With apologies to Gilbert and Sullivan, but I meant the other type of English major: a person who studied English at university.
American math writer Ben Orlin has published a new book aimed at this demographic. (More on this below.)
He proposed today’s puzzles – all of which are solved with simple insights, the sort of thing that might appeal to mathematical novices.
For each question below, which option is larger? No calculators allowed!
1. Square vs cube
[Note: squares are the numbers 12, 22, 32, … and cubes are 13, 23, 33, …]
2. Mr. Pentacles
3. Breaking offense
4. Carrot shoots
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the square root of 6
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the cube root of 15
5. Tick tock
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the number of seconds in a year,
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the number of hours in a millennium
6. Power shower
I’ll be back at 5pm UK with the solutions.
NO SPOILERS. Book your favorite English majors instead.
Ben Orlin is a math teacher from Minnesota known for Mathematics with bad drawings, the name of a successful blog and a best-selling book full of charming, low-fi illustrations.
His new book Mathematics for English majors is a winning effort to convert people who don’t consider themselves ‘math people’ to the joys of arithmetic, geometry, algebra and more.
Regular readers of this column may feel that some of today’s questions are a bit easy. If so, you’re probably not an English major – so please share with anyone who is!
Mathematics for English majors is out on September 26th.
I’ve been doing a puzzle here on alternate Mondays since 2015. I’m always on the lookout for great puzzles. If you want to suggest one, email me.
my new book Think twice: Solve the simple puzzles (almost) everyone gets wrong (Square Peg, £12.99), is out on 5 September. To support the Guardian and Observer, order your copy from guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply.
