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Category Archives: Math
Chess robot breaks kid’s finger…
…and then it beat up Deep Blue and Watson for their lunch money! Well, the real story can be found here in The Guardian. I fear that the horrors of Skynet might be closer than we thought and it won’t come … Continue reading
An editorial from the Math-impaired
The only thing I give D&D 5E a round of applause for is their advantage/disadvantage rule with d20 rolls. Given how much players love to roll dice more than anything, it caters to their obsession. It’s a pretty clever solution yet … Continue reading
Shmow-zow! It’s Enchiridon Day!
If the numbers on the back of the famous Fantasy manual are a date, then yes, it would be today! However, it’s only a coincidence because eight, 13 and 21 are part of the Fibonacci Sequence if you’re going from … Continue reading
For All Mankind: one season
This was the first show I was interested in watching on Apple’s new TV/Movie network and I was also a little apprehensive. Whenever a former Star Trek producer is involved, it’s a warning that the show might be craptacular. Let’s face it, … Continue reading
Posted in Astronomy, Bingewatch, Math, Physics, Science & Technology, TV
Tagged 20th Century, Alternate Reality, Apple+, Bingewatch, Cold War, NASA, Opinion, Politics, Space Travel
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RIP Katherine Johnson
Farewell to a great American and a person who was vital to our (as in the World, not just America) success at landing on the Moon. Without Katherine’s brilliance and mathematical skills, I have a feeling there could’ve been delays. … Continue reading
Posted in Astronomy, History, Math, Physics, Science & Technology
Tagged Celebrity Obituary, Space Exploration
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Math-Nerd Onesies
My friends Elizabeth and Matthew received or bought (not sure which) a couple Math-based joke onesies for their new son Aaron. That’s the beauty of being an infant, you don’t have to worry about bullies and morons not getting the … Continue reading
RIP Bob Dorough
Sad to see that he passed away earlier this week. I will never be able to thank him enough too. If you grew up watching Saturday morning cartoons in the Seventies, Bob’s idea was mandatory viewing on ABC…more like, those … Continue reading
Posted in Astronomy, History, Math, Music, Science & Technology, TV
Tagged Celebrity Obituary, Seventies
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Italian #45: Giovanni Domenico Cassini
I will readily admit my annual celebration for Italian Heritage is off to a slow start. I blame too many things but in the end it’s my own fault. This year I did get some help from a real Italian … Continue reading
Posted in Astronomy, History, Italians, Math, Science & Technology
Tagged Renaissance
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Italian #39: Maria Gaetana Agnesi
Although Maria never made any breakthrough or major contribution to math, she was the first European woman to publish a textbook (what they would call a handbook then) which focused on differential and integral calculus. I have little idea what … Continue reading
Posted in History, Italians, Math
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Italian #38: Giuseppe Piazzi
With all the news about Rosetta landing on a comet after 12 years in space, I wanted to kick off with the person who discovered the largest asteroid in our solar system, or maybe it’s a dwarf planet now…Ceres. Back when I … Continue reading
Posted in Astronomy, History, Italians, Math, Science & Technology
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Why craps dice have “hard” corners
Over the years, Las Vegas has slowly integrated technological changes/improvements to save money (vouchers instead of dumping quarters, no more plastic cups) or to get people with social anxiety to play (pop-o-matic craps, solo roulette machines). The one element I … Continue reading
The Imitation Game: Worth Seeing
Alan Turing has been having a belated comeback in the same style as Tesla, except, I think Turing’s accomplishments are more verifiable now that much of Enigma and Ultra have been declassified. Modern computers can blow away whatever the participants … Continue reading
Posted in History, In Theaters, Math, Movies, Science & Technology
Tagged Drama, Forties, WWII
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The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets by Simon Singh
Last year was the show’s 25th anniversary and luckily I got this fascinating book completed before the year ended. Even the most jaded critic who says, “Oh, the show was better back during [insert season here],” will enjoy the observations … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Math, Physics, Reviews, Science & Technology
Tagged Cartoons, Futurama, The Simpsons
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Not done with Photoshop®
I caught this on the way to the train Thursday (leaving SXSW). Not sure who was behind the skywriting which involved possibly five planes or one with a very specialized ability. After the declaration of “Pi in the sky,” the … Continue reading
Beware of a population myth making the rounds, again
While I was surfing over my friends’ ‘blogs on my day off, trying to see if there was anything I could post to add to their conversations, I saw this cool rebuttal being researched, courtesy of my friend Mark M. Seems … Continue reading
Posted in Anthropology, Biology, History, Math, Science & Technology
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