We’re Number…Huh? If I gave you five guesses, could you identify the most famous equation in mathematics? Perhaps this would be your first guess: I must admit that is not a bad choice. I think that one might be my personal favorite, but I do believe there is a general consensus about the most beautiful […]
0.20787… Check this out… That looks familiar, right? I think most of us have come across both of those definitions at some point. What you probably didn’t learn is this… Take a close look at that…and then look at this… Truly astonishing, an imaginary number raised to the power of an imaginary number gives us […]
How About a New Punctuation Mark? Do you have any idea what this is? How about a hint? Oh yeah, that is a really good idea Can I have another one, that last one was so helpful OK, you can have a couple more. You look great Where are you going, gravedigging […]
Inspired by a Yahoo: Inspiration is in Short Supply, we all need to take it Wherever and Whenever we can get it. I am bursting at the seams. Writing about Edwin Goodwin (the clown who “discovered” that π = 3.2) has elevated me; my ambitions now include worldwide fame. I want riches, texts from supermodels […]
Bill #246: Strange Doings in Indiana ‘we think it something on which the members of both houses can unite without distinction of party.’” James Garfield, commenting on his proof of The Pythagorean Theorem (as discussed in a previous essay). Does it strike you at all as strange that then-Congressman James Garfield would make such a […]
1,000,000 Digits Isn’t Nearly Enough: A Few Thoughts on π A few years ago, I sat down at my computer intending to write a short essay on one of my favorite subjects, π. I thought I would start by computing π to as many digits as possible. It was at that point that I realized […]
A Problem with a Post A few days ago, I published a short essay entitled Multiplicative Persistence. Now I want to tell the story behind the trouble I had trying to get the post, to well…post. It was an ordeal. As you might imagine, I go through lots of drafts when I write these things. […]
Multiplicative Persistence 277,777,788,888,899 is an unusual and special number. When it comes to Multiplicative Persistence, it is an unparalleled superstar. Check out the following table. Can you figure out what is going on? The digits of any given number are multiplied together to get a new number, and then those digits are multiplied together, and […]
The Feynman Point Richard Feynman was unusually intelligent. He earned a Nobel Prize in physics. He was one of those people who had a VIP pass to look at The Book virtually whenever he wanted. There are a bunch of biographies and autobiographies out there about him. It wouldn’t be a waste of time to […]
Give Me Some Space! It is very difficult for old people to change their ways. Buford Lister (personal communication) A few years ago, I got an email from a friend of mine. As I was reading it, I began to become irritated, then I became agitated, and then…well, I didn’t throw my computer monitor out […]