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Interesting. From this book (sorry, not all of the formulas converted right): Mathematical Signatures in Nature: A Sign of Design? “[The Universe] is written in the language of mathematics, and its characters are triangles, circles, and other geometrical figures, without which it is humanly impossible to understand a single word of it...” – Galileo Galilei1 Math is the universal language, but it is not a human construct. Sure, we create symbols for numbers and mathematical computations, but math itself is more fundamental. 2 + 2 = 4 is universally true, universal in the sense that everywhere in the universe it...

Based on the fact that neither of the two primary political parties in the U.S. seem to know or care about the very limited constitutional powers of the federal government today, it’s not hard to understand why many American patriots are seeking a silver bullet in the form of a new political party. But how realistic is that idea, or more accurately stated, is it a dangerous road to go down?

DETROIT (WXYZ) - The results of a national test indicate Detroit public school children performed the lowest of all eighteen participating cities, and the reaction from officials now charged with leading the district can be summed up in one word: disappointed.

Making the World's Knowledge Computable Today's Wolfram|Alpha is the first step in an ambitious, long-term project to make all systematic knowledge immediately computable by anyone. Enter your question or calculation and Wolfram|Alpha uses its built-in algorithms and a growing collection of data to compute the answer. Based on a new kind of knowledge-based computing...

Okay, we have tons of algebra programs that can work with numbers but do not have any help with Story problems. Can anyone tell us the formula for solving this, step by step. Nine pounds of Sweet Potatoes cost the same as Six pounds of Apples. One pound of Sweet Potatoes cost twice as much as one pound of Onions. While a pound of Apples costs 24 cents more than a pound of Onions. (we can't solve it with NO integers) Can anyone tell us how to do this?

More city kids are graduating from high school, but that doesn't mean they can do college math. Basic algebra involving fractions and decimals stumped a group of City University of New York freshmen - suggesting city schools aren't preparing them... "These results are shocking," ... "They show that a disturbing proportion of New York City high school graduates lack basic skills." During their first math class at one of CUNY's four-year colleges, 90% of 200 students tested couldn't solve a simple algebra problem... Only a third could convert a fraction into a decimal. The lack of math skills means the...

This article is also available as a podcast. A Gömböc is a strange thing. It looks like an egg with sharp edges, and when you put it down it starts wriggling and rolling around with an apparent will of its own. Until quite recently, no-one knew whether Gömböcs even existed. Even now, Gábor Domokos, one of their discoverers, reckons that in some sense they barely exists at all. So what are Gömböcs and what makes them special? Balancing act The defining feature of a Gömböc is the fact that it's got just two points of equilibrium: one is stable and...

Faster than the computer cloud

boom in affordable housing in the 1950s was helped by the invention of a distinctive multifunctional piece of equipment: the backhoe. Its strong yet relatively slender articulated arm allowed precise yet rapid placement for digging or lifting. The manipulative device is trim and fast, since hoses transfer power to it from a powerful hydraulic pump within the main chassis. The "arm" of the backhoe makes many people think the equipment design is similar to a human arm, but what makes it so versatile is that it is actually more like a giant human finger. If a valuable piece of equipment...

For many students, bungling more than half the questions on a test would mean an F and all that comes with it — months of remedial work, irksome teachers and, perhaps, a skimpy allowance. But on New York State’s math exam this year, seventh graders who correctly answered just 44 percent of questions were rewarded with a passing grade. What gives? Three years ago, the threshold for passing was 60 percent. In fact, students in every grade this year could slide by with fewer correct answers on the math test than in 2006. In math this year, 86 percent of...

Welcome to the party fellas. When the president says his plan won't add one dime to the deficit, will cover everyone, will allow you to keep your plan, and will improve the quaIity of care, I usually start thinking that the unicorns will be here any minute. After the president's Hail Mary speech on Wednesday, the AP did a fact check and found many of his claims to be a stretch, at best. For example, on the assurance that "it won't add one dime to the deficit," AP notes that the Barry and the Dems are full of it.

A new mathematical model reveals the tactics that a small number of interlopers can use to seize power. How is it possible for a small number of newcomers to displace a well-established group of leaders? That's not just a question for military organizations wanting to overthrow governments; it's a question for political parties controlling national debates, new products displacing well-established market leaders, and flocking birds following leaders to new food sources. Social scientists have studied the nature of effective leadership for centuries with limited success. Physicists, on the other hand, are new to the party, which gives them a chance...

The first math tutoring session with my daughter and her friend Laura had ended. I sat in the dining room, slumped in my chair. "You look sick," my wife said. "I am," I said. My daughter—subjected to the vagaries of Everyday Mathematics, a math program her school had selected and put in effect when she was in the third grade—was having difficulty with key concepts and computations. She was now in 6th grade, and with fractional division, percentages and decimals on the agenda, I wanted to make sure she mastered these things. So, near the beginning of 6th grade, I...

Math theories may hold clues to origin, future of life in universe June 9th, 2009 How did we get here and where are we headed? These are some of life's biggest questions. To get the answers, one Kansas State University professor is doing the math. Louis Crane, K-State professor of mathematics, is studying new theories about why the universe is the way it is. He has a grant from the Foundational Questions Institute to study new approaches to the quantum theory of gravity, his primary research area as both a mathematician and a physicist. Crane hopes to uncover implications of...

Math students in this high-performing school district used to rush through their Algebra I textbooks only to spend the first few months of Algebra II relearning everything they forgot or failed to grasp the first time. So the district’s frustrated math teachers decided to rewrite the algebra curriculum, limiting it to about half of the 90 concepts typically covered in a high school course in hopes of developing a deeper understanding of key topics. Last year, they began replacing 1,000-plus-page math textbooks with their own custom-designed online curriculum; the lessons are typically written in Westport and then sent to a...

Paper art can be traced back to Japan, where it originated over a thousand years ago. From complex paper cutting to book carving, this is an ever expanding area of design that is hardly talked about. These intricate paper designs grace museums and exhibitions throughout the world and is becoming yet another exciting medium of expression for many designers. Some of the artists featured here use simple materials, such as A4 printing paper, while others resort to unexpected materials, such as actual books, as their prime materials. In this article, we’ll take a look at 13 remarkable artists and showcase...

A 16-year-old Iraqi immigrant living in Sweden has cracked a maths puzzle that has stumped experts for more than 300 years, Swedish media reported Thursday. In just four months, Mohamed Altoumaimi has found a formula to explain and simplify the so-called Bernoulli numbers, a sequence of calculations named after the 17th century Swiss mathematician Jacob Bernoulli, the Dagens Nyheter daily said. Altoumaimi, who came to Sweden six years ago, said teachers at his high school in Falun, central Sweden were not convinced about his work at first.

An Iraqi-born 16-year-old reportedly has cracked a math puzzle that has gone unsolved for over 300 years. Mohamed Altoumaimi, who immigrated to Sweden six years ago, took only four months to find a formula that explains a sequence of calculations known as the Bernoulli numbers, a code that had stumped some of the best experts in the field, Agence France-Presse reported.

MALDEN, Mass. (WPRI) - According to state education officials, nearly three-quarters of the people who took the state elementary school teacher’s licensing exam this year failed the new math section. The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is releasing the results Tuesday. They say that only 27 percent of the more than 600 candidates who took the test passed. The test was administered in March of this year. The teacher’s licensing exam tested potential teachers on their knowledge of elementary school mathematics. This included geometry, statistics, and probability. Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester was not surprised by the results. He...

The online 'computational knowledge engine' calculates answers, unlike Google, which searches for information that already exists.How long does it take to get to Saturn at, say, the speed of light? With Wolfram Alpha, the online "computational knowledge engine" that launched Monday, the answer -- 75 minutes -- can be found in a fraction of a second. Web users can submit customized questions to the service, and Wolfram Alpha will try to work out the answer on the fly. The chance that a healthy 35-year-old woman will contract heart disease in the next 10 years? One in 167. The temperature in...

In a recent study, Bartolo Luque and Lucas Lacasa of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid in Spain have discovered a new pattern in primes that has surprisingly gone unnoticed until now. They found that the distribution of the leading digit in the prime number sequence can be described by a generalization of Benford’s law. In addition, this same pattern also appears in another number sequence, that of the leading digits of nontrivial Riemann zeta zeros, which is known to be related to the distribution of primes. Besides providing insight into the nature of primes, the finding could also have applications...

An interesting and shall we say ‘odd’ excuse has been found for celebrating the seventh of may! The man to do so is none other than Ron Gordon, the founder of ’square root day’! Gordon is a math teacher from the Redwood City,California and has pointed out that today’s date, written in the American format, 5/7/09, is one among six in this century. Gordon finds the day a perfectly odd, excuse to celebrate the day with some odd celebration! It is indeed an interesting numerical sequence, but Gordon is so excited that he is actually offering a prize of 5-7-9...

TRURO — Voters narrowly approved one of four zoning amendments late Tuesday night at the annual town meeting. But town officials were still looking at the exact vote count on that article yesterday. In a vote of 136 to 70, voters passed a new time limit on how quickly a cottage colony, cabin colony, motel or hotel can be converted to condominiums. The new limit requires that those properties be in operation for three years before being converted to condominiums. The idea behind the zoning amendment is to slow the pace of condominium development in Truro and preserve more affordable...

It's Friday at Florida International University, which means a few things for Sky Choi: physics lab, Calculus II -- and a trip to the game room. For this 12-year-old, the youngest student ever to attend FIU, college is a long-awaited challenge and a daily adventure. ''We have fun here,'' he said as he prepared to start a work sheet on pistons, gases, and pressure with his lab partners. Welcome to the world of Sky, who is taking a full course load of physics, calculus, and Chinese language classes at the university -- and still finds time to play pool and...

whitefox writes "The scoop from CNet is that 'The US House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a resolution introduced two days earlier that designates March 14, 2009 (3/14, get it?) as National Pi Day. It urges schools to take the opportunity to teach their students about Pi and "engage them about the study of mathematics."' The resolution is available online. I doubt it'll ever become a national holiday, but the Pi string in the article is pretty cool in a nerdy sort of way."

Pi, Greek letter (pi), is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi = 3.1415926535... Pi Day is celebrated by math enthusiasts around the world on March 14th.

Ya can't make it up: House praises pi By: David Rogers March 12, 2009 05:02 PM EST With the world swirling about it, the House took a moment Thursday to honor pi, the Greek letter symbolizing that great constant in mathematics representing the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. An irrational number that has been calculated to more than 1 trillion digits, pi is a concept not totally foreign to today’s Washington. But in this case, the goal was to promote efforts by the National Science Foundation to improve math education in the United States,...

3 squared = 9

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – Dust off the slide rules and recharge the calculators. Square Root Day is upon us. The math-buffs' holiday, which only occurs nine times each century, falls on Tuesday — 3/3/09 (for the mathematically challenged, three is the square root of nine). "These days are like calendar comets, you wait and wait and wait for them, then they brighten up your day — and poof — they're gone," said Ron Gordon, a Redwood City teacher who started a contest meant to get people excited about the event. The winner gets, of course, $339 for having the biggest...

Watered down by fuzzy math, "whole language" reading and feel-good grading, public school instruction isn't what it used to be. Therein lies a great profitmaking opportunity: Supply the education that schools don't. Kumon, a Japanese firm that has been selling afterschool tutoring in its home country for half a century, broke into the U.S. market in 1983 and finds no shortage of customers here. Kumon now has 1,300 centers and 194,000 students in the U.S., double its enrollment in 2001. That puts it well ahead of its two main competitors, SylvanLearning and Huntington Learning Center. Most Kumon students are between...

From Sacramento -- The math seems pretty simple. But apparently it's too rigorous for many Republican politicians. To avoid raising taxes and still balance the books in Sacramento, you'd have to virtually shut down state government.

I used to have Verizon Wireless years ago, but literally had to fight them every month because my bill was always wrong. The would always fight me with some idiot who could not do simple math … just like this. (Go to link to listen to audio)

Any Mathmaniacs out there looking for a good time on a Friday night? I suspect that you might have to have better than average skill to do this, but math is math. It's free from opinion and sometimes the truths that are revealed are more powerful than punditry. I floated this question a couple of days ago, but it was during a slow traffic hour and to a separate thread. It was also before this particular item was yanked from the Stimulus Shakedown. Anyway, I was curious if anyone might have the math skill to breakdown the cost of resodding...

The Art of Strategy: A Game Theorist’s Guide to Success in Business and Life Avinash Dixit and Barry Nalebuff W.W. Norton £16.99, 512 pages Was Solomon wise for suggesting a baby be split in two, or just lucky? Lucky, say the authors – two jovial American business school gurus – of The Art of Strategy: A Game Theorist’s Guide to Success in Business and Life. The fake mother should have anticipated Solomon’s cunning. She should have feigned self-sacrifice. His judgement would not then have extracted the truth. The authors then describe ‘the simplest of the devices that would have worked’....

Obama’s treasury secretary-designate Timothy Geithner, called revelations that he neglected to pay some of his income taxes a “hiccup on my road to greatness.” The unpaid taxes stem from Geithner’s time with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Although the IMF didn’t withhold taxes on the portion of his payments identified as “self-employment” income, it did pay him an additional amount to cover this liability. Geithner did complete and sign the forms needed to obtain this additional money and did, in fact accept payment. He just failed to forward this money to the IRS. Geithner belittled criticisms of his handling of...

Pornography Prep Schools by: Daniel Allen, January 16, 2009 What did your sixth grader learn at school today? There is a good chance that she learned how to use a condom, or learned about homosexual relations from a gay activist. Or maybe it was a more innocent lesson about the importance of jihad, and how to pray to Allah. Tomorrow it might be a lesson about suicide, or a class discussion about “stupid rules at home” and parental incompetence. The unfortunate truth, as documented in From Crayons to Condoms: The Ugly Truth about America’s Public Schools, a collection of stories...

Mathematicians Land Top Spot in New Ranking of Best and Worst Occupations in the U.S. BY SARAH E. NEEDLEMANThe Wall Street Journal Nineteen years ago, Jennifer Courter set out on a career path that has since provided her with a steady stream of lucrative, low-stress jobs. Now, her occupation — mathematician — has landed at the top spot on a new study ranking the best and worst jobs in the U.S. "It's a lot more than just some boring subject that everybody has to take in school," says Ms. Courter, a research mathematician at mental images Inc., a maker of...

Does anyone use Singapore Math? I have a 4th grader (I am tutoring) who is floundering in school. He seems to be solid in all his math basics, but cannot grasp the SM. I am ordering the books so I can help him; should I order the Teachers' Books too? Do people like SM? WHY???

Yahoo News featured an interesting short report issued by Agence France-Presse on November 20. In it we discover that a consortium of French, German and Hungarian mathematicians are claiming to have proven that Einstein's famous equation, e=mc2, is correct. The report is all good except for one very small aspect. They call the effort of these mathematicians "heroic" in contradiction to the root meaning of the word. Mathematics isn't "heroic" and it is a degradation of true heroics to say it is. Unfortunately, while a small thing too casually used in the AFP report, it proves a sort of degradation...

You know the economy is in trouble when economists start bandying around numeric terms previously associated with astronomy and particle physics. You can't open a newspaper these days without seeing the phrase "trillion dollars" placed in disturbing proximity to the word losses. According to the Nexis database, these terms appeared together in 1,774 English-language news reports between July and October 2008. During the same three-month period in 2007, they appeared in only 541, and during the same period in 2006, they appeared in only 316. Those were the good old days! You may not even remember from grade-school arithmetic what...

The United States is failing to develop the math skills of both girls and boys, especially among those who could excel at the highest levels, a new study asserts, and girls who do succeed in the field are almost all immigrants or the daughters of immigrants from countries where mathematics is more highly valued. The study suggests that while many girls have exceptional talent in math — the talent to become top math researchers, scientists and engineers — they are rarely identified in the United States. A major reason, according to the study, is that American culture does not highly...

Another crop circle has appeared in the English countryside — and this one's clearly been made by someone, or something, that understands math.

Algebra in eighth grade was once reserved for the mathematically gifted student. In 1990, very few eighth graders, about one out of six, were enrolled in an algebra course. As the decade unfolded, leaders began urging schools to increase that number. President Clinton lamented, “Around the world, middle students are learning algebra and geometry. Here at home, just a quarter of all students take algebra before high school.”1 The administration made enrolling all children in an algebra course by eighth grade a national goal. In a handbook offering advice to middle school students on how to plan for college, U.S....

Parents concerned with latest math curriculum Georgia parents were outraged after thousands of students failed statewide math exams in May. Now with the start of a new school year, parents fear for their children as the state expands the new math curriculum to high schools. Fayette County parent Wendy Ashabranner worries how her son will handle this new math when he starts at Fayette County High on Monday. He was among the 38 percent of the state's eighth-graders who failed the state's new, redesigned math exam, which was based on harder material. While parents and teachers expected some students to...

Fast Learners Montgomery County officials say accelerating students in math will better prepare them for college, but a revered teacher says it's time to step on the brakes. By Emily Messner Sunday, August 3, 2008; Page W20 It's the day before final exams start at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, and Eric Walstein is teaching a class he calls "a travesty." It's not that he minds teaching Algebra II, but these students are in Blair's acclaimed math and science magnet program, and traditionally the magnet hasn't bothered with the course -- the kids were smart enough, and their...

. . . and also, it seems, for the New York Times. 28 July 2008 The New York Times is determined to show that women are discriminated against in the sciences; too bad the facts say otherwise. A new study has “found that girls perform as well as boys on standardized math tests,” claims a July 25 article by Tamar Lewin—thus, the underrepresentation of women on science faculties must result from bias. Actually, the study, summarized in the July 25 issue of Science, shows something quite different: while boys’ and girls’ average scores are similar, boys outnumber girls among students...

If you believe that girls fare significantly worse on math than boys in high-school tests, you would have been right — twenty years ago. Thanks to a concerted effort by parents and schools to get more girls in advanced math classes, the test-score disparity has completely disappeared, according to the National Science Foundation:

Zip. Zilch. Nada. There's no real difference between the scores of U.S. boys and girls on common math tests, according to a massive new study. Educators hope the finding will finally dispel lingering perceptions that girls don't measure up to boys when it comes to crunching numbers. "This shows there's no issue of intellectual ability--and that's a message we still need to get out to some of our parents and teachers," says Henry "Hank" Kepner, president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics in Reston, Virginia. It won't be a new message. Nearly 20 years ago, a large-scale study...

My wife and I have 3 children (ages 1, 3, and 5), and we recently purchased a home in Winchester, Massachusetts, because its schools have a good reputation and its students do well on the MCAS . I looked at the "Academics" section of the school district web site and found "Math literature lists" (what happened to textbooks?) for various grades. The 4th grade list at http://mail.winchester.k12.ma.us/~mkerble/mathlists4.doc lists dozens of books, including Count your Way Through Africa Count Your Way Through Arab World and 7 move "Count your Way" books Amazon says the "Count your Way Through Africa" book "uses...