Tag Archives: mathematics

Kites and Darts

My wife and I just bought a house. As part of the move, I decided to give our daughter’s room a more interesting paint job. We finally agreed on a Penrose tiling in purple and pink. It turned out rather … Continue reading

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Ten Factorial Seconds?!

Here’s an interesting little problem that came across my desk this afternoon: how much time is \(10!\) seconds? Is it a duration that is best measured in seconds? days? centuries? And, perhaps more importantly, what is the best way of … Continue reading

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Division by Zero?

I am currently teaching a summer term algebra class. Over the course of five weeks, we manage to get through an entire semester’s worth of material. The pace is pretty grueling, and I wonder at my students’ capacity to keep … Continue reading

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Spring Has Sprung

Today is the vernal equinox. More exactly, the vernal equinox will occur about half an hour before midnight in Greenwich, England; or at about 4:30 PM PDT (my time zone). At the moment of the equinox, the sun’s position in … Continue reading

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