Probability + Life... How Beautiful

Probability is all around us, and at times it can work to either our advantage or disadvantage. Sometimes, when life hands us an unfortunate situation, like an extremely large man conveniently jumping into the pool during the 7 seconds Ms. Mariner was near him in the pool.  First of all, when there are 15 open lanes in a pool, and someone decides to get into the one RIGHT next to you, you should immediately resort to thinking that this person is a bit on the socially uneducated side of the spectrum. There was a mere 1 in 15 chance that he would be next to Ms. Mariner, and of course, he proved to be that 6.77%.  Because she is a speedy swimmer, averaging around 22.5 seconds per 25 meters, there was a high probability of 31.1% that she would have some sort of altercation with this very attractive fella, so in order to have minimized her chances, it would have been beneficial to her if she swam slower, allowing the man to adjust himself in the pool, assuming he didn't sink to the bottom.

I live anywhere from a wonderful 4 minutes to a horrific 7 minutes away from school, and this three minute differentiation results from traffic lights.  Nothing kills my vibe more than getting every red light, and every day, the duration of each green/red light changes, so i never know if i will make the next one.  Each of the 4 lights that i go though everyday can be either red, yellow, or green.  Considering that I am a good driver, yet I like to reach my destination in a timely manner, I will count yellow as a "GO."  The probability of me having to "STOP" for all 4 lights is 1/81, but it seems like this happens AT LEAST 3 times a week.  If only the odds were always in my favor, but I guess that just isn't the case :(

Darn Americans

As an American, I have confidence when I say that we always think we are superior and more competent than our international counterparts.  We lack general "street-smartness," make common errors dealing with good old 'dinero' that can later cause trouble, and tell people to put in 110% effort, even though that is literally impossible.  This article exemplifies our math illiteracy and puts a lot of the blame on our teachers.  It claims that they teach in a very monotonous way while never going beyond finding the answer. I think this is basically true, but we have to understand that these tedious skills will help us in the long run( (maybe).  If math teachers emphasized real-life issues such as insurance, taxes, mortgages, or anything else pertinent to our future, I feel like we would be more  wholesome.  Twenty years from know it will be more important if I know how to make a budget than knowing pythagorean identities, but what Americans don't understand is that we need basic math knowledge that comes from the classroom in order to succeed in life.  We don't want to receive a quarter lb burger when we pay for a 1/2 pounder or have more money takeout of our paychecks for taxes than should be.  Americans can be selfish and stingy, and unfortunately real imbeciles at times, but it is not that difficult to avoid this by merely paying attention to a lesson and using parts of it to help you in the real world where decisions and correct answers actually make an impact.  Many have a preconceived notion that they have supremacy over everyone else and because of that it isn't necessary to learn more.  These people will sure be struggling when they are in a bland conversation, wishing they knew how to spice things up with an infusion of questions regarding exponential equations and if the population will really double like the "rule of 72" predicts.