mathematics

Pi Calculated to the 10 Trillionth Digit

October 21, 2011 1 Comment

Pi 36 Digits

So you’re a pi lover, and you do not want to have anything to do with Tau Day, the proponents of which say that pi is wrong. The tau guys have gotten quite some attention, and I am pretty sure they have had new converts in the past year, but if you are not one of them, you will be impressed at the feat of two guys: Alexander Yee and Shigeru Kondo.

Alexander is computer scientist in the United States and Shigeru is a systems engineer in Japan. The two have put their heads – and resources – together to break the record in calculating the digits of pi. My initial reaction was akin to saying “What a waste of time!” After all, it is a task that will never end. On second thought, though, the idea of seeing just how far you can go is something to toy around with. Except this guys actually did it. To the 10 trillionth digit.[Read More]

What a Bored Math Teacher Can Do With Pencils

April 20, 2011 Leave a Comment

For some reason, I have always had a good relationship with my math teachers in grade school and high school. Now college professors were always touch and go – with all the math courses I had to take, I was bound to meet one or two that didn’t exactly become a bosom buddy. In any case, one thing that bugged me about certain branches of math was the fact that they didn’t seem to have immediate practical applications. All those equations and computations just seemed fruitless to me as a student who wanted to make something useful. I am sure many students have felt – and feel – the same way.

If it were up to this particular math teacher, though, I bet that students would have more practical applications of what they learn in class. Or maybe not.

What’s for sure is that he found some free time in his hands, a whole lot of pencils – 80 of them, and different kinds of glue. Throw in some geometric principles and a dash of inspiration, and this is what you get.

That’s called the STAR – Standardized Testing And Reporting, which is actually the test that his students are taking this month. (That’s where some of the inspiration came from!)

This is the same sculpture taken from a different angle.

In his blog, Mister Math Teacher ((An Ocean of Knowledge An Inch Deep)) talks about other sources of inspiration: work by George Hart ((Geometric Sculpture)) and Carlo H. Sequin ((Carlo H. Sequin’s Web Site)). He also reveals just how he got his pencil sculpture made. If you have an excess of pencils, why not give it a try?

Now I wonder if his star pupil will get the sculpture at the end of the academic year?

Why Pi Is Wrong

March 15, 2011 2 Comments

I am going out on a limb here and throw a challenge to hardcore Pi lovers out there. It feels weird, to be honest, as I have made it a point to “celebrate” Pi Day ever since I heard about it. In fact, yesterday, I joined countless other people around the world in making a toast to 3.1415…

One day after International Pi Day, however, I discovered a video by Vi Hart, who is a self-proclaimed anti-Pi person. So why is Pi wrong? Allow Vi to explain it all to you – with a nice looking raspberry (I think) pie to boot.

Indeed, every math student who had to struggle with all those formulas might agree with Vi. I have to be honest and say that I love how Vi neatly illustrates how Pi makes things confusing. Still, I am not about to abandon the idea of celebrating Pi every year. If, however, you want an alternative to Pi, check out The Tau Manifesto.

Via Vi Hart

Fuzzy Logic to Help the Elderly

January 5, 2008 Leave a Comment

Technology improves life. While mostly it is the efficiency of our performance and our recreational domains that get a vital boost, technology also goes beyond these to aid in empowering those who are different from the mainstream.

Research at Leicester’s De Montfort University (DMU) and the University of Missouri is progressing to incorporate the advances in Fuzzy logic technology to make the lives of elder folks simpler. Fuzzy logic is that branch of mathematics that deals with computational representation of inexact values. Human beings often measure quantities in approximate degree ( such as hot, very hot etc), while computers have a hard time estimating values approximately.

The Fuzzy logic technique is being deployed in sensors that measure several characteristics about the habits of elderly people and provide vital feedback on their health. While it may seem too high-tech to be part of everyday life, the day is not very far when the benefits of miniaturization in technology become really affordable.

Sensors can be put to several uses but the importance of this latest development is the reduction in false positives and the use of sensors in an un-intrusive manner.