Author Archives: Xander

About Xander

Xander completed his PhD in mathematics at UC Riverside in the Spring of 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. His thesis, titled Fractal Zeta Functions in Metric Measure Spaces, explores some connections between the geometry of certain metric spaces, and the spectra of the Laplace operator on those spaces. He is currently an instructor at Northland Pioneer College, out in the beautiful deserts of northern Arizona.

Monday Mandelbrot Madness XVII

Posted on 24 January 2011 by Xander
Posted in MMM | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Monday Mandelbrot Madness XVII

Circle or Square?

Posted on 23 January 2011 by Xander

Have a quick look at the figure below: Believe it or not, that figure is a circle.

Posted in Mathematics | Tagged | Comments Off on Circle or Square?

Monday Mandelbrot Madness XVI

Posted on 17 January 2011 by Xander
Posted in MMM | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Squares and Triangles

Posted on 15 January 2011 by Xander

Patrick Vennebush over at Math Jokes 4 Mathy Folks just posted an interesting problem: Three points are randomly chosen along perimeter of a square. What is the probability that the center of the square will be contained within the triangle … Continue reading →

Posted in Probability | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Trigonometric Identities

Posted on 14 January 2011 by Xander

I have a much younger sister who is currently in high school. In her mathematics classes, she has started to get into trigonometry and trigonometric identities. A few nights ago, she had some questions, which got me thinking once again … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | Tagged , | Comments Off on Trigonometric Identities

Monday Mandelbrot Madness XV

Posted on 10 January 2011 by Xander
Posted in MMM | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Monday Mandelbrot Madness XV

Monday Mandelbrot Madness XIV

Posted on 3 January 2011 by Xander
Posted in MMM | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Monday Mandelbrot Madness XIV

The Great Gatsby

Posted on 2 January 2011 by Xander

This morning, a comic by Zach Weiner: Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal is a great comic, even if it does veer off into not-safe-for-work territory from time to time. You should all be reading it. Of course, today’s is of special … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | Tagged , | Comments Off on The Great Gatsby

What Math?

Posted on 30 December 2010 by Xander

As should be clear by now, I love mathematics. I like working through problems, and I enjoy the insights that can come from a good understanding of mathematical logic. Moreover, I strongly believe that mathematics is essential to a strong … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | Tagged | Comments Off on What Math?

What’s Wrong with Teacher Education?

Posted on 28 December 2010 by Xander

I am of the opinion that most teacher education programs in the United States (and probably elsewhere, as well) do a fairly poor job of actually preparing teachers to teach. My main complaint is that the transition from student to … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | Tagged | Comments Off on What’s Wrong with Teacher Education?