Math through the years

Teaching Math in 1950: A logger sells a truckload of lumber for
$100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his
profit?


Teaching Math in 1960: A logger sells a truckload of lumber for
$100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80. What
is his profit?


Teaching Math in 1970: A logger exchanges a set "L" of lumber
for a set "M" of money. The cardinality of set "M" is 100. Each
element is worth one dollar. Make 100 dots representing the
elements of the set "M". The set "C", the cost of production,
contains 20 fewer points than set "M." Represent the set "C" as
a subset of set "M" and answer the following question: What is
the cardinality of the set "P" for profits?


Teaching Math in 1980: A logger sells a truckload of lumber for
$100. Her cost of production is $80 and her profit is $20. Your
assignment: Underline the number 20.


Teaching Math in 1990: By cutting down beautiful forest trees,
the logger makes $20. What do you think of this way of making a
living? Topic for class participation after answering the
question: How did the forest birds and squirrels feel as the
logger cut down the trees?... There are no wrong answers.


Teaching Math in 1996: By laying off 40% of its loggers, a
company improves its stock price from $80 to $100. How much
capital gain per share does the CEO make by exercising his stock
options at $80? Assume capital gains are no longer taxed,
because this encourages investment.


Teaching Math in 1997: A company out-sources all of its loggers.
The firm saves on benefits, and when demand for its product is
down, the logging work force can easily be cut back. The average
logger employed by the company earned $50,000, had three weeks
vacation, a nice retirement plan and medical insurance. The
contracted logger charges $50 an hour. Was outsourcing a good
move?


Teaching Math in 1998: A laid-off logger with four kids at home
and a ridiculous alimony from his first failed marriage comes
into the logging-company corporate offices and goes postal,
mowing down 16 executives and a couple of secretaries, and gets
lucky when he nails a politician on the premises collecting his
kickback. Was outsourcing the loggers a good move for the
company?


Teaching Math in 1999: A laid-off logger serving time in Folsom
for blowing away several people is being trained as a COBOL
programmer in order to work on Y2K projects. What is the
probability that the automatic cell doors will open on their own
as of 00:01, 01/01/00?