A Case of Quenching Enthusiasm
In 1672, a brilliant young lawyer named Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was on assignment in Paris. He’d always been interested in mathematics – self-taught in geometry – and became fascinated with the intellectual energy there. The Dutch scientist and mathematician Christiaan Huygens took Leibniz under his wing and challenged his math acumen with the problem of […]
The Politics of Knowledge: When Loyalty Minimizes Learning
The Politics of Knowledge: When Loyalty Minimizes Learning is available from Lexington Books, an imprint of Rowman and Littlefield. “Whether or not the the U.S. is in decline can be debated, but there is evidence that its political system is becoming less able to solve major problems. This is in part because loyalty to a belief […]
Circumference of the earth from a 13′ pole
How might we figure the circumference of the earth with just a 4 meter pole? First it helps to know that the sun will be directly overhead Town A at 12:00 noon on June 22, the summer solstice, when the sun’s zenith is at its furthest point from the equator. At that moment, you will […]
Pascal’s Probability Puzzle
In my political science classes, the following exercise is given to the students to decide on as a group: “Harry and Tom are engaged in a contest. The first to win six coin-tosses will get $800 dollars. Harry is ahead 5-3 when the contest is stopped. It is up to you, the class, to decide […]
A President’s Approval and Simple Math
In my American Government classes, there is a lecture on Public Opinion, in which I briefly address how the U.S. Presidents’ job approval ratings generally decline over the course of their time in office. This consistently downward trend can be shown with the following table compiled from Gallup polls (www.gallup.com/poll/124922/presidential-approval-center.aspx). President Starting approval rating […]
Path of a bullet and a Pair of Equations
In my social and political science classes, I give at least one lecture during the semester on the Scientific Method. We discuss our human tendency to doubt scientific evidence or theories if they challenge our beliefs, and how our “common sense” can at times mislead us. The following is one of many examples: Suppose you […]
A Panel of 9 and Impartiality
Suppose there was a panel of 9 individuals, voting either “Yea” or “Nay” on a particular proposal. All things being equal, what would be the probability that any one particular individual would cast the deciding vote, either on the Yea side or the Nay side? To calculate this would not be very realistic, considering it […]
Why are the standardized math tests difficult?
The standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT serve a few essential purposes. For one, they provide a piece of the student’s total package for college recruiters to assess, along with GPA, references, and extracurricular activities. They also compare a student’s scores with all of the other cohorts applying at that time, regardless of […]
Missing the Link? An Argument for Algebra
An article a while back in the New York Times asked the question “Is Algebra Necessary?” It suggested that while math is integral to civilization, we nevertheless should not force it on our students. The argument was that solving an algebraic expression does not necessarily lead to “more credible political opinions or social analysis.” This […]