Karim Kai Ani

Founder Emeritus of Citizen Math // Author of "Dear Citizen Math: How Math Class Can Inspire a More Rational and Respectful Society"

[Karim Kai Ani @karimkai]

I think it's time that @citizen_math was free.

[Karim Kai Ani @karimkai]

@TomPelphrey @HBO So good. Even though it’s a TV show, I hope you win an Oscar.

[Karim Kai Ani @karimkai]

@TaylorTownsend Unbelievable match. Bummer, for sure. But nothing for you to regret. She played out of her skull on each of those match points. Play them again — an inch here, a breeze there — and you win. Hopefully next year, and with every US fan at your back. Awesome job.

[Karim Kai Ani @karimkai]

@ddmeyer Mission accomplished. Next up: Health insurance markets. (:))

[Karim Kai Ani @karimkai]

@FedExHelp Good morning. I handed a package with a prepaid label to a driver yesterday morning. When I checked the status this morning, it says the tracking number cannot be found. When I call by phone, I am unable to speak to an agent because no valid tracking #. Can you help?

[Karim Kai Ani @karimkai]

@aejochim @arotherham @rastokke So why does this distinction — looking at math vs. looking with math — matter?

If your child is struggling with math, is it because they don’t understand the math itself? Or is it because they don’t know why they’re learning it in the first place?

If #2, that’s the key.

[Karim Kai Ani @karimkai]

@aejochim @arotherham @rastokke You mentioned YouCubed. IMO, YouCubed is actually pretty thoughtful. But regardless, its purpose is to help students understand mathematical concepts and engage in problem solving. It’s focused on the math itself. Citizen Math is focused on the world, where math is the tool.

[Karim Kai Ani @karimkai]

@aejochim @arotherham @rastokke Citizen Math is different. Instead of treating math as something to look at, it treats it as a lens to look with. With linear functions, students might compare whether it’s worth going to college vs. working after HS or how long it takes to donate hair to Locks of Love.

[Karim Kai Ani @karimkai]

@aejochim @arotherham @rastokke …the purpose is to illustrate some underlying math concept: in this case, a constant rate of change. Students don’t walk away with a better understating of trains. If all goes well, though, they may walk away with a better understanding of linear functions.

[Karim Kai Ani @karimkai]

@aejochim @arotherham @rastokke Citizen Math is fundamentally different. Typical approaches to math instruction treat math as something to look *at*. For instance, a typical word problem might ask, “How long until a train reaches the station?” Even though this involves something from the world (trains)…

[Karim Kai Ani @karimkai]

Yeah!! @motherhips made the Super Bowl. That is fantastic. (“Singing Seems to Ease Me”)

[Karim Kai Ani @karimkai]

@mrdardy What about “y per x”? It establishes the meaning of slope as a rate.

[Karim Kai Ani @karimkai]

Silicon Valley has done a lot of good (Netscape included). Reasonable for Marc to be frustrated w/ blindness to this. Yet can Andreessen et al see *any* negative consequences of FB, IG, X, AI, etc? For me, that’s where seriousness bottoms out.

(BTW, bravo analogy to nuclear.)

[Karim Kai Ani @karimkai]

@DouthatNYT Enjoyed thoughtful convo w/ @pmarca. Also found it aggravating. I appreciate his frustration w/ “radical” employee groupthink. But wasn’t the mechanism for this exactly the social media algos that he funded & touts? Sounded like a farmer bemoaning roosted chickens.

[Karim Kai Ani @karimkai]

Just read in WSJ that China’s newest submarine sank. So…it works?

[Karim Kai Ani @karimkai]

@kathyhen_ Old school.

[Karim Kai Ani @karimkai]

@kathyhen_ Adventure time! Queen Mary 2 to UK next week. (My mom came over on the QM1.) We’ll see where the wheels decide to go.

In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled this fall. The entire Citizen Math library has been rewritten. I love it. I hope you’ll love it, too.

[Karim Kai Ani @karimkai]

@MrsStrole @FJHChargers Sammy Sosa votes yea.

[Karim Kai Ani @karimkai]

@Mathowitz Upper 90.

[Karim Kai Ani @karimkai]

@British_Airways Good afternoon. I booked a flight last week from US to Italy. Price was ~$1300. Yesterday, same itinerary $550. When I called customer service about price adjustment, they said no. Only offered to cancel ticket and issue $83 refund. (!!)

Seems odd. Can you help?