Math Experts Split the Check

Sure, but the numbers work out more cleanly if we don’t pay tax and tip. It’s a pretty small error term. Let’s not complicate things unnecessarily.

The Kaufman Decimals

You never know where conversations will turn with Jeff Kaufman. He goes barefoot, hates cucumbers, and donates fantastic chunks of his Google salary to charity.

0.999…. and the Debate that Repeats Forever

Adrian led a pack of disbelievers in the claim that 0.999… = 1. “You’re crazy, Orlin,” he said. “You’ve lost your grip on reality. Snap out of it.” With my sanity under challenge (for neither the first nor the last time), I pushed back by offering the standard proof of the fact.

A Conversation That Made My Day

Student #1: Look, Mr. Orlin, we all signed this petition! Me: “We, the undersigned, would like to have Calculus all day, every day.” Hey, I’m glad you guys are enjoying the class. Student #2: Can you change the schedule? Me: Well, logistics aside, you guys only got two signatures on this. Student #1: What are … Continue reading A Conversation That Made My Day →

Iron Man 3 Outsold the Entire Book-Publishing Industry

On May 3rd, more Americans bought tickets to Iron Man 3 than bought books. I mean all books. Combined.

History’s Greatest Chess Matches

Anderssen leads his pieces in a suicide charge. He sacrifices a bishop, both rooks, and the queen – nearly all his best material – in exchange for nothing but pawns. It’s like a parent chanting, “Go! Go! Go!” as he sends his children sprinting out into onrushing traffic.

Learning is a Fluorescent Light

I know this new concept feels hard. But you know what it’s like turning on a fluorescent light? It flickers on, then goes dark, then goes bright for an instant, then goes dark again…

A Fight with Euclid

I had a fight with Euclid on the nature of the primes. It got a little heated - you know how the tension climbs.

Ultimate Tic-Tac-Toe

Once at a picnic, I saw mathematicians crowding around the last game I would have expected: Tic-tac-toe.

How Fast is Exponential Growth? (Or, Yao Ming Confronts the Vastness of the Universe)

By Yao’s shins (12 inches), the graph is over 300 feet tall – a little higher than the Tribune Tower in Oakland.