Learn how to use statistics to understand the significance of the latest political polling results and to keep yourself from being duped by misleading information. Questions go to mathdude@quickanddirtytips.com or 206-339-6279. Like what you hear? Help us out by writing a review at iTunes!
Jan 01, 2016•7 min•Ep 28•Transcript available on Metacast Have you ever adjusted the exposure and brightness of a photo? Did you know you were really adjusting your picture’s photo histogram? Keep on listening to find out how it works! Read the full transcript here: bit.ly/1kNvSpN
Dec 25, 2015•8 min•Ep 269•Transcript available on Metacast What can a histogram tell you about a photo? How can it help you take better pictures? And how can it improve the pictures you’ve already taken? Keep on listening to find out! Read the full transcript here: bit.ly/1ZOF9xJ
Dec 18, 2015•7 min•Ep 268•Transcript available on Metacast Do you know how to make a histogram? When to make one? And what you can learn from it once you do? Keep on listening to find out! Read the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/1RXVpKg
Dec 11, 2015•8 min•Ep 267•Transcript available on Metacast What are bar graphs? How do you make them? And what are they useful for? Keep on listening to find out! Read the full transcript: http://bit.ly/22eO3GG
Dec 04, 2015•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast How much turkey do Americans eat on Thanksgiving? How fast can a turkey run? And how much money do Americans spend in the days following their big feast? Keep on listening to The Math Dude to learn all about the math behind Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Visit the website: http://bit.ly/1w47J2P
Nov 27, 2015•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Why are stem-and-leaf plots useful? How are they related to the kind of stems and leaves that fall from trees this time of year? Keep on listening to find out! Read the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/1k7iUTj
Nov 20, 2015•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast How do you make stem-and-leaf plots? Why might you want to? How are they related to the stems and leaves that fall from trees? Keep on listening to find out! Read the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/1Yn3YmQ
Nov 13, 2015•8 min•Ep 264•Transcript available on Metacast Have you ever heard the story of Archimedes and his famous “Eureka!” moment? Want to know how to use his discovery to measure the volume of a pumpkin … or anything else? Keep on listening to find out! Read the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/1TV1juj
Nov 06, 2015•7 min•Ep 263•Transcript available on Metacast How can you figure out what number 200 is 17% of? How do you calculate the original price of something before a 30% markup? What math makes the Halloween holiday go round-and-round? Keep on listening to learn the answers to these frequently asked questions about percentages! Visit the website: http://bit.ly/1tEiypA
Oct 30, 2015•6 min•Ep 172•Transcript available on Metacast How can you find the volume of a pumpkin? How is this related to finding the volume of an ellipsoid? And what does any of this have to do with Archimedes’ famous “Eureka!” moment? Keep on listening to find out! Read the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/1LF1vLp
Oct 23, 2015•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Who do you think would win a race between the mighty Greek warrior Achilles and a very clever tortoise? Obviously, Achilles would clobber the tortoise…or would he? The answer might surprise you. Read the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/20ecKlM
Oct 16, 2015•8 min•Ep 261•Transcript available on Metacast Do you know what a limit is in math? Do you know how to define a circle using this idea? And do you know why you might want to? Keep on listening to find out! Read the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/1OGpDzn
Oct 09, 2015•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast What makes an exponential an exponential? Are any exponentials more special than others? And what does Euler's number have to do with any of this? Stay tuned for the answers. Read the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/1Q5YIft
Oct 02, 2015•9 min•Ep 259•Transcript available on Metacast Have you ever heard that something is growing exponentially? Or that it's accelerating at an exponential pace? Or that it's getting exponentially better? What does exponentially really mean? Read the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/1OWNLPP
Sep 25, 2015•9 min•Ep 258•Transcript available on Metacast Although every complex number has a so-called “imaginary" part, in many ways they're just as “real” as real numbers. And complex numbers have many real uses in the real world. Read the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/1UTHZx2
Sep 11, 2015•9 min•Ep 256•Transcript available on Metacast Behind every acceleration you make and every press on the brake is a vector. Behind the arrangement of each limb on a tree and the flight of a bumblebee is a vector. So what are vectors? Keep on listening to find out! Read the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/1UTnshp
Sep 04, 2015•7 min•Ep 255•Transcript available on Metacast What do you get when you put a real and an imaginary number together? A complex number. No, not a complicated number (although it kind of is), we’re talking about an entirely new set of numbers dubbed “complex.” Read the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/1JLrpJk
Aug 28, 2015•7 min•Ep 254•Transcript available on Metacast Have you ever heard of imaginary numbers? Have you always thought they must be some kind of made-up numbers that don't have anything to do with reality? Well think again! Keep on listening to learn where imaginary numbers come from. Read the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/1XdehXC
Aug 21, 2015•8 min•Ep 253•Transcript available on Metacast Have you ever wondered how people figured out their latitude back in the days before the Internet? Did you know you can use the same math trick they used to pinpoint your latitude today? Keep on listening to find out how it works! Read the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/1J81caV
Aug 14, 2015•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast What does density measure? What are the densities of common things like air and water? How can you tell if something will float in a bathtub? Keep on listening to find out. Read the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/1hOOB3l
Aug 07, 2015•7 min•Ep 251•Transcript available on Metacast How quickly can you calculate 25% of 70? Or 40% of 50? Or 75% of 160? Keep on listening to learn 3 easy tips for calculating percentages. Read the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/1JPjawn
Jul 24, 2015•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast How big does the Sun look from Pluto? How bright would it be? And, if you could travel to Pluto, what would the sky look like? Keep on listening to find out! Read the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/1ON2WIh
Jul 17, 2015•7 min•Ep 248•Transcript available on Metacast How far away is Pluto? How many years does it take to fly there? How long does Pluto take to orbit the Sun? How fast is it traveling? And how fast is the New Horizons spacecraft on its way to Pluto traveling? Keep on listening to find out! Read the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/1MyrUcY
Jul 10, 2015•10 min•Ep 247•Transcript available on Metacast Learn how to find the distance to fireworks and thunderstorms.
Jul 03, 2015•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Are you a fan of brain teasers? If so, you’ll love today’s probability puzzler. And if not, hopefully you will be a fan after today. Regardless, have fun! Read the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/1BVkwrx
Jun 24, 2015•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Where do the 360 degrees of a circle come from? When did this way of divvying up a circle come into common practice? Who made this choice? And why? Keep on listening to find out. Read the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/1C6qQNe
Jun 19, 2015•7 min•Ep 245•Transcript available on Metacast What amazingly clever trick can help you count combinations of objects? How does it relate to our quest to find the total number of hypothetically colored rainbows? Keep on reading to find out. Read the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/1LfmeUA
Jun 12, 2015•9 min•Ep 244•Transcript available on Metacast In math, sometimes order matters, and sometimes it doesn’t. When it comes to permutations and combinations, it matters a lot. Keep on reading to find out why. Read the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/1N0u4mo
Jun 06, 2015•8 min•Ep 243•Transcript available on Metacast Combinations and permutations. Permutations and combinations. What's the difference between the two? And how do you calculate each of them? Keep on listening to find out! Read the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/1Q4Sctq
May 30, 2015•8 min•Ep 242•Transcript available on Metacast