In her quest to convince me that math is a stupid subject, my daughter started playing a little game with me last year. She really thought she could come up with something that doesn’t have to do with math. For a couple
Using Math to Fight Cancer
Math and cancer? Turns out the queen of sciences can actually help doctors treat cancer in individual patients. I looked at a particularly important study by researchers at the University of Miami and University of Heidelberg for Healthymagination, a GE-owned website that addresses
Math at Work Monday: Josh the head of the Maryland Department of Health
Ooooh! We have a big-wig here at Math for Grownups today! Dr. Joshua Sharfstein is a pediatrician and the Secretary of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Before taking this position, he served as the Principal Deputy Commissioner of
Math at Work Monday: Ronn the State Anatomy Board director
At first glance, you might find Ronald Wade’s job a bit gruesome, but he plays a pretty important role. As the State Anatomy Board director for Maryland, Wade is responsible for the bodies that are donated to science in Maryland. Each year,
Film Friday: Tessellations
Raise your hand if you’ve heard of M.C. Escher. Now raise your hand if you know what tessellations are. Surprise! If you know of M.S. Escher’s work, you are also familiar with tessellations — even if you don’t recognize the term.
Math at Work Monday: Katie the costume designer
Two things you should know: First off, I once worked in the marketing and public relations department at Virginia Stage Company, an Equity theatre. Second, I love to sew (and don’t have enough time these days to delve into my stash
Film Friday: The amazing abacus
So, I’ve seen an abacus (or the plural, abaci), but until this video, I’d never seen one in action. Now, I’m not a big fan of speed in math, but I have to admit this is pretty darned cool — especially
Homework Help: 4 middle school math facts you probably forgot
Every so often, at around 7:00 p.m., I’ll get a call from someone I know. “I don’t understand my kid’s math homework,” they’ll say. These folks aren’t dumb or bad at math. But almost always, they’ve hit a concept that they
Math at Work Monday: Julie the audiologist
For many of us, math is like hearing — something we take for granted on a daily basis. As an audiologist, Julie Norin pays close attention to both on a day-to-day basis. Here’s how she uses math in her work and
Film Friday: Extreme tidying
I’m not sure I could live with Ursus Wehrli. A Swiss artist and comedian, his ideas of order are a bit extreme. You’ve probably seen his carefully arranged bowl of alphabet soup: This is basic set theory — and we started
Math Secret #4: You do use algebra
It’s the No. 1 question asked of math teachers: “When will I ever use this stuff?” And in terms of upper-level math — conic sections, radicals, differentiation and the quadratic formula — the answer may very well be, “Not much.”
Math at Work Monday: Ann the art museum curator
Ann Shafer If you’ve been following the Math for Grownups blog, you know how often math plays a role in art. Turns out that it’s not only useful in creating art but caring for it as well. Ann Shafer,