Math in Your Head: Fast Metric Conversions Without the Math

TRANSCRIPTS Wel­come to Flash­cards Fri­days! Today we are learn­ing how to feel con­ver­sions in your head, no pen, no paper, no cal­cu­la­tor. Just pat­terns, rhythm, and a lit­tle bit of imag­i­na­tion. Because math isn’t just num­bers, it’s about feel­ing the rhythm of math and under­stand­ing how the world around us fits togeth­er. So, imag­ine you’re get­ting ready to go for

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A Measure for all People, For All Time: The Story of the Metric System

A Measure for all People, For All Time: The Story of the Metric System

The French Rev­o­lu­tion and the Birth of a Uni­ver­sal Mea­sure It’s 1789 in Paris. The French Rev­o­lu­tion is in full swing, heads are rolling (lit­er­al­ly), ideas of lib­er­ty and rea­son are elec­tri­fy­ing the air, and noth­ing is off-lim­its for reform. Amid this upheaval, one very prac­ti­cal prob­lem stood out: weights and mea­sures. Every region and every trade in France seemed

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Math, Civil Rights, and the Legacy of Bob Moses

Math, Civil Rights, and the Legacy of Bob Moses

It’s Black His­to­ry Month, and we are still cel­e­brat­ing black excel­lence. This week, I am talk­ing about one of my favorite activists and math­e­mati­cians, Robert Par­riss Moses, also known as Bob Moses. His life and lega­cy made an indeli­ble mark on America’s civ­il rights move­ment and math edu­ca­tion. Hi, I’m Gabrielle Bir­chak. I have a back­ground in math, sci­ence, and

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FLASHCARDS: So…Mistakes Happen

FLASHCARDS: So…Mistakes Happen

Wel­come to Math, Sci­ence, His­to­ry, where on Fri­day we post a short lit­tle flash card about some­thing mathy, sci­en­cy, or his­to­ry. I’m Gabrielle, and today, we’re talk­ing about mak­ing mis­takes and the good things that come out of them. Some­times, even among the best of them com­ma mis­takes are made peri­od and it takes a wise and hum­ble indi­vid­ual to

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REPOST: Dr. Roger Arliner Young

REPOST: Dr. Roger Arliner Young

Join me in cel­e­brat­ing Black His­to­ry Month! I always love this month because so many incred­i­ble sto­ries about per­se­ver­ance, ded­i­ca­tion, hard work, grit, human­ism, empa­thy, and bril­liance are shared through­out the entire month, cel­e­brat­ing Black Cul­ture and those noble god­dess­es who are part of the African Amer­i­can cul­ture. This week, I want to intro­duce you to Dr. Roger Arlin­er Young.

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FLASHCARD: Claude Mydorge

Today, we’re trav­el­ing back to the sev­en­teenth cen­tu­ry to meet a less­er-known fig­ure in math­e­mat­ics: Claude Mydorge. While not a house­hold name like Descartes or Fer­mat, Mydorge con­tributed to the math­e­mat­i­cal con­ver­sa­tions of his time and qui­et­ly left a mark on the geo­met­ric land­scape. So, who was Claude Mydorge, and why should we care about him today? Let’s unpack his story.

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It’s Pumpkin Spice Season!

It’s Pumpkin Spice Season!

Dis­cov­er the chem­istry of fla­vor, the his­to­ry of spices, and the math behind the per­fect pump­kin spice lat­te. Grab your favorite pump­kin spice treat, get cozy, and join me on this fla­vor­ful exploration!