I launched this Mag to demonstrate to my then-5-year-old son that math can be a fun and fascinating subject, rather than boring and mundane. As a child, I became drawn to math and science through reading intriguing stories, and I felt that there was a lack of similar materials available for young kids. So I decided to create a Mag to showcase the wonder of math to my son. The primary goal is not to provide children with specific math knowledge, but to immerse them in the enjoyment of math. If we can connect math with the word "fun" in our kids' minds, then we will have accomplished our objective. After all, interest is the most effective teacher.
Chickens and Rabbits
June 4, 2022
I posed this question to my son: There is a farm that raises chickens and cute bunnies together. (BTW, here are some real tips on how to raise them together). Today, a neighbor girl wants to find out how many chickens and bunnies are on the farm. She starts counting from outside a fence. The […]
Guess My Number
May 14, 2022
I wrote down a number on a piece of paper, “It’s a number between 1 and 100.” I asked my son, “Your job is to guess the number. Each time you make a guess, I can tell you whether it’s correct, or if your guess is higher or lower than my number. How many times […]
The Butterfly Effect
March 11, 2022
“Have you heard about the Butterfly Effect?” I asked my son. “What is it?” “You know weather is highly unpredictable, especially in the longer term, right? Weather forecast is reasonably accurate for the next few days, but it is not accurate at all to predict the weather a month later.” “Right, that’s why the weather […]
Why are manhole covers round?
January 15, 2022
I was jogging outside with my son on the street and we saw a manhole. I recalled this famous interview question first popularized by Microsoft in the early days and then adopted by other companies: Why are manhole covers round? So I asked my son. “Because it looks nice?” “It’s more than that. There is […]
Mobius Band
September 4, 2021
“How many sides does a paper have?” I asked my son, who was watching TV. “2” “What if I tell you I can make a paper have ONLY one side?” “No Way!” “Come and I will show you how to make a Mobius Band.” Well we are in the year 2021, so there is a […]
How tall is the Great Pyramid?
January 8, 2022
This is the second episode of the Greek mathematicians series. Today’s mathematician’s name is Thales. He is also a philosopher and astronomer. He is considered “the first” Greek philosopher and is sometimes referred to as the Father of Science. After the introduction, I started to tell my son the story of Thales. “Thales loved travelling. […]
Archimedes’ Eureka Moment
January 8, 2022
Son is very interested in ancient Greece and its famous people. So I decided to give him a mini-series on Greek Mathematicians. Archimedes was the first. Archimedes was one of the greatest scientists of ancient Greece, from the city state of Syracuse in Sicily, then a Greek colony. His achievements spanned mathematics, physics and astronomy. […]
General Tian’s Horse Race and Game Theory
September 28, 2021
Son loves stories. So this episode is a story. Tian (last name) Ji (first name), a prominent Chinese general 2000 years ago in the Kingdom of Qi, loved horse racing. One day, he raced with the King of Qi. They each had three horses, ranked as “fastest”, “faster” and ”fast”. They held three matches. Whoever […]
Binary Numbers And Computers
January 22, 2022
“Can you explain how computers work?” Son was using an ipad and asked me all of a sudden. “That’s going to be a long lesson. How about I start with the basics: the binary numbers. Everything on your computers are represented in binary numbers.” “Oh, really? What are binary numbers?” I moved to a floor […]
Morse Code
January 22, 2022
Continuing the topic of binary numbers, I asked my son, “Do you know Morse code?” “Ah, I do! It’s used in telegraph.” “Right, telegraph is no longer used in regular communications these days, but the story about Morse code is still interesting. I explained, “Electrical telegraph was invented in the nineteenth century and was the […]