IJMC - Teaching Math

I figure if I'm in school, all of you should be in school too! So, here's 
tonight's lesson. Mathmatics History. Study hard, there will be a pop 
quiz on this later.                                                 -dave








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" for profits?


Teaching Math in 1980:
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. Her cost of production
is $80 and her 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:
company outsources all of its loggers. The firm saves on benefits,
and when demand for its product is down, the logging work force can
easily be cut back. The average logger employed by the company earned
$50,000, had three  weeks vacation, a nice retirement plan and medical
insurance. The contracted logger charges $50 an hour. Was outsourcing
a good move?


Teaching Math in 1998:
A laid-off logger with four kids at home and a ridiculous alimony from
his first failed marriage comes into the logging-company corporate
offices and goes postal, mowing down 16 executives and a couple of
secretaries, and gets lucky when he nails a politician on the premises
collecting his kickback.  Was outsourcing the loggers a good move for
the company?


Teaching Math in 1999:
A laid-off logger serving time in Folsom for blowing away several
people is being trained as a COBOL programmer in order to work on Y2K
projects.
What  is the probability that the automatic cell doors will open on
their own as of 00:01, 01/01/2000