This is the second post in a series about spreadsheets, called Spreadsheets 101. Click if you missed the first post, Spreadsheets are Powerful. Here’s How. Spreadsheets are powerful for an important reason: formulas. But if that feels like a scary word,
This post is the first in a writer-centric series, called Spreadsheets 101. In later posts, I look at how to use formulas in spreadsheets, troubleshoot problems and create graphs. Want to tell a geek from a non-geek? Ask a simple question: How do you
When it comes to basic calculations, kids can benefit from knowing math facts cold. When the arithmetic is simple, we can focus on more complex concepts. That’s one reason your children are encouraged to memorize their multiplication tables. But over
Last Friday, my family adopted a sweet, little poodle puppy, named Zipper. The foster mother, Sally, had brought him from a Mexico shelter to her own home in Silver Springs, Md. During the home visit on Friday, we talked about
Behind every author is a great editor. And I was dang lucky to have Jennifer Lawler as my editor for Math for Grownups. What I didn’t know was that I’d helped her out, too. Who says English majors can’t do math? Here’s her story: A
No. I do not have cancer. But in April and May and June of this year, I thought I might. So that’s the answer to the question in my headline. I’ve been taking a break while I deal with the
Raise your hand if you’re trying to get in shape for swimsuit season or a wedding? (I’m raising my hand!) May is prime time for folks to either get more serious about fitness or fall off the wagon. But fitness
It’s been a long while since I’ve posted a new Math at Work Monday interview. But this feature remains one of the most popular here at Math for Grownups. Perhaps that’s because teachers and parents like to prove to their
Not all of us are parents or teachers, but I’ve long asserted that education is a “public good,” something that each and every one of us should be very, very concerned with. When kids don’t graduate or graduate with poor
Math shares its awareness month with another mission that is very near and dear to my heart: It is also Organ Donor Awareness Month. When I found that out earlier this week, I thought I’d indulge myself a bit and spend
Most folks readily tell me that they don’t do any math in a day. Not a stitch. So maybe they don’t sit down and solve for x or graph a quadratic equation or use the Pythagorean Theorem. But we all do math every day.
We can all agree that the horrific events at Monday’s Boston Marathon sent a chill down our country’s collective spine. The two bombs that exploded have made us afraid and sad and hopeless. One message that seemed to ease many’s