And a jump-discontinuity, at that! I enjoy the jagged curves formed by cracking snow, where each turn is the product of some determinism and some randomness.
Appreciation Technology
New Pi Record
A Japanese man has set a new world record by computing 5 trillion digits of pi.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE70J7S220110120
Apparently Shigeru Kondo accomplished this feat using a home-built computer that worked non-stop for 90 days. Apart from this dramatic triumph for mathematical hobbyists (Kondo is a systems analyst for a food company), the article contains the following two excellent lines:
“Calculating a more accurate pi, which is believed to go on forever, has been a challenge for scholars for thousands of years.” Believed to go on forever? Is the reporter some kind of mathematical agnostic?
And this, from Kondo himself: “I really want to praise my computer, which calculated continuously for three months without complaint.” Credit where credit is due, I suppose.
It is interesting to note that, while 5 trillion is indeed the new record for consecutive digits of pi, researchers at Yahoo were able to compute digits that are much farther out than that; they just don’t know all the digits that lead up to it!
Application Appreciation Art
Mathematical Knitting
On the face of it, it’s hard to imagine two things as unrelated as mathematics and knitting. And yet, here we have a website devoted to mathematical knitting:
http://www.toroidalsnark.net/mathknit.html
A Klein-bottle hat (seen at right)? A Mobius scarf? Ingenious stuff, and a testament to our unlimited creativity and resourcefulness, if not our practicality.
The Klein bottle hat actually reminds me of the Klein bottle one of my students made out of plaster.
Appreciation History Resources
Logicomix: A Mathematical Graphical Novel
This is an innovative and intriguing idea: a graphic novel based on the infamous struggles to articulate the foundations of mathematics.
The story is apparently narrated by the great mathematician and philosopher Bertrand Russell, and the cast of characters includes Georg Cantor, Kurt Godel, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and many other prominent figures from mathematics and logic. A review in the New York Times can be found here.
The philosophy of mathematics is extremely interesting (start by asking yourself “What is a number?”), and this particular tale is truly a fascinating one. I am eager to see how these graphic artists tell the story.
Appreciation Photography
Math Photo: Tree-gonometry
I’m not sure exactly what causes a tree to take a 135 degree (45 degree?) turn, but it makes for a nice picture.
