Technorati is working less and less well these days– it doesn’t update as often as it should, and misses links that I know are there– but it’s still good for the occasional new find. Such as Susan Beckhardt’s Intrinsically Knotted, which features among other things a really nice post about mathematical games: We’re going to… Continue reading Hyper Games, Small World
Category: Math
Tree of SCIENCE!!! #4
Here’s where things on the Tree of SCIENCE!!! start to get more interesting, and somewhat more obscure: Yes, that’s a small wooden Christmas tree ornament hanging on our full-size Christmas tree. What’s this have to do with SCIENCE!!!? Well, obviously, it represents recursion.
Problems with Middle School Math
EurekAlert had a press release yesterday regarding a new study on the training of middle-school math teachers. It’s not pretty: Middle school math teachers in the United States are not as well prepared to teach this subject compared to teachers in five other countries, something that could negatively affect the U.S. as it continues to… Continue reading Problems with Middle School Math
Math Nerds Need Social Networks, Too
It turns out that there’s a Facebook group for quantum information types called the Church of the Larger Hilbert Space after a remark by John Smolin (Facebook link here), which I thought was the nerdiest thing I ever saw. Until I looked at the “Related Groups,” and saw “I support the right to choose one… Continue reading Math Nerds Need Social Networks, Too
Dorky Poll: Dubious Proofs
Over at Good Math, Bad Math, Mark explains “Proof by Contradiction,” a common mathematical technique that doesn’t translate all that well to politics. Whenever proof techniques come up, I always think about one of the very few things I remember from my graduate class on Math Methods. We were talking about some sort of complex… Continue reading Dorky Poll: Dubious Proofs
Dorky Poll: Numerical Trivia
I was most of the way through a long post in response to a donor request, when the power went out. It is, in fact, still out at home, and the power company’s web site lists an estimated restoration time of 1pm. As you might imagine, this puts something of a kink in my morning.… Continue reading Dorky Poll: Numerical Trivia
Dorky Poll: Favorite Math Book
I had a doctor visit and a meeting schduled for this morning, which cut into my blogging time. And I have another meeting in an hour, and I need to get lunch. This sounds like a job for a Dorky Poll! So here’s a quick pair of questions, based on a glance at my office… Continue reading Dorky Poll: Favorite Math Book
Dorky Poll: Euler or Erdos?
I’m going to be in Boston all day, visiting MIT with a bunch of students, so here’s a Dorky Poll to keep you entertained while I’m gone: Which E-name mathematician do you prefer: Leonhard Euler or Paul Erdös? They’re both famous, they both have Numbers, and they’re both dead. You almost literally can’t do physics… Continue reading Dorky Poll: Euler or Erdos?