What happens when you look at the alphabet through the lens of mathematics?
Well, you get the Mathabet, of course!
That’s the working title for my next book, a collection of mathematical ideas that you interact with on a regular basis organized in alphabetical order. In it you’ll find some ways you use mathematical thinking every day.
Yes. I mean every day.
The content is similar to what I discuss here in this alphabet post series (season 2 of the I See Math People podcast) with a few fun extras thrown in. I’m excited to tell you it will be available in October 2026…just a few short weeks away.
If you can’t wait to get your hands on this new addition to my personally authored library, head on over to “Meet me in your inbox” and get on my email list to be the first to know when it’s available.
{This is a modified transcript for Episode 46 of the I See Math People podcast. To listen instead, click here.}
And now, on with the post brought to you by the letter R.
Rounding
In math class, we are often asked to calculate an exact value. While being exact is sometimes required in daily life, more often than not, we just need to be close enough. That’s where rounding comes into play.
Rounding is what we do when we are estimating quantities, like how many guests to plan for at a birthday party or how much groceries will cost this week. When we estimate, we take an amount and we round it up to an easy to think about number. Many times, that’s a multiple of 10, but it doesn’t have to be. Rounding is one of those things you do pretty often, so the next time you find yourself rounding a number, take a moment to celebrate doing this makes you a math person.
Side note here. If you’d like to learn more about estimation and where you interact with it, this post is devoted to this topic. It’s called Math is Close Enough and I invite you to take a look (or listen to episode 3), because I don’t know anyone who isn’t estimating on a daily basis.
Rulers
Ever used a ruler? I know. That’s a pretty silly question. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t used a ruler to measure something at one point or another. Mostly when I hear the word, I think about a 12” ruler, but they come in a variety of shapes and sizes. I have a 6” ruler I use from time to time. A tape measure, the kind used for construction or the kind used by a seamstress, is also a kind of ruler. And so is a yard or meter stick. And when I’m using a paper cutter, there are measurements marked along the edges and those can be considered rulers, too.
So, no matter the kind of ruler or what you are measuring with it, using one definitely makes you a math person.
Rates & Ratios
Rates and ratios are a couple of related math ideas that begin with R. Basically, they both involve comparing different quantities. A couple of posts ago we talked about odds and how they are often written as ratios. You see unit rates frequently…think price per pound, dollars per gallon, miles per hour. In these examples you are comparing a quantity to one unit of something…one pound, one gallon, one hour.
You might also think about ratios when you are color mixing, drawing a human body, choosing a school for your child, or adjusting a recipe. I also devoted this post to the topic of rates.
My point here? Even if you aren’t calculating them, you definitely encounter rates and ratios more often than you realize and this makes you a math person.
I’m really honored you joined the conversation today! I’m on a mission to change the way the world sees math, and that begins with you. If you found value in this episode, if something you heard made you pause, or if you suddenly realized the hidden math in something you do every day, now is a great time to join the movement!
When you comment here and share this site, or when you subscribe to, rate, and share the I See Math People podcast, the algorithms will show it to more people and the more people who get the message, the more mindsets can begin to shift.
Thank you for being part of this discussion of a few of the mathematical concepts beginning with the letter R. I truly hope you heard something about rounding, rulers, rates, and ratios you can relate to and that it made you stop and think about where math shows up for you on a daily basis. Noticing where you interact with math is the first step to beginning your mindset shift and seeing yourself as the math person you really are.
I’m Jennifer Mason Hardin and everywhere I look I see math people just like you.
