Teaching Math In...

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Teaching Math In...


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 40% 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 1997:
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 1998:
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 fellable 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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