JumpStart by Robb Armstrong for October 28, 2012

Ah, the joys of having a mathematical mum.

(Mine’s a physicist. I ought to know)

Mine was an English teacher, fortunately. I have dyscalcula, so math was a constant struggle.

So the only difference between a Mg and an Mcg is a comma?

Terrific atonement, Robb!

I had a mantra in school at all levels…“I HATE MATH” (And it hates me right back! :)

@rpstrong Yeah…today’s facts and figures were provided by a Nurse who straightened me out!

“Dyscalcula sounds like my problem.”Yepper, mine too. I generally managed to get through math by avoiding stuff like trig and calculus, studying really hard, and usuing parts of my brain that weren’t wired for such. Luckily, my husband is kind of a math savant, so the kids were more balanced out. It’s nice for me that dyscalcula generally is not as visible to the world as is dyslexia.

I saw Mg and thought “Magnesium”.

When it comes to math, all I know is that 2 and 2 is 22. lol.

my wife worked very hard with our daughter to make sure that (a) she wouldn’t develop a math-phobia (like my wife has), and (b) she’d make sure the teachers didn’t pass her over due to the commonly held belief that girls don’t do well at math.(there is some truth to that belief, but obviously reinforcing it doesn’t help any)the strategy seems to have worked. my daughter is very good at math. no phobia.

As a former hospital employee I just have to comment:

mcg = 1/1,000,000 gram

“cc” is usually frowned upon. Use “ml” instead.

And you really should convert the patient’s weight from pounds to kilograms to make it work in the formula.

I am a bit behind on commenting, but I assume this strip is in response to the Sept 30th edition in which Marcy, a nurse, said she doesn’t use long division on the job. As a nurse, I was taken back by the comment and had intended to send a message then. Nurses use math and critical thinking non-stop. I am happy to see this comic to set things straight, even if there are a few minor errors.

I loved this comic so much. I saw it in the Sunday paper and after not having had time to go on this site at all in ages I had to go on and comment. Thank you so much again. Incidentally, don’t give dopamine as dopamine, you give it as its precursor (levodopa), because dopamine doesn’t get past the blood-brain barrier. I had to try to impress you in some way!!

In a recent comic, Marcy said she didn’t need to use long division as a nurse, but now she says her knowledge of math is a matter of life and death?