This ongoing street repair caught my eye. The blue chalk, the pink paint, the preliminary cuts in the concrete all intersecting in various configurations: it’s an angle-chaser’s dream!
NYT Teaching
Math Lesson: How is Math Beautiful?
My latest contribution to the New York Times Learning Network is the lesson “How Is Math Beautiful? Exploring by Creating“.
This lesson is inspired by the new Museum of Mathematics. After reading about the mission of the Museum and some of its exhibits, students are challenged to create their own exhibit of mathematics. The goal is for students to explore, capture, and communicate the beauty of mathematics.
Some suggestions for exhibits are tilings of the plane, mathematical photography, and different kinds of mathematical sculpture. What are some other suggestions that would excite students about sharing the beauty of mathematics?
Challenge NYT
Math Quiz — NYT Learning Network
Through Math for America, I am part of an ongoing collaboration with the New York Times Learning Network. My latest contribution, a Test Yourself quiz-question, can be found here
Test Yourself Math — April 22, 2013
This question is about the online currency Bitcoin. The value of a Bitcoin recently dropped nearly $160 from a record high of around $266. Approximately how much total value did all the Bitcoins in circulation lose?
Appreciation Geometry
How to Pack an Octogon
I feel like most manufacturers of octogonal tables would just put them in square boxes and shim the sides. But not IKEA.
I appreciate the elegance of this approach, but I wonder if this also yields benefits in production, shipping, and storage costs.
Art
Math Art: Borromean Rings
This is Borromean Rings, an alabaster carving by Nicholas Durnan, exhibited at the Bridges Math and Art conference.
Learn more about the artist and his work here.