Mathematical Documentaries

This is a nice collection of mathematics-themed documentaries:

http://www.cosmolearning.com/mathematics/documentaries/

There are 30 or so documentaries here, many from the BBC’s Topics in the History of Mathematics, such as Non-Euclidean Geometry and the Birth of the Calculus.

Other documentaries of interest include biographies of Florence Nightingale (whose contribution to statistics is often overlooked) and John Nash (Nobel prize winner and subject of the film A Beautiful Mind).

There are also a number of traditional lecture series available as well.

Worst Discount Ever

This has to be some kind of record for smallest difference between sale price and regular price.

Using the standard formula for percent change

we find the difference in sale price and original price to be

\frac{119.99 - 119.00} {119.99} \approx 0.00825

That’s a 0.8% discount!  Was this really worth printing up a “SALE!” sign?

Math Lesson: European Debt Crisis

My latest contribution to the New York Times Learning Network is a Math Lesson designed around exploring loan repayment and risk assessment in the context of the European Debt Crisis.

https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/30/crunching-the-numbers-exploring-the-math-of-the-debt-crisis/

In this lesson, students interact with some cool infographics, collect debt data, run the numbers on possible loan repayment schedules, and explore an elementary notion of “risk” in finance.

Math Quiz: NYT Learning Network

Through Math for America, I am part of an on-going collaboration with the New York Times Learning Network.  My latest contribution, a Test Yourself quiz-question, can be found here:

https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/30/test-yourself-math-nov-30-2011/

This problem is related to the increase in on-line education services being offered by established colleges and universities.  How much money is there to be made in this business?

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