Subject: A History of Teaching Math
From: Unicorn (unicorn@indenial.com)
Date: Sun Oct 21 2001 - 02:19:24 EDT
"A History of Teaching Math"
Teaching Math in 1950: A logger sells a truckload
of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of
the price. What is his profit?
Teaching Math in 1960: A logger sells a truckload
of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of
the price, or $80. What is his profit?
Teaching Math in 1970: A logger exchanges a set
"L" of lumber for a set "M" of money. The cardinality
of set "M" is 100. Each element is worth one dollar.
Make 100 dots representing the elements of the set
"M." The set "C", the cost of production contains 20
fewer points than set "M." Represent the set "C" as
a subset of set "M" and answer the following question:
What is the cardinality of the set "P" of profits?
Teaching Math in 1980: A logger sells a truckload of
lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and
his profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the
number 20.
Teaching Math in 1990: By cutting down beautiful
forest trees, the logger makes $20. What do you
think of this way of making a living? Topic for class
participation after answering the question? How did
the forest birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut
down the trees? There are no wrong answers.
Teaching Math in 1996: By laying off 402 of its loggers,
a company improves its stock price from $80 to $100.
How much capital gain per share does the CEO make
by exercising his stock options at $80. Assume capital
gains are no longer taxed, because this encourages
investment.
Teaching Math in 2000: A company outsources all of
its loggers. They save on benefits and when demand
for their product is down the logging work force can
easily be cut back. The average logger employed by
the company earned $50,000, had 3 weeks vacation,
received a nice retirement plan and medical insurance.
The contracted logger charges $50 an hour. Was
outsourcing a good move?
Teaching Math in 2001: A logging company exports
its wood-finishing jobs to its Indonesian subsidiary
and lays off the corresponding half of its US workers
(the higher-paid half). It clear-cuts 95% of the forest,
leaving the rest for the spotted owl, and lays off all its
remaining US workers. It tells the workers that the
spotted owl is responsible for the absence of loggable
trees and lobbies Congress for exemption from the
Endangered Species Act. Congress instead exempts
the company from all federal regulation. What is the
return on investment of the lobbying costs?
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