Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
James Grime on connect the towns solution (Motorway Problem)
Posted by: Gary Ernest Davis on: July 30, 2011
James Grime – mathematician, nurse juggler and comedy nerd, Cambridge, UK – ( @jamesgrime on Twitter) has a lovely, and funny, video on the connect the towns by the shortest route problem. I think this is an outstanding example of mathematical exposition, and is EXACTLY what kids should be thinking abut in mathematics classes. Bravo […]
What do we need to solve quadratic equations?
Posted by: Gary Ernest Davis on: June 11, 2011
Completing the square A former colleague wondered if the quadratic formula held when are complex numbers. He could, of course, have figured this out by the process of completing the square: If then exactly when (thanks to James Tanton for this trick). This happens exactly when or, equivalently when . This leads us to the […]
