The mathematics of Game of Thrones
The Network of Thrones Is Jon Snow really dead? Will Tyrion Lannister continue his uneasy alliance with Daenerys Targaryen and survive his sister Cersei’s wrath? Will Sansa Stark escape from the sadistic Ramsay Bolton and take her place as Queen of the North? These questions, on the surface, have nothing to do with mathematics. However, according to a…
Why teach algebra in high school?
The Math Myth Andrew Hacker, a political scientist and professor emeritus, says in his book The Math Myth that we shouldn’t teach algebra in the high school mathematics courses. One reason for this is that high school drop outs cite their difficulty with mathematics as a major reason for their decision to leave. Hacker says mathematics is a ten foot…
Why higher mathematics?
Some basic questions What is the use of mathematics, and why study it in the first place? The usual responses to these questions are that: Mathematics has wide ranging applications in the sciences and in engineering. Mathematics teaches you to think logically. I am not sure, however, these responses go far enough. My own view is that…
Everything you wanted to know about pi but were afraid to ask
Ghost in the Machine A clever way to foil an evil ghost possessing your computer is to ask it compute all the digits of π. Spock did just that in a scene from the classic Star Trek episode Wolf in the Fold. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ab6ohaNKjbs?start=22&end=53 But what exactly is π? It’s a number of course, but not like the counting numbers 1,…