[tombert]

When I was an adjunct a couple years ago, I would use money for the more introductory stuff in Python.

I figured that for better or worse, every single person in that classroom will have to deal with some amount of "money math" in their life, and "money math" is still "real" math, and programs involving money are still "real" programs. If nothing else, I couldn't really get the "when will I ever use this????" kinds of questions.

A lot of people seem to have almost a "phobia" of mathematics; they are perfectly fine doing the relevant calculations in regards to stuff that's directly used, like money, but seem to shut down when mathematical notation is used.

[WillAdams]

My father's comment after we finally nagged him into buying the family a copy of the boardgame _Monopoly_ and playing a game:

>If I'd known you kids would get so much math practice from this I would have bought it a long time ago.

[tombert]

Yeah, similarly, a friend of mine's kid got really into Kerbal Space Program. That friend didn't mind his kid playing that one for long periods of time, because there's a ton of real math and physics being used, but the game is relatively fun.