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 XIII

Posted on 27 December 2010 by Xander
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The Slide Rule

Posted on 23 December 2010 by Xander

Arithmetical computations can be tedious and time consuming. Moreover, even simple operations like addition and multiplication can involve a large number of steps, each of which is prone to human error. It makes sense, then, that people would try to … Continue reading →

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Monday Mandelbrot Madness XII

Posted on 20 December 2010 by Xander
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Little White Lies

Posted on 18 December 2010 by Xander

A little inaccuracy sometimes saves a ton of explanation. —H. H. Munro I have a confession to make: I lie to my students. Not only that, I do it all of the time. More scandalously, I’m not the only teacher … Continue reading →

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Vi Hart: Mathemusician

Posted on 14 December 2010 by Xander

Today, I came across something—or, more appropriately, somone—that I can only describe as extraordinary: the charismatic and charming “mathamusician” Vi Hart. Vi is a musician with an interest in recreational mathematics (i.e. math done for fun). Of special note are … Continue reading →

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Monday Mandelbrot Madness XI

Posted on 13 December 2010 by Xander
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Is π Wrong?

Posted on 12 December 2010 by Xander

Several years ago, I came across an interesting article [pdf] by Bob Palais. The basic premise of the article is that the numerical constant π is wrong. Unlike many mathematical cranks, Palais is not arguing that the computed value of … Continue reading →

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Euler’s Identity

Posted on 7 December 2010 by Xander

After I finished my bachelor’s degree, I celebrated by getting a tattoo. It is reasonable to ask a person with a tattoo what the significance of their tattoo is. What is that on my arm, and why did I choose … Continue reading →

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Monday Mandelbrot Madness X

Posted on 6 December 2010 by Xander
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The Abacus

Posted on 3 December 2010 by Xander

There was a time when I thought I was going to be an archaeologist. In fact, I nearly completed a bachelor’s program in anthropology, and I spent several summers working for the BLM and Forest Service conducting archaeological survey and … Continue reading →

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