I don’t know about you, but I’m still pulling together some gifts — with less than a week before Christmas. Each year, I try to get done before December, but no dice. I must love the stress. So, if you’re
Last-Minute Gifts for Geeks and Not-So-Geeks
Math at Work Monday: Sole the fashion designer
I’ve been dying to have a fashion designer in this spot for a very long time. So when designer Sole Salvo‘s message arrived in my inbox on Friday morning, I was thrilled! As an avid sewer — who doesn’t like using patterns —
Tis the Season to Give Generously: Do the math first
Yesterday afternoon, I dropped off the gifts I had purchased for a mother and son who are spending the holidays in a women’s shelter. He’s not even three years old, and he’s already had a much rougher life than I.
12-12-12: A once-in-a-lifetime date
Today, the Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) in New York City has its opening ceremony. But that’s not what makes this date really special. Organizers of this tribute to numeracy chose 12-12-12 very carefully. Want to guess why? Geeks and superstitious folks around the world love dates
Math at Work Monday: Cecilia the grant writer
While we’re on the subject of museums, I thought I’d introduce you to Cecilia Meisner, who is the Director of Grants and Government Relations at the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA). In short, she’s a fundraiser, specializing in writing grants (rather than
Hanukkah by the Numbers
Tomorrow, at sundown, marks the beginning of the Festival of Lights or Hanukkah (or Chanukah, Chanukkah or Chanuka). By most standards, this is not a significant holiday for those who practice Judaism, but it is fun for the kids —
Time for Holiday Cookies — and Fractions
I haven’t started my holiday baking yet, but that time is just around the corner. Today, I bring you a post from last year, Cookie Exchange Math, in which I look at the fractions involved in tripling my cow cookie —
Math at Work Monday: Mary Helen the History Museum Curator
I’ve known Mary Helen Dellinger my whole life. That’s because she’s my cousin, born a whole two months before I was (a fact she never let me forget when we were kids). Growing up in Virginia as we both did,
U-boats, Enigma and an Apple: The story of Alan Turing
The British were deep in the throes of the Battle of the Atlantic. In six short months of 1940, German U-boats had sunk three million tons of Allied shipping. The U.S. Navy joined the quickly growing British forces in the region
The Mother of All Scientific Computing
Ada Lovelace was probably bound for greatness. The product of the brief marriage between Lord Byron (yes, that Lord Byron) and Anne Isabella (“Annabella”) Milbanke, she was born in 1815. But in true Romantic tragedy, her parents separated soon after her birth ,
En Garde! The great calculus duel
Before beginning this story, a little background. There are two really basic ways to think of calculus: 1. The study of the infinite (extremely large) and the infinitesimal (extremely small). Or 2. The study of limits. Imagine a gnat that is flying from
A Greek, a Bathtub and an Amazing Discovery
It seems to me that the Greek philosopher and scientist, Archimedes, was like the forgetful scientist. And a few tales of his life support this theory. Born in 287 B.C. on the island of Sicily, he had the good fortune