This video is billed as “an evolving landscape of a 3D fractal surface”.
I’m not sure exactly what that means, but it’s awesome. And the author claims to be working on some kind of fractal explorer that presumably would allow the user to navigate around the object.
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:
http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/test-yourself-march-2-2011/
This problem is based on the re-opening of long-closed gold mines due to the rising price of gold. Apparently, it’s now financially worthwhile to go back in and collect the scraps that were left behind.
Here’s my latest contribution to the New York Times Learning Network: a collection of ideas for math activities that are built around content from the New York Times.
http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/28/12-ways-to-use-the-times-to-develop-math-literacy/
The activities run the gamut of the paper, and include examples in Finance, Real Estate, Dining and Sports, among others. Here’s an example:
1. Find Your Dream Home
How much would you pay for 1,000 square feet of living space inNew York City? What about Los Angeles? Use the Real Estatesection of The Times to compare and contrast the cost of housing in different parts of the country, or even different parts of the world.
Or find a home for sale in your area, find an up-to-date interest rate (for that, you might try ERate), and use the mortgage calculatorlocated next to the real estate listing to compute your monthly payment over the term of the loan. How much would you have to earn per year to afford your dream home? How long would it take to save up enough for your down payment?
This is a classic confrontation between an attentive customer and some mathematically challenged customer service reps.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MShv_74FNWU
The customer has a hard time convincing Verizon that the price he was quoted, .002 cents per kilobyte, is quite different than the price he is being charged, .002 dollars per kilobyte. “Those are two completely different numbers,” a dejected, overcharged customer says. “They’re 100-fold different.”
The customer’s attempt to use the Socratic method to illuminate the misunderstanding was admirable, if unsuccessful.
