Plus: What College-Level Math Classes Have Come To and 1980-2010 Asteroid Discoveries.

What College-Level Math Classes Have Come To
Many Western countries, including the United States, are concerned about lagging student interest in studying engineering and mathematics, fields that convey technical skills and learning essential for knowledge-intensive economies. In its 2010-2011 Global Competitiveness Report, the World Economic Forum ranked the U.S. No. 52 out of 139 countries for math and science education quality. In both the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 reports, the U.S. ranked No. 48.

Meanwhile, the number of first university natural sciences and engineering (NS&E) degrees (broadly comparable to a U.S. baccalaureate) is rising, led by large increases in China, from about 239,000 in 1998 to 807,000 in 2006. NS&E degrees earned by Japanese and South Korean students combined in 2006 (about 235,000) approximated the number earned by U.S. students during that year, even though the U.S. population was considerably larger (300 million versus 175 million).

It’s little wonder that, as New York magazine’s Daily Intel recently noted, “Asia is winning.”

The following are a few “ridiculous-sounding math classes currently offered at liberal-arts colleges,” from Daily Intel’s top 10 list:

9. The Mathematics of Chance: “Most topics are introduced in a case-study fashion, usually by reading an article in a current periodical such as the New York Times.” [Bard]

7. The Magic of Numbers: “This course will explore the beauty and mystery of mathematics through a study of the patterns and properties of the natural numbers 1, 2, [and] 3.” [Harvard]

5. Mathematical Origamist’s Toolkit: “Topics include modular origami and how this models the creation of polyhedra and coloring of graphs, comparison of origami-axiomatic constructions to straight-edge and compass constructions, the combinatorics of possible crease patterns, the mathematics of origami design (circle packing, optimization), matrix models for paperfolding, spherical geometry, Descartes’ Theorem and Gaussian curvature.” [Hampshire]

Recent high-profile calls to action, recommendations and initiatives have highlighted a precarious economic future unless changes are made to STEM education in the U.S. (See Saving STEM Education: Inside Obama’s New Initiative)

Asteroid Discovery: 1980-2010
Below is an animation of all asteroid discoveries from 1980 to 2010, with each second of video corresponding to 60 days.

Asteroids are small solar system bodies that orbit the sun. Smaller than planets, they are sometimes referred to as minor planets.

“Currently we have observed over half a million minor planets, and the discovery rates show no sign that we’re running out of undiscovered objects,” according to the creator of the video, Scott Manley, a former research student at Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland. “Scientific estimates suggest that there are about a billion asteroids larger than 100 metres (about the size of a football field).”

2010′s Most Unusual Excuses for Calling in Sick
It’s that time of year again. CareerBuilder.com has released its annual employee-hooky survey for 2010.

Based on responses from more than 3,100 workers and 2,400 employers, the job-search website’s latest annual survey on absenteeism shows that 29 percent of workers have called in sick when they were actually well at least once this year. Among employers, 27 percent think they are seeing an increase in bogus illness excuses due to employees’ continued stress and burnout caused by the weak economy.

When asked to share the most unusual excuses employees gave for missing work, employers offered the following real-life examples:

• Employee said a chicken attacked his mom;
• Employee’s finger was stuck in a bowling ball;
• Employee had a hair transplant gone bad;
• Employee had to wait for the insurance man after a cow broke into her house;
• Employee’s foot was caught in the garbage disposal;
• Employee said he wasn’t feeling too clever that day; and
• Employee was in a boat on Lake Erie and ran out of gas and the coast guard towed him to the Canadian side.

For more amusing and unexpected reasons for skipping out, check out Outrageous Excuses for Missing Work and Top Excuses for Missing Work.

Cheers.