Last week, in Fundamental Understanding of Mathematics LXIX we extended our investigation into shapes and areas to Cavalieri's Principle, which says that same cross sectional areas means same volumes for the three dimensional case of deforming shapes or objects.
This week, Fundamental Understanding of Mathematics is going to take a brief hiatus, while I reorganize the preceding sixty nine weeks of materials, look for gaps and try to give it some kind of arc.
Meanwhile...
I'll leave you with a couple of Fermi problems to chew on. Fermi problems are those where estimation and real world knowledge come into play, because the problem does not provide actual numbers to work with.
Problem the First:
How much wood could a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood?
Problem the Second:
She sells sea shells by the sea shore. What is her profit margin?
In the first problem, of course, there is that pesky little word "if" which allows you to imagine possibilities, but do document your assumptions (opposable thumbs...simple machines...) along with your solution.
The second problem is a bit more straightforward. Anyone who's visited the sea shore has been able to purchase sea shells in local shops.
Have fun in the comments.