit the ball 50% of the time. I’ll split up the side of the ball facing the batter into four, so there is a 25% chance that the batter will hit it in that sweet spot that will send it to the outfield. There’s also about a 25% chance that the ball will fly to the batter’s right, in my direction. With a few calculations, the probability that the ball will fly to my area is a little less than 2%. Of course, I can get the ball if it rolls past the infielders, but it’s still no wonder that I spend so much time thinking about math during softball games.