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Opinions expressed on these pages were the views of the writers and did not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the American Mathematical Society.
Monthly Archives: April 2016
Math and Verbal Gymnastics
We are coming to the end of Math Awareness Month, whose theme this year was The Future of Predictions. A clever theme name, indeed. I do love when mathematics and verbal gymnastics come together. And on that theme of math … Continue reading
Posted in Events
Tagged Bob Grumman, JoAnne Growney, Karl Kempton, Math Awareness Month, National Poetry Month
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Fold Your Way to Glory
Yesterday, I led a meeting of a Teachers’ Math Circle about the fold and cut theorem. This theorem says any region with a polygonal boundary can be folded and cut from a sheet of paper using only one cut. I … Continue reading
Posted in Math Education, Mathematics and the Arts
Tagged erik demaine, fold and cut theorem, joel david hamkins, kate owens, katie steckles, math teachers circle, Mike Lawler, Mikesmathpage, numberphile, origami
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Packing Heat: The World Of Sphere Packings Is On Fire
Suppose somebody hands you a bunch of oranges and asks you to stack them on a shelf, I’ll bet I can guess how you would do it. You’d build a pyramid by laying down a base layer and then fill … Continue reading
Posted in Number Theory
Tagged Abhinav Kumar, Danylo Radchenko, Erica Klarreich, error-correcting code, Gil Kalai, Henry Cohn, Maryna Viazovska, n-category café, sphere packing, Stephen D. Miller
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How to Celebrate Square Root Day
Apparently today, 4/4/16, is Square Root Day. (I supposed we could also have celebrated 4/2 to have a long Square Root Weekend.) How should a math enthusiast celebrate this holiday, which won’t come again until May 2025? Of course, one option … Continue reading
Posted in Events, Recreational Mathematics
Tagged mathematical knitting, mathematical sewing, p-adic numbers, square root day
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