Calculation: Easy as falling off a log

Read the original at The Sydney Morning Herald ↗
Cite

Calculation: Easy as falling off a log. (2026, October 22). The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/calculation-easy-as-falling-off-a-log-20261022-p617o4.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

The Sydney Morning Herald · collected 2026-10-22

Quick Summary

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Story summary

As of 2026-10-22, Malcolm McGregor of Balgowlah reminisced about using logarithm tables in the 1950s to solve math problems more efficiently than his classmates who did not use them. The Sydney Morning Herald published this and related musings from other readers regarding cultural and naming changes within Australia, such as considering renaming NRL to "Oceanian" given the participation of teams from PNG and New Zealand. Kerry Kyriacou of Strathfield questioned how Australia participates in Eurovision despite its geographical location and suggested potential legal issues if the new ORL name were similar to the Oak Ridge Laboratory in Tennessee. Judy Archer criticized a student's suggestion of wearing swords to exams, advocating for academic integrity over symbolic gestures. Bill Leigh of West Pennant Hills proposed changing the phrase "jobs for the boys" to "jobs for the mates" as Australia moves towards gender equality in politics.

Written for “Math Made Simple” on 2026-10-22, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Math Made Simple
Education · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
21
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
10%
2 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
61/100
The Sydney Morning Herald's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Education
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-22 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Sydney Morning Herald · 4662 article(s) · 11 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 11 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

No reporter is named on this article.

Topics

Balgowlah NRL National PNG Strathfield

Subjects

Australia GPE · 1× Balgowlah GPE · 1× Euro ORG · 1× Granny PERSON · 1× Kerry Kyriacou PERSON · 1× Malcolm McGregor PERSON · 1× NRL ORG · 1× National ORG · 1× PNG ORG · 1× Strathfield GPE · 1×

Narrative

Tim Slack-Smith of Castle Hill agrees: “After reading Paul’s skewering of the offal debutchery shown in Mitchell Moses’ attack on a calf, I won’t mince my words – there’s a snag in that the footbull code will respond with a poultry load of tripe about whether it was in self-defence or not.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-22
🔮 “The boys may be joined by the girls; the favours will go on.
2026-10-22 · The Sydney Morning Herald
Calculation: Easy as falling off a log · assertive framing

Claims (21 extracted, 2 hedged)

Malcolm McGregor of Balgowlah remembers using the logarithm tables book (C8) for maths in the 1950s. asserted
McGregor → remember → 1950s
When he and a classmate were answering the same question, he used the logbook and had the answer in a few lines. asserted
he → answer → lines
His friend took many lines. asserted
friend → take → lines
Both had the correct answer. asserted
Both → have → answer
The teacher wrote at the top of his friend’s paper “Use logs, you log”. asserted
you → write → logs
“With our neighbours (PNG and NZ) playing in the NRL, isn’t it time to swap ‘National’ with ‘Oceanian’?” wonders Kerry Kyriacou of Strathfield. asserted
Kyriacou → play → Strathfield
“Come to think of it, how does Australia take part in Eurovision? asserted
Australia → come → Eurovision
Granny has concerns regarding the naming rights of the new ORL and fears litigation via the Oak Ridge Laboratory in Tennessee. asserted
Granny → have → Tennessee
Judy Archer of Nelson Bay writes: “Wearing a sword to exams (C8) is not necessary, Elizabeth Savage. asserted
Wearing → write → C8
“Watching Christopher Pyne and Bill Shorten call for more honesty in politics on 7.30, I realised that as parliament moves towards equal gender representation, ‘jobs for the boys’ needs a new name,” says Bill Leigh of West Pennant Hills. asserted
Leigh → watch → Hills
“The boys may be joined by the girls; the favours will go on. uncertain
favours → join → girls
“My eldest daughter married a man who is older than me,” says David Pigott of North Parramatta. asserted
Pigott → marry → Parramatta
“Recently, he had a fall, broke his hip, was operated on, and is now in rehab. asserted
he → have → rehab
I rang the rehab to talk to him. asserted
I → ring → him
‘Are you family?’ I was asked. asserted
I → ask → ?
I replied ‘I’m his father-in-law’. asserted
I → reply → law
The receptionist must have thought I was well into my hundreds.” asserted
I → think → hundreds
“Paul Taylor’s bovine contribution (C8) may create a pundemic!” reckons Warren Finnan of West Ryde. uncertain
Finnan → create → Ryde
“It’s time to board a train to the South Coast, stopping for a Helensburger, some Bulli Beef, a Dapto dog, and perhaps a Bombo Alaska, while working Berry hard to not be Nowra minded!” asserted
It → ’ → Berry
Tim Slack-Smith of Castle Hill agrees: “After reading Paul’s skewering of the offal debutchery shown in Mitchell Moses’ attack on a calf, I won’t mince my words – there’s a snag in that the footbull code will respond with a poultry load of tripe about whether it was in self-defence or not. asserted
it → agree → defence
It will skirt the real issue and will try to curry flavour with the fan mob. asserted
It → skirt → mob
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