Math Man

[Rachel Peters]

What could a mathematician do on the street?

Any ideas?

I have a friend.

...a few more than one.

But this one's a mathematician.

He wants to travel.

I feel like it's on the tip of my braaaain... it has so much potential.

What could a mathematician offer to the everyman to make him stop and put money in a hat upon receiving?

[Frisbee]

if he is really good with math and numbers he could possibly have people shout out numbers and then give the total within so many seconds and then have it compared to a calculator to confirm.

there are a bunch of magic tricks with numbers as well, he could do some sort of number board.

he could also make up some ridiculous equations, thereoms or formulas to prove pointless points.


Remember that these ideas are not necessarily good...I suck at math...in fact failed the same algebra class three semesters in a row.

[Rachel Peters]

Yeah, me too. I'm a victim of the Ontario educational system.

Some background:
He's a very one-on-one type of guy.
He likes attention and has done a lot of drama and public speaking and has a great sense of humour, but I can see him doing some sort of equivalent of playing a game of chess, you know? I wish I understood more about math to wrap my head around what seems so...... close to something.

I should ask him more questions.

[Rachel Peters]

....maybe mathematical word-problem brain teasers with props/visual aids.

[Evan Young]

there is a math savant guy who does shows. I don't think he does street shows, but I've seen him around the college circuit. he's been on opra.

[JustinHart]

Harry Lorayne

Harry Lorayne seems to come to mind with his extraordinary memory and math demonstrations from about twenty years back or so. Might be a source to look for.

[Evan Young]

Scott the human calculator

http://scottflansburg.com/Scott_Flansburg/Home_Page.html

[jeep caillouet]

zip codes

Wow, what a guy Evan! I knew a guy in New Orleans some 30 years ago that juggled pretty good named David. I was playing Banjo full time at the time and juggling was out of my league. Any one knows that jugglers make more money than a musician, and I never thought much of it. Next time I saw him he was playing guitar, huh. Then I saw him doing tarot cards. I could not figure his moves out! I went to Boulder, Colorado a few years later and saw him there. I couldn't believe what he was doing, Zip codes! He now has memorized nearly every zip code in the world plus some thing about a land mark or place in that zip code, Wow. Now every knows Zip code David. One hell of a show. You have to see his show to believe it! Rachel maybe your friend could do some like that.

[Evan Young]

Dave still juggles 7 balls in his show.
The zip codes aren't even the best part, he know something special about every town, like what the best restaurant is.

[Butterfly Man]

Proof that not all street performers are rational

This is a quote from Dirty Fred ... I had asked him a question about graduating functions because Muki always told me how how smart he was in math and I thought it was bullshit ...

Dude, I devoted my last coupla years of university to math. Specifically I took college algebra twice (A's both times) Trig once (A),
Calc 251( A) and Calc 252 (that is integral calc, non graded , I probably woulda got an A had I taken it graded).
I didn't take any other classes at all while I was doing this and I was still putting in about 30 hours a week as a street performer. That's what a math bonehead I am. I have no, and I mean NO natural talent at all for math. However I like it. It bends my brain and helps me think rationally about everything, including psych and sociology. But when I tell people I study lower mathematics, they always think I'm joking. I do wear horn rimmed 1960's glasses after all. I must be intelligent.

By the way, ask Muki about my martial arts prowress (sp). That's another great myth he's spread amoung the street scum, much to my delight.

P.S. I also kicked his ass once ... he was only 15, but I kicked his ass!