Reality Math Is Functional

At some point during our educational experience, we’ve all wondered why the study of math is such a big deal. Surely, we think, we’ll never use this stuff again in our real lives. Math is for teachers and geeks. Real people need just enough math to balance a checkbook, calculate a tip, or determine mileage for a road trip. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth. Math appears everywhere in daily life. Sometimes we just don’t recognize it. 

The functional side of Reality Math enables us to determine how far it is from here to there. For example, let’s say you’re traveling and you have to convert miles to kilometers or kilometers to miles?  Reality Math to the rescue.  Since 1 kilometer (km) = 0.62137119 miles and   1 mile (mi) = 1.609344 kilometers, distances in km are always 60% greater than distances in mi. To convert from mi to km, simply multiply the number of miles by 1.6. (50 mi x 1.6 = 80 km) Similarly, distances in miles are always 60% shorter than distances in km. To convert from km to mi, simply multiply the number of km by 0.6. (50 km x 0.6 = 30 mi).

Current health guidelines state that an average person can burn approximately 400 calories/day by briskly walking 10,000 steps. Great, but counting steps can be problematic, especially if you lose count and have to start over. Once again, Reality Math saves the day. While the stride of a tall, thin individual will cover considerably more distance than that of a short, stocky individual, the average for calculation purposes is 1 km = 1250 steps and 1 mile = 2,000 steps. To calculate how far 10,000 steps will take you, therefore, simply divide 10,000 by 1250 to get the distance in km (10,000 ÷ 1250 = 8 km) or by 2000 to get the distance in mi (10,000 ÷ 2000 = 5 miles). 

Reality Math Can Be Fascinating

In our day to day world, Reality Math appears in the most unlikely places. Fibonacci sequences, created by adding two preceding numbers to determine the next number in the sequence (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, etc) can be found throughout nature. From the petals of flowers to the spiral chambers of a snail shell to the intricate pattern of a spider web and the branches of a tree, Reality Math bathes the eye in beauty. 

Like a majority of people, Reality math loves the number 7. Those in the know believe this is due to the many pleasant images that the number 7 elicits, like the 7 wonders of the world, both old and new, the 7 dwarfs, and the 7 colors of the rainbow.

Did you know that it’s possible to cut a cake into 8 pieces using only 3 straight cuts? Reality Math can show you how.

Reality Math even uses prime and round numbers to explain the life-cycle of cicadas. These insects incubate underground for periods as long as 13 or 17 years. Biologists believe that this is a survival adaptation designed to minimize contact with predators whose life-cycles are round-numbered. 

Reality Math Can Be Fun

Sometimes Reality Math is just plain fun. Take palindromic numbers for example. These tricky numbers read the same forwards and backwards. For example, if you multiply 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 you get 12,345,678,987,654, 321. More simply, 11x11  (121). Easier still, 1x1(1).

Investigate some random Reality Math facts.  You’re sure to be amazed by what you find. Facts like these are just an example of what’s out there:

• Adding up the numbers 1-100 consecutively (1+2+3+4+5...) gives you 5050.

• A “jiffy” is actually 1/100^th of a second.
• Count the letters of each word in the following sentence “May I have a large container of coffee” and you have the value of Pi (3.1415926)

• The sum of (6 × 9) + (6 + 9) is... 69. 

Reality Math is far more interesting than Classroom Math. Gather up your trusty calculator and give it a try. You just may be surprised at all the fun you’ll have. You may even learn to love Math! 

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