Mailbag! (or, I Reply to Your Google Search Terms)

I’ve always wanted to write a column responding to reader mail. Just one problem: I don’t technically get any reader mail. The solution? Google search terms!

12 Days of Christmas, the Hard Way

Once there was a song. It was maddeningly repetitive and endlessly parodied. It endorsed “quantity over quality” in gift-giving. It advocated buying for our loved ones not a good book, or a nice pair of pajamas, or even a scented candle, but teeming masses of geese, each one actively laying eggs. The song proposed, dubiously, that … Continue reading 12 Days of Christmas, the Hard Way →

The 23rd-Best Sandwich I’ve Ever Had

"But... what are the 22 better ones?" "Turn over my raw data? Nice try, pal."

Whiteboards: A Love Story

I spent months scraping half-dry markers against the shiny surface, too stubborn to admit I was writing in invisible ink. Students in the third row squinted at my writing like it was a high-stakes eye exam.

Her phone number is pi?

"Check it out! I got her digits!" "Uh... those are the first ten digits of pi."

The Teacher-Centric Universe (or, Galileo Would Be Ashamed)

I’ve had moments—awful moments—when I realize I’ve lost them. The whole class. I’m like a general who’s been marching ahead with his nose in the air, and then looks up to realize that his army is nowhere in sight.

Right Before the Quiz

C'mon, you think I'm so desperate for a sign of engagement that I'll fall for your obvious ruse?

Headlines from a Mathematically Literate World

Our World: "Market Rebounds after Assurances from Fed Chair." Mathematically Literate World: "Market Rebounds after Regression to the Mean."

The Master, the Pupil, and the Clumsy Game of Chess

In my recommendation letter for his college apps, I described Zhi as “a superhuman student sent to our school from the future.” I stand by it. His diligence is otherworldly.

Tic-Tac-Toe Puzzles (and the Difference Between a Puzzle and a Game)

I’m still stunned by the response to my post on Ultimate Tic-Tac-Toe, which spawned a whole fleet of mobile apps, was translated into Spanish by the Argentine Department of Education, and has drawn more than half a million visitors.