Negative One Twelfth There is a perfect epigraph for this essay, but I advise you not to use it. It is too on point. If you think about it, I am sure you can come up with something. Buford Lister (personal communication) I have been reminiscing about my time at Harvard University. I admit that […]
1 = .999… Q. How many mathematicians does it take to screw in a light bulb? A. .999… One of my hobbies is Number Theory. I have a bunch of DVD courses on the topic as well as quite a few books. Consequently, I have always had a secret ambition to write an entire essay […]
A Pitcher in Zipper Boots I had an uncle named Dallas. This post is about him and a couple things he did during his life, random and unusual things I will never forget. Dallas used to wear a leather band on his watch, an extraordinarily thick one. The watch was always worn with the dial […]
The Notorious MFT: The Checkered Story of the GOAT of GOATS On April 3, 1995, the human race lost the GOAT of GOATS, a stone-cold assassin, a man whom Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretzky can only admire from down the road. As for Wolfgang Mozart and Isaac Newton, let’s just say that the three of […]
Phil’s Slight Oversight Phil was pacing back and forth in his sparse, tiny cell. His mind was racing: man, man, man, man, man…what has happened to me? How did I let it come to this? I don’t belong here, this isn’t right at all. “Guard, guard! You have to let me out of here. This […]
Nickels I am a big fan of McDonald’s restaurant. I really like their hamburgers, I will take theirs over those of lots of different chains. Currently, a burger is $1, quite the bargain. You can also get any size beverage for $1, my go-to is the large Diet Coke. Lots of days, I drive through […]
10,958 Piper Pandora Pennington threw her backpack on the faded red seat of the booth and slid in beside it. She crossed her arms and stared at the old man sitting across from her. He didn’t lookup. His nose was buried in a notebook full of mathematical scribbles. “Well…are you going to talk to me […]
1:59:40.2 You’ve got to be kidding me. How does a human being run that fast for that long? That’s not possible, is it?Buford Lister (personal communication) Years ago, one of my brothers, J, was coaching a high school tennis team. They weren’t necessarily perennial contenders for the league championship. It wasn’t the coach’s fault; this […]
Corndog! I have a nephew named Corndog. Recently, I was telling a story about him to a friend of mine. He stopped me mid-sentence: “Wait, your brother named his son Corndog?” Uh, no; his real name is not Corndog but he is known far and wide by that moniker. Corndog is my oldest nephew. Before […]
An Unexpected Meltdown To understand and be understood is to be free. Daniel Johnston I did something highly unusual the other day, something I had never done before. Did I beat a Grandmaster at chess? No, I am secretly a checkers guy; chess was never my game. Did I solve an open math problem, somehow […]