In this month’s episode of Wrong, But Useful, we’re joined by @cshearer41, who is Catriona Shearer in real life.

We discuss:

• LaTeX (time to fight again)
• Mathematical sign language
• More interesting ‘bad graphs’ than the obvious howlers you usually see on the internet.
• Via @peterrowlett: Some people think statistics has too much significance, and it’s hard to disagree.
• Chalkdust article by @loopspace about Catriona's other, almost-mathematical, hobby, bellringing!
• @mathsobjects, a new podcast from @stecks and @peterrowlett. Any other cases of mathematical discoveries that looked different at the time?
• Does your road have a house 13? 136 votes: yes 56%, no, not long enough 20%, no missed out 24%.
• Escape room advice - don’t use algebra
• (via @ProfSmudge) What’s $\frac{3}{4}$ of $\frac{2}{3}$ - is this surprising or obvious?
• Shapes with different shadows
• Stephen Wootton tweets: @WrongButUseful regarding tax there is also the interesting case between £100k - £120k where the tax free allowance is reclaimed thereby giving rise to an effective tax rate higher than the highest rate of income tax! Keep up the podcasts, thank you.
• via Adam Atkinson: a picture of a 24-hour clock (photo by Daniele Aurelio of Pavia Mathsjam)
• Adam found a book from the 50s or 60s which called the set of integers “J”. “Have you or your loyal listeners ever run into this?”
• @divbyzero asks: Technical math terms the general public uses in a nontechnical way: inflection point (a turning point), squaring the circle (difficult task of reconciling two very different things), in the Venn diagram of _ and _ (in the intersection of), exponential growth (grows fast). Others?
• Puzzle feedback from last time:
  • Gold star for @MarHarStar
• This month’s puzzle: In a game show, you have four distinct tokens you have to arrange in an unknown order. Every time you guess, you are told1 how many are in the correct position. What strategy gives you the correct answer in the fewest guesses?

1. by way of FIRE

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