I referenced graph theory in a post recently entitled Talking Trees and am bringing it up again today. What is graph theory? According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, graph theory is the branch of mathematics concerned with networks of points connected by lines. This area of mathematics has many applications, including the process of finding the most economical route […]
You may have read this title and went “Huh? Why is this about sizes of infinity? Isn’t infinity just…infinity? It’s the concept of something that goes on and on and never stops? It’s not a number, so how can we talk about size?” Well, you can thank a gentleman named Georg Cantor for this discussion. […]
My corner of the world is currently gearing up for a record-breaking storm: Hurricane Irma. I live in south Florida, not too far from Miami. Food, water, supplies have been flying off shelves for over a week. Long lines for gas are the immediate norm. And the NOAA hurricane site is one of my favorites. […]
Several years ago, I mentioned tessellations or tilings in Bee’s Needs . For that post, I focused on the regular hexagons of honeycombs, but I mentioned that squares and equilateral triangles are the other regular polygons that may be used to create a tiling. In fact, those are the only 3 regular polygons. Why? Well, it has […]
I had a birthday about a month ago, and with that birthday I entered a new decade. I won’t reveal which decade, but let’s just say that my age is starting to really hit me. I am not old, but I am not young either. And this led to me reflecting on what I’ve done […]
On this Sunday morning, I am yet again the owner of a losing lottery ticket. I know. I know. The probability of winning is so slim, why waste my money? I figure that $1 a week isn’t too much to spend on a little bit of hope, and some of the proceeds fund the Bright […]
What if I told you that one of the top mathematicians of today makes discoveries in his field through valuable playtime? It’s true! And he is not the only one. Just think about why children play. For a child, playtime is work. It is their way of figuring out how the world works as they […]
How do you feel about someone pinpointing when you had sex? Too personal? Not an appropriate question for this blog? Actually, it’s a very appropriate question when doctors are trying to pinpoint the fetal age of a baby. Judgment of when a woman became pregnant can be inaccurate by as much as several weeks, and […]
“Scientific breakthroughs are often facilitated by mathematics.” – Richard Bertram, FSU Professor of Mathematics And mathematics is leading science on the path to finding a cure for diabetes. At Florida State University, Richard Bertram created the models for reactivating the oscillations in insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells. Then, he collaborated with Michael Roper, FSU Associate Professor […]
I watched a movie yesterday and highly recommend it. The Man Who Knew Infinity is based on the true story of the mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan. I don’t want to say too much for fear of giving it away, but the movie takes us through the development of Ramanujan’s mathematical career. He was a brilliant, self-taught […]
mathemorsels 