NSU Math Club secretary answers all Math Corners correctly

By Bryce Johnson

Mashfiqur Rahman, freshman double major in math and computer science, decided to study math during Sharkapalooza 2023.

“One of the clubs there was the Math Club, and they had a Math Jeopardy. I participated in that, and I was in the top three, so I got a gift card,” Rahman said.

Now, as the secretary of the Math Club, Rahman has correctly answered every question of The Current’s Math Corner so far.

“I decided to give it a shot. And after that, I just grabbed the paper every time there was a new one and I completed each question,” Rahman said. “It wasn’t that hard. I just spend some time in the library doing it. I just enjoy solving these puzzles and riddles in general.”

The Math Corner is on The Current’s game page. Each issue features a new question, and the student who answers the most correct from August to April will win a $50 Barnes & Noble gift card from the Department of Mathematics.

PHOTO BY BRYCE JOHNSON Mashfiqur Rahman, freshman double major in math and computer science, solves The Current’s Math Corner.

“Just try to solve one of them. I mean, it doesn’t hurt to try. And then, you will naturally develop some of the skills needed to solve the riddles,” Rahman said. “When I was a lot younger, I watched the Ted-Ed riddles, and I always found them to be super daunting, but then one day, I just made an attempt.”

For Rahman, math is about more than equations and calculations, but rather critical thinking and problem solving. He hopes that math will become less stigmatized and more engaging in the classroom.

“When I was in high school, I played a lot of ‘Valorant’ and one of the questions in the ‘Valorant’ community that people debated on is, which gun is better? The Phantom or the Vandal?” Rahman said. “I use math to answer that question, ‘Which is better?’ pretty much. So if we do stuff like that in the classroom where we engage the students and use math with something that they’d be interested in, then people would see what math is really all about.”

Rahman spends much of his time at the Math Club’s events, such as Jeopardy, karaoke or game night.

“I encourage everyone to come to the Math Club game night and karaoke. It’s pretty fun. We don’t sit there and do algebra tests there,” Rahman said.

For more information about the Math Club, visit its Instagram page, @nsumathclub.