trying to be a mile wide AND a mile deep
Mathematical results don’t have to come from a bolt of lightning inspiration. This is a list I made long ago which may not help anyone who’s trying to do research, but may help someone who isn’t understand a bit more about the process. do the homework: look at existing results and see if they can […]
From the Editor in Notices of the AMS Vol 43, Issue 10 (October 1996) was an essay on the need for mathematical literacy in the general public, beginning with Nixon’s use of the third derivative. A beginner’s guide to quadric surfaces (pdf), by me, for my calculus students and intended to supplement the textbook rather […]
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Here, have an awkward flow chart.
A factory makes bags of six assorted filled chocolates. Each bag contains two each of three varieties; they always have caramel-filled chocolates, have either chocolate cream or vanilla cream, and have one of orange, raspberry, or mocha. The assembly line is set up so half the bags start at the chocolate cream machine and half […]
Linear independence, spanning, and the three bears Papa’s bed is too hard – linearly independent, but too spare to span. Mama’s bed is too soft – spans, but too many options to suffocate in. Baby’s bed is just right – enough to span and nothing more. A basis! Coordinate vectors and sweets A restaurant serves […]
The risks associated with medicines and medical procedures are rarely conveyed clearly. I remember learning about intra-uterine devices in high school health class and the fact that uterine puncture was a risk with them, which sounds awful and terrifying. However, there are two vital pieces of information omitted in that statement: first, how high is […]