Category Archives: Math

Religious Extinction?

Posted on March 25, 2011 by fatemeh

Here’s an interesting story from the Beeb, reporting on a study presented to an American Physical Society meeting in Dallas: “A study using census data from nine countries shows that religion there is set for extinction… The study found a … Continue reading →

Posted in Faith, Math, Religion | 8 Comments

Egyptian Puzzlers

Posted on December 14, 2010 by vorjack

Michael Schneider shows how ancient Egyptians (and others) performed mathematics: (via Scotteriology) With this in mind, you can appreciate the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus and similar documents that contain a series of math puzzles for the edification of ancient Egyptians. The … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Math | 14 Comments

So How Long is the Coastline of Maine?

Posted on October 18, 2010 by vorjack

Benoît Mandelbrot, the pioneering mathematician whose name is popularly synonymous with fractal geometry, died last week. (A music video for Jonathan Coulton’s song Mandelbrot Set by Pisut Wisessing made in Film 324: Cornell Summer Animation Workshop, taught by animator Lynn … Continue reading →

Posted in Math, Science, Videos | 12 Comments

Why capitalism must fail.

Posted on July 30, 2010 by fatemeh

by Custador (Note from Florien: Since I’m a capitalist, this does not reflect my views.) I saw this video a few years back and was thinking about it today; it’s basically a mathematics lecture which proves that capitalism cannot work … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Environmentalism, Math, Morality | 184 Comments

The Monty Hall Math Problem

Posted on February 13, 2009 by Daniel Florien

Here’s a great example/explanation of the Monty Hall math problem: This is the same as Margin Gardner’s Three Prisoners problem, and is based on the earlier Bertrand’s box paradox (also known as the ”three-card swindle”). It’s a good reminder that our intuition … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Math, Psychology, Videos | 28 Comments