Math is one of those funny things that’s always all around you even if you’re ignorant of it. The ancient Greeks calculated the circumference of the world to an impressive degree of accuracy and they didn’t even have calculators - they just looked at some triangles and made some guesses.

Do you need to know the circumference of the world in your day-to-day life? Probably not. But it’s cool as heck knowing that you can figure that out by applying the right formulae.

If you know math and you’re faced with a problem that can be solved with math, then you can solve the problem. If you don’t know math and are faced with the same problem, you might not know how or if it can be solved.

Your specific question: “Are there any upsides to go beyond everyday math?” is an interesting question because of the implication of what ‘everyday math’ is. Depending on our professions or interests, your definition of everyday math might be radically different from someone else. Numeracy is enough to go on for a lot of people, which often implies arithmetic. But hey, fractions are always coming up in places, and if you add algebra to the mix you can start solving some interesting problems.

Some level of applied mathematics are used in all sorts of fields. Construction, Finance, Medicine, Software, Logistics, Conservation, Cooking, you name it. And the beautiful thing about a lot of these cases is that you don’t need to know very complex math in order to follow along an established procedure. For instance, I don’t need to know how to find the proof for compound interest, but I can easily look up a formula so I can make some projections of my investment plan.

Anyway, long story, but math is one of those ‘use it or lose it’ things. And if you’ve lost the math, then you start to be unable to see where math can be used. Keeping the math alive or rekindling it opens you up to possibilities that you might otherwise be ignorant of. Learning math for its own sake is fine, but finding ways to use the math you’ve learned is what helps keep it alive, and broadens your own horizons too.

Speaking from the purely meritocratic view that capitalists take, I’d hazard that if the wages were similar then men would still get better employment because they’re less likely to take time off for menstruation.

I suppose that’s only really a benefit if you’re employing salaried workers though, so if you’re hourly they might actually be more likely to hire women because then individually they’d each get fewer hours. Depending on legislation, that might interfere with their requirements to pay benefits or something. We often see that businesses prefer to employ four employees at 10-hours per week as opposed to one employee at 40-hours because individually the part-timers are less expensive.

There’s always going to be some way to be exploited.

My wife and I have this conversation from time to time that women should get an extra week off every month to deal with their period. She has a pretty rough go when she’s menstruating, and I totally get it. She’s not even a particularly exceptional case and she has a nasty period. So many people have it even worse off, I don’t understand how they keep showing up for work.

I’m anti-discrimination and believe in equality, so honestly I think everyone should get an extra week off. Men and post-menopausal women should be equally entitled to worker benefits.

Some people think that’s pretty radical. “How are we supposed to get anything done if we have to pay for people who aren’t here a quarter of the time?” Well, the average CEO’s compensation package would probably pay for each of their workers to take a week off each month. And they’re usually not even in the office even a quarter of the time.

Something tells me that if we strove to be more equitable, they could afford it.

I live on the Earth, home to humans. Every human I’ve met, heard, or read about has been pretty stupid about something. I can’t imagine that I’d be the sole exception, so if I had to guess I’m not smart.

More to the spirit of the question, for me it has to do with programming. I love programming, I went to school for it and learned a ton. It really covers a wide breadth of applications, and you can make anything happen with a computer if you’re determined enough. And, like any field, there’s general knowledge as well as deeper specializations.

If you’re not into programming, know that there’s a divide in every application between what’s called the Back End and the Front End. The front end is what the user interacts with, and ultimately is an interface for the back end which actually runs the application.

I don’t know if it would still be considered accurate, but in school we’d joke about how the back end is more complex (more services to integrate with), and the front end is easier because it’s all about look and feel. Generally speaking, people develop an affinity for one or the other and then further specialize based on that.

I can’t seem to pick up a front end framework to save my life. The thing that the self-described smart kids called easier is wayyy more complicated than it looks. I have a lot of training, I’m skilled in multiple languages, and I can whisper the secret words that open up the database. But I don’t know if I could Hello World my way through a React app if there was a gun to my head.

Context matters a lot. I wouldn’t flip off my mom, but with some friends it’s how we say hello. So I guess I put it in the whole range of 1-5

Now, about you seeing it censored, I always thought that was bizarre. You see it a lot in american media - but let’s be adults for a second. If they’ve censored somebody’s hand, there’s a very limited few reasons why that might be. It doesn’t take a genius to guess what the censored gesture is, and the blurring doesn’t really do anything to diminish the insult.

Honestly, I think it has a lot to do with the prudishness of american media. The gesture is symbolic of an erection, but I don’t know anybody who’d confuse a finger for a penis.

Interestingly, all cultures seem to have a gesture for this, even if it isn’t necessarily the middle finger. Some places it’s the thumbs-up that stands in for it, and others it might be gripping your elbow and pointing your fist.

You have my sincere sympathies. I have family going through cancer right now and it’s a bastard. Nobody deserves it.

The best way to break the news is a highly personal thing. What’s good for one family might not be good for another family. If your family is supportive, they’ll probably want to help somehow. If your family is toxic, you don’t owe them anything, not even a diagnosis if you don’t want to. And in all cases, any sort of reaction is reasonable to expect - receiving news of your diagnosis is the first step in grieving and you can never be sure how people will react to that.

At the end of the day, you’ve got a much better idea how your family might react than a bunch of strangers on the internet. But I’ll go ahead and share our bad news delivery system, and you can decide if it works for you.

Ours is a family that believes in eating our feelings and ripping off the bandaid. When we have bad news to share, we invite the family out to lunch. Somewhere public if you feel that’s appropriate. After everyone’s ordered we hit them with a “Listen, I’ve got some bad news…” and then just jump into it. Then after the news has hit, the creature comforts of a hot meal does wonders to soothe the soul.

Telling everyone at once can be intimidating. You might find you benefit from having a confidant who knows your situation. Breaking the news one-on-one is often easier, and then when you’re ready to tell the group they can be there to back you up.

No internet forum is really good for receiving medical advice on, and I won’t talk you into or out of treatment. However, if you’ve only just received the first test results, you may not have a complete picture of what’s going on.

Ultimately, it sounds like you don’t want to suffer. And I respect the hell out of that. But if you only just received your diagnosis, you might be in shock and incapable of seeing anything hopeful.

Some people conflate the testing and determining prognosis and treatment plan with the treatment itself. I guess all I’m saying is that before you decide that you don’t want treatment, you should consult with doctors you trust and determine what that treatment actually is. Not all cancers are equal, and the aggressiveness of the treatment has much to do with where it is and how progressed it is.

Anyway, as in all things, it’s your body so it should be your choice. But when you’re making big choices it helps to have all the data.

The magician’s assistant must be a labracadabradoodle

Cooking from scratch is almost always going to be less expensive, better tasting, and healthier.

Cooking with pre-made ingredients is often faster and easier.

For me, the decision is often predicated on how much energy I have. Sometimes prepping all the ingredients and the resulting cleanup feels like an impossible undertaking. Which is a shame because I’m a good cook - but sometimes I hate cooking.

Meal prepping or making batch meals is often a happy medium. Homemade food that you can later just reheat. If anybody has tips for making it feel less like I’m eating leftovers all the time, I’m happy to hear them

I’ve lived with the snow all my life, but I can probably still offer some tips that people get caught on.

Snow removal is a bastard. Snow’s often heavier than it looks, especially when it’s wet. If you’re doing it yourself, make sure to stretch and not to attempt it if you have a heart condition. The low temperature makes the exertion more difficult on your heart, lungs, and muscles. It’s a fantastic way to stay in shape, but I often pull something in my back with the first major snowfall.

Winter driving bears some special consideration. Your car might need more time to warm up before it’s good to drive, and freezes will kill low batteries. Traction is poor, and even with a light layer of snow it can be very difficult to drive uphill. You often need a running start, and around here sometimes you just can’t make it to the top. Be prepared by knowing alternate routes, and by keeping an eye out for other drivers that might start rolling back towards you.

People often get stuck in the snow, so it’s important to be prepared. There’s two types of roadside emergency kits that you should be prepared to use. One is for attempting to get your car out of the snow, and the other is for survival if you can’t get unstuck. People more qualified than I could tell you what should be in them, but warm clothing and blankets are a must. If you have enough fuel, you might think that you could run the car all night to keep warm. But be warned that might not always be an option, and if the snow is piling up it can cause your exhaust to back up and asphyxiate you.

Walking in snow requires a higher level of exertion. It’s harder on your muscles, and stabilizing on packed snow might cause you to use some unfamiliar muscle groups. Again, it’s a great way to stay in shape, but if you’re not prepared for it you can quickly have a bad time. If the snow is particularly deep, you might be interested in snowshoeing or skiing. These are easier than clomping through the snow, but again, they’ll be unfamiliar muscle groups and require some practice.

I would do some research to see what level of snow removal your destination city does. Some places are super accessible, some plow only roads and leave sidewalks buried, and some places you’re snowbound for months at a time. I personally find it quite cozy to be snowed in, but it can become a serious problem if you’re not prepared for it.

This one’s probably subjective, but I find it important to keep separate Winter and Autumn outerwear. We’re at the time of year now where we’re starting to see some freezing temperatures, but it’s nowhere near what it’ll be in a couple months’ time. If you’re coming from a hot climate, you might be tempted to put on your warmest clothes as soon as it’s colder than you’ve been in your life. But then when it gets even colder than that, you’ll be happy to have something warmer to add to it.

Find something fun to do in the snow. If you’ve never seen snow in person before, I understand it’s often a magical feeling. But once you live with it for a long time, the magic can fade, and the inconveniences can mount. Having something to look forward to with the snow sometimes makes all the difference between Winter Wonderland and Frozen Hellscape. Whether that’s tobogganing, skating, or snowball fights, you’ve got to do something to keep up the morale in the winter months.

Before using a straightener (or a curling iron, but that’s like the opposite of what OP wants), check out some videos of people straight up burning their hair off by using them wrong.

That’s not to discourage anyone from using them, they’re great tools. Just like, be careful

So imagine there’s three parties up for election. Party A gets 40% of the vote, Party B gets 30%, and Party C gets 30%.

In this scenario with first-past-the-post, Party A wins because they get the majority. This means 60% of voters (also known as the majority) had no impact on the election because their candidates are thrown away.

On the surface, proportional voting might look similar. But when you consider the highly gerrymandered state of voting districts, you start to realize that the deck is stacked in a very unfair way.

This is sort of how you wind up in a situation where a candidate wins the election despite not attaining the popular vote - although as I understand it that has more to do with the electoral college (which frankly, also seems undemocratic)

A lot of people have a hobby that they can either recoup some costs of the hobby, or earn some beer money. Arts and crafts may have the occasional fair or flea market, or even an online store or ko-fi.

In my experience though, once you try to turn a hobby into a primary source of income, that becomes a job and is no longer as fun as it was as a hobby.

The best phone was probably a landline that was shaped like a duck.
It quacked when you had an incoming call.

If there is necromancy afoot though, I’d suspect it might be at the world’s largest cemetery.

Personally, I like the southern twang.

It feels almost lyrical

Would I then run afoul if I branched out and had computer accessories, like laptop bags?

That’s a big mood. I honestly mean that. I don’t want to presume to know your situation, but from one human being to another I can tell you I’ve been there too. I low-key hope to get hit by a bus so I don’t have to put up with life anymore.

It’s a feeling that seems to come and go, and it can ratchet itself up to a feverish intensity. But every time I’ve been pushed to the brink so far, I’ve chosen life. When you stare death in the eye, you suddenly want to see one more sunrise.

If you’re having these thoughts with any kind of intensity or regularity, or you’ve started to put a plan together to end your life, then you owe it to yourself to attempt an intervention. Most people point to therapy, and if it’s available to you it’s worth a shot. And if therapy is unavailable or untenable, reading about psychology and non-pharmaceutical treatments for depression did wonders for my outlook.

The world is better with you in it. I’m rooting for you.

You don’t have to be broken to be weird, it feels problematic to conflate the two.

But to take your point, I agree that you attract people based on the vibe that you’re putting out. If you don’t like who you’re attracting, then you can work on yourself and your vibe will improve too.

Well then you have my sympathies. That must be an exhausting way to live.

Just to inject a little hope, plenty of weird, poor people have girlfriends. I don’t know anybody weirder than me, and my wife doesn’t mind.

You can’t ‘make’ someone have a relationship with you though. That’s illegal and reprehensible, but I’m sure you didn’t mean it that way

When I was younger, I’d try to power through. Now that I’m older, I recognize that my day is always better when I try to get some sleep.

When I was younger, not sleeping was the result of bad choices. Lately it’s because of insomnia. I don’t know if that makes any difference, but I guess it’s worth noting.

PSA: 24 hours of sleep deprivation is similar to having a BAC (Blood Alcohol Count) of 0.10%. That’s over the legal limit in most places. If you have to go to work, don’t drive.