Books and More…

First a few quickie book notes:

1)  Interesting to see Oscar Fernandez’s 2014 “Everyday Calculus” suddenly re-appear now as a paperback. [see correction/update at bottom...] Can’t help but think this has something to do with the widespread acclaim/popularity for Steven Strogatz’s current “Infinite Powers.” And later this year Ben Orlin has his own take on calculus coming out and perhaps giving Strogatz a run for his money in this genre. ;) 

Fascinating (and wonderful) to see the bane of so many previous students, calculus, suddenly entering the mainstream of popular book fare. Sort of wish Martin Gardner was around to see this new emphasis. He attempted a remake of a calculus text decades ago and would no doubt love seeing the renewed interest in and approaches to the subject.

2)  William Poundstone is one of my favorite nonfiction writers. Just finished his latest offering: “The Doomsday Calculation”… good, thought-provoking book, lousy title methinks (because who wants to read about doomsday; like the daily news isn’t already bad enough).

Anyway, lots of fascinating topics, thought experiments, paradoxes, conundrums, philosophy, (Bayesian) probabilities, cosmology, ETs, the Matrix, AI, mind-stretching stuff, etc. Give it a whirl (don't be put off by the title)!

3) …also, ICYMI, AMS with MAA has made a wonderful compendium of essays, “Living Proof: stories of resilience along the mathematical journey,” available for free download on the net:

https://www.ams.org/about-us/LivingProof.pdf

A great read both for professional mathematicians, and especially for those contemplating a possible math path ahead for themselves.

4)  And on the Twitters, Mike Lawler gives Graham Farmelo's new book, "The Universe Speaks in Numbers," a "100% terrific" rating. It's on my to-do list, though I'm a bit burnt-out on physics reading at the moment so it's not high-up on that list.

In other news, get your popcorn ready! Coming to a computer screen near you, the all-new summertime 2019 "Big Internet Math-Off" from Aperiodical has been announced with a diverse set of vibrant competitors (beginning July 1); Jim Propp returns, but otherwise all-new cast of characters:

https://aperiodical.com/2019/06/announcing-the-big-internet-math-off-2019/

Just checked with my bookie, Vinnie Boom Stats, and he analyzed the odds for each competitor to-win-it-all as follows:

Sanderson  3:1

Singh    3:1

Pantaloni  4:1

Silva  4:1

Evans  5:1

Shah   5:1

Freiberger/Thomas  6:1

Warren  6:1

Beveridge   7:1

Propp  7:1

Neale   8:1

Stephen  8:1

Carr   9:1

Corner  9:1

Haensch  9:1

Rycroft-Smith  9:1

Vinnie uses a combination of astrology, Babylonian numerology, and Oolong tea leaves to compute his odds, so no promises (I mean he assured me that Maximum Security would win the Kentucky Derby). 

…Let the upsets begin!

And from Numberphile, a fantastic calculus history lesson (audio podcast) from that Strogatz fellow (you may have heard of him) mentioned up above:

https://www.numberphile.com/videos/podcast-steven-strogatz

No math, but ICYMI I'll end with a link for chuckles to this widely-reported Canadian story about a plan to get consumers to do the right thing, that backfired, 'cuz ya know it's just hard to mess with human nature:
https://www.ecowatch.com/vancouvers-grocery-store-plastic-bags-2638807121.html
---------------------------

Correction:  Dr. Fernandez contacted me to let me know that despite the recent appearance of his 2014 volume in my local bookstore, the paperback version of "Everyday Calculus" actually first appeared in 2017. The paperback version of his "The Calculus of Happiness" did just recently appear, and his newest volume is "Calculus Simplified."
(...Maybe Dr. Strogatz should ask for a 10% royalty on all this renewed interest in calculus ;)))

Somebody’s Having a Birthday

Psssst.... guess who’s having a birthday TOMORROW (Monday)!? Hint: initials: S.S…. NO, NOT Sarah Sanders! ...OK, by some cruel, cosmic coincidence, tomorrow IS Sarah Sanders’ natal day (a day that may live in infamy?), but that is NOT of whom I blog. Rather, Monday is the birthday of great American, mathematician, and non-prevaricating communicator, Steven Strogatz…. (I believe he'll be 39-and-1/2, but I could be slightly off).

…and now that the applause has died down, a few links:

His Wikipedia page:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Strogatz

His own “About” page:

http://www.stevenstrogatz.com/about/

An article on him in the Cornell University (where he teaches) newspaper from last year:

http://cornellsun.com/2017/03/29/professor-shares-beauty-of-math-with-students-traumatized-by-subject/

A recent video with him and Grant Sanderson on the Brachistochrone problem:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cld0p3a43fU

A popular TED Talk he gave almost 15 years ago:
https://www.ted.com/talks/steven_strogatz_on_sync#t-8868

Many more videos with him:

http://www.stevenstrogatz.com/videos/

And his books:

https://www.amazon.com/Steven-H.-Strogatz/e/B001KHB290

...including the book I stiiiiiill recommend, more often than any other, to lay people who's interest in math was stifled along the way:

https://math-frolic.blogspot.com/2012/09/joy-to-world-of-math.html

Of course, he's on Twitter here:
https://twitter.com/stevenstrogatz
(...so go ahead and flood him with Birthday tweets, and cards, and gifs, and memes, etc.... but hey, you didn't hear it from me).

...and from his own webpages, perhaps my favorite photo of him... with that irresistible come-hither look! (taking on a Howard Stern persona, with wife's wig, pre-Halloween outing) ;) :

And lastly, this from my good buddy Paul...:



[...and don't stash your streamers & birthday whistles away after Monday, 'cuz Wednesday is Cliff Pickover's birthday, and then toward end of month Marcus du Sautoy celebrates, as do a couple of blokes named Witten and Wolfram.]

An Epiphany

Sunday reflection via Steven Strogatz....

"The teacher, Mr. diCurcio, said, 'I want you to figure out a rule about this pendulum.' He handed each of us a little toy pendulum with a retractable bob. You could make it a little bit longer or shorter in clicks in discrete steps. We were each handed a stopwatch and told to let the pendulum swing ten times, and then click, measure how long it takes for ten swings, and then click again, repeating the measurement after making the pendulum a little bit longer. The point was to see how the length of the pendulum determines how long it takes to make ten swings. The experiment was supposed to teach us about graph paper and how to make a relationship between one variable and another, but as I was dutifully plotting the length of time the pendulum took to swing ten times versus its length it occurred to me, after about the fourth or fifth dot, that a pattern was starting to emerge. These dots were falling on a particular curve I recognized because I'd seen it in my algebra class. It was a parabola, the same shape that water makes coming out of a fountain.
"I remember having an enveloping sensation of fear. It was not a happy feeling but an awestruck feeling. It was as if this pendulum knew algebra. What was the connection between the parabolas in algebra class and the motion of this pendulum? There it was on the graph paper. It was a moment that struck me, and was my first sense that the phrase 'law of nature' meant something. I suddenly knew what people were talking about when they said there could be order in the universe and that, more to the point, you couldn't see it unless you knew math. It was an epiphany that I've never really recovered from."

-- Steven Strogatz from "Who Cares About Fireflies"


[…If you have a favorite math-related passage that might make a nice Sunday morning reflection here let me know (SheckyR@gmail.com). If I use one submitted by a reader, I'll cite the contributor.]
 

It's a Wonderful Subject

Another short clip today of Steven Strogatz (from about a year ago at the World Science Festival), explaining simply why he's motivated to know and teach math:



I recently finished reading Dr. Strogatz's 2009 "The Calculus of Friendship" for the second time (having loved it the first time around), and oddly, perhaps because of the holidays approaching, it caused me to think of the old Jimmy Stewart movie, "It's a Wonderful Life," a film often viewed as a tradition for this festive (and nostalgic) time of year. I've never made a point of re-watching particular movies at particular seasons, but have to admit I'm now thinking of making Dr. Strogatz's book my own personal tradition to re-read each year as the holidays approach. It's a wonderful, if subdued, tale, and one wishes that everyone, whatever field you're in, could have a "Joff" in their lives... or... be a "Joff" to others (..."Joff" being Steven's inspiring high school math teacher).



ADDENDUM:  Now, coincidentally, The Aperiodical blog has just put up a (15-min.) student-made documentary about doing/teaching mathematics:

http://aperiodical.com/2014/11/logically-policed/

"math proofs that look like Nadal and math proofs that look like Federer"

That's just one of the gems from this wonderful new interview (30+ mins.) with Steven Strogatz via Santa Fe Institute:

http://www.santaferadiocafe.org/science/2014/08/06/steven-strogatz/

Sunday Reverie

Most of you likely know of Steve Strogatz's book, "The Calculus of Friendship," about the touching lifelong relationship between Dr. Strogatz and one of his high school math teachers.
Today, for a Sunday reverie, I'll just link to this 2009 RadioLab episode (15 mins., entitled "Calculove") about the story… worth a 2nd listen if you've heard it before (or already read the book), and definitely worth a first-listen if you aren't familiar with the story:

http://www.radiolab.org/story/91700-calculove/

Math is...

...beautiful, satisfying, useful, real, true, social, creative, fun! according to some bloke named Strogatz.

Steven Strogatz's recent interview with Patrick Honner for "Math Horizons" is now up, and, of course wonderful (particularly enjoy his description of his writing process):

http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/pdf/horizons/strogatz_feb14.pdf

From the piece: "One of the great mistakes that a lot of teachers make is that they think, 'I need to cover this material' instead of 'I need to help this person who is my friend.'”

As much as anyone, Dr. Strogatz puts humanity back into mathematics! (thanks for bringing him to us Patrick).

Whole interview sorta makes me want to buy 100 copies of his Joy of x book and just stand on a street corner somewhere handing them out (...but, I'll refrain) ;-)

p.s. -- Dr. Strogatz will be on NPR's "Science Friday" tomorrow in honor of "Pi Day."


...Tomorrow, there will be another weekly potpourri up over at MathTango (miscellaneous links I found interesting during the week, but didn't post about). Also, just realized I never linked from here to my last interview over there, with Alexander Bogomolny (of "Cut the Knot") in case you missed that.

Heeeeere's Mathbabe… and Steven too

I'm delighted today to direct readers over to MathTango for an interview with Cathy O'Neil, "Mathbabe" of the blogosphere:

http://mathtango.blogspot.com/2014/02/cathy-oneil-mathbabe-math-quant-turned.html

If you don't already follow her blog regularly you should! -- I consider it must-reading. Cathy is a former Wall Street 'math quant' who deals with a variety of topics and issues, including some not generally found on math blogs (and also some pure humor), and it is one of the best-written math blogs out there. At the end of the interview I link to another excellent video interview she did with PBS's Frontline series 2 years ago, and you ought try to find 40 mins. free to watch that as well (gooood stuff!).

...Also, in interview mode, Patrick Honner conversed extensively with Steven Strogatz in the current (Feb.) issue of Math Horizons and a nice excerpt is available on the Web here:

http://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/pdf/Mathhorizons/supplement/HonnerStrogatzExtra.pdf

I love that this particular section goes into some detail about the writing of Strogatz's 2009 book "The Calculus of Friendship" -- a volume he calls "emotional" and "raw, yet understated."  Just a few days ago I tweeted that every math-lover should read this book (and it has more math in it than you might expect, even though it is primarily an intimate, moving life story), and so the timing of this excerpt is excellent.
What better way to spend a snowed-in wintry day than with Cathy and Steve!

Sunday With Steven...

This weekend NPR's "RadioLab" replayed an older piece in which Steven Strogatz joins the regulars to elucidate the well-known game theory conundrum, the Prisoner's Dilemma. If you missed it, listen to Dr. Strogatz's as-always clear narrative focused on Robert Axlerod's solution to the puzzle (from around the 7 min. to the 15 min. point, but enjoy the whole 25 min. piece):

http://www.radiolab.org/2010/dec/14/one-good-deed-deserves-another/

And, what-the-heck might as well make it a Strogatz-Sunday… here's another of my favorite Strogatz-included RadioLab episodes, all about his lifelong relationship/friendship with a high school math teacher named Don Joffray; very touching, and the subject of his earlier book, "The Calculus of Friendship." This is the sort of story, that even if you've heard it before, is still enjoyable (and moving) on the second or third hearing (~16 mins.):

http://www.radiolab.org/2009/nov/30/calculove/

If you're a Strogatz fan you can look up several RadioLab episodes that have included him over the last several years, here:
 
http://www.radiolab.org/search/?q=strogatz#q=strogatz

ADDENDUM: Dr. Strogatz tweets this page for further Weblinks to him:

http://www.stevenstrogatz.com/media.html

Monday Potpourri

Time to catch up on a few things from the past couple days.

Readers seem to always enjoy 'quickies' as I call 'em, so here's a delectable one from a recent Twitter feed for all the foodies out there:

https://twitter.com/nerdfaced/status/289867477305937920/photo/1

'Wild About Math's' latest podcast is with Mircea Pitici, the editor of the annual "The Best Writing On Mathematics" series. The ~hour-long podcast is here:

http://wildaboutmath.com/2013/01/13/mircea-pitici-inspired-by-math-15/

I reviewed Pitici's latest 2012 edition on the blog HERE, and also included it in my book shopping list recommendations for Christmas a couple months ago.
[ADDENDUM: Yikes! Sol is churning out the podcasts lately and already has a lengthy, newer one up with Steven Strogatz -- haven't had a chance to listen yet, but undoubtedly HAS TO BE good stuff!]

Finally, what's worrying mathematicians these days…? We get a hint from John Brockman.
Brockman's cutting-edge/contemplative 'Edge' site has posted responses to its 2013 question "What should we be worried about?":

http://edge.org/contributors/q2013

Lots (150+) of good contributions of course, but I'll just link to three of the mathematicians who replied, and pique your interest with the first couple of lines from their entries:

Keith Devlin: http://edge.org/response-detail/23783

"Are we about to see advances in mathematics come to an end? Until last year, I would have said no. Now I am not so sure."

Clifford Pickover: http://edge.org/response-detail/23670

"I used to worry that our mathematical and physical descriptions of the universe grow forever, but our brains and language skills remain entrenched. Some of our computer chips and software are becoming mind-numbingly complex."

Steven Strogatz: http://edge.org/response-detail/23820

"In every realm where we exist as a collective — in society, in the global economy, on the Internet — we are blithely increasing the coupling between us, with no idea what that might entail."

Listen Up…

2 interviews for the price of 1 today (i.e. free!):

A new podcast (50 mins.) from WildAboutMath blog, this time with Ed Burger, Williams College math professor and co-author of  "The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking." This interview covers more than just math… if you are an educator, a learner, a thinker, or someone who's ever failed or gotten something wrong, this podcast should be of interest (if you don't fall into any of those categories, well, then just pass on it ;-):

http://wildaboutmath.com/2012/12/02/ed-burger-inspired-by-math-12/

And as long as we're in interview mode I'll throw in this bonus 2-year-old interview (15 mins.) from YouTube with some bloke named Strogatz who appears to know a bit about math ;-) (he talks about both math and writing here, including, if you're not already familiar with it, poignantly relating the story of his earlier book "The Calculus of Friendship"):

Strogatz One More Time

First, if you're sick of hearing about Steven Strogatz here, uhhh, visit someone else's blog today…
Second, just a disclaimer that I have no relation to, nor direct knowledge of Dr. Strogatz (never met the man)… in fact, I have virtually no relatives, friends, or direct acquaintances deeply involved in mathematics at all. ...When I promote folks on this blog it's simply because I'm honestly impressed with their math communication efforts.

With all that said... again today... a link to another recent piece centered on Dr. Strogatz, wherein he offers "7 creativity tips" for mathematicians and others, including the value of "loose and amorphous" (versus "rigorous") thinking, especially since "intuition is real." The tips are wonderful enough, but the post then ends with a fabulous (8-year-old) TEDTalk from Steven that I was unaware of on another of his favorite topics, synchrony (it's 21 mins. long, so try to make time for it):

http://tinyurl.com/cesygfn

And here's a little improved example from YouTube of the metronome synchronization demonstration that Dr. Strogatz uses in his talk:

Doing The Thing You Love...

Just a couple of videos today pertaining to the love of math....

A few days back I linked to a brief audio of Steven Strogatz speaking at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and now a YouTube video of the ceremony has been uploaded, so once again enjoy Steven spending a few minutes talking about doing what he loves doing (...and how quantum mechanics and an emancipating mother guided him there):




Not sure exactly how old this 2nd video is (or if I may have linked to it in the past), but another wonderful older offering from the BBC Horizon series, entitled "A Mathematical Mystery Tour"(covers a lot of ground in 50 mins.):

Mother, Country, and Apple Pie, er, uhh, Mathematics

(via his Cornell page)

What is there not to love about Steven Strogatz… in the popular math arena, he is becoming, like Martin Gardner and Raymond Smullyan, another American gem. In this short (7 min.) speech before the American Academy of Arts and Sciences he wears not only his love of math on his sleeve… but his love of mother and country as well:

http://www.wgbh.org/articles/Thinkers-and-Doers-the-American-Academy-of-Arts-and-Sciences-7375
(it's the 4th audio segment down on the page)

[p.s...A quick note of thanks to those who've sent in suggestions for interviews here, and tomorrow morning I'll have another from my original list of folks that I really think readers will enjoy, and yet don't imagine you'd guess ahead of time who it is (no, it's not Steven).]

Strogatz, Zero, and Probability

Well, it's not with me :-( but nonetheless a nice interview with Steven Strogatz from Wired.com here (turns out he has a special fondness for the number 1/7, and admits to a prior ignorance of the arithmetic operation of "casting out nines"):

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/10/the-beauty-and-delight-of-mathematics-qa-with-steven-strogatz/

Meanwhile, the various dangers of 0 (psssst... DON'T divide by it) are explained in this recent 13-min. Numberphile video:



And lastly, a nice little counterintuitive probability conundrum from Futility Closet involving bridge hands and aces:

http://www.futilitycloset.com/2012/10/17/the-paradox-of-the-second-ace-2/

(somewhat reminiscent of the more-famous boy-or-girl paradox or even the "boy born on Tuesday problem")

Pat Ballew of Pat'sBlog

First off, a quick note that Steven Strogatz's latest NY Times piece, a fantastic introduction to 'catastrophe theory,' which seems to lurk within a broad range of fields, is now available here:

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/08/dangerous-intersection/

And without further adieu, a little drum-roll for the first Math-frolic Interview! ;-) (see Oct. 6 post for background)...


Pat Ballew is a math teacher who has been blogging for about 5 years at "Pat's Blog." Though he still does postings on various topics, for some time now he's focused on his "On This Day in Math" entries which chronicle historical happenings related to mathematics for each day throughout the year. If you wish to know what of note happened in mathematics on your birthday, Pat's blog is the place to go!
And now, a little more about him:

******************************************

1) ME: To start, could you tell readers a little about your background or anything else pertinent to your becoming a math blogger…

PAT:  I think the most important element in my becoming a blogger was being a teacher outside the US for the DoD school system.  I had discovered, to my dismay, when I first began teaching that most math teachers did not enjoy sitting around talking about math ideas, its history, and solving problems.  I was using the internet almost from it's inception to search out discussion groups where I could find..."folks like me." And I not only found them, but they nurtured my mathematical growth and teaching development were profound. The fact that people whose names I had known and admired for years were suddenly communicating with me, and most often correcting my misconceptions.  My blog probably emerged from a math etymology web page I started around 2000.  I used it first as a source of organizing my notes about my interest in how came to use the words we do for mathematical ideas. When I shared it with a few students and ex-students and then I noticed that it was being followed in far off places.  When the Library of Congress linked some of my words, I might have been really hard to live with for a few days. 
So adding a blog on one of the old (now defunct) Yahoo things was a natural way for me to post ideas about extensions and ideas I wanted to share with my classes that went beyond  what we could cover in the general class time.  Finally, around December of 2007, I got frustrated with the deteriorating Yahoo site and switched to blogger.  There, with the support of readers who were much brighter than me, it sort of grew into a somewhat popular blog. 

2) ME: Do you recall how your interest in mathematics originally came about, and when did you first know you wished to pursue math professionally?

PAT:  I think I was interested in math (arithmetic?) in elementary school, but my real appreciation for math probably began when I discovered Mathematics for the Million: How to Master the Magic of Numbers by Lancelot Hogeben.  I still have a copy and have looked at it, and referenced it often. That led me to Number, The Language of Science by Dantzig.  That led me eventually to the guide that led so many of us to love loving mathematics, Martin Gardner.  From there, like so many others, I did not pursue mathematics, it pursued me, on every long ride, quiet moment and daydream. 

3) ME: What are your favorite aspects of mathematics (that you yourself most like studying/reading about)?

PAT:  I don't know if I have a favorite area, but perhaps because I never got to teach Geometry as a subject, I love beautiful geometric relationships and always enjoyed working out geometric illustrations of algebraic and analysis ideas.  I also have a special place for fractals, chaos, and non-linear dynamics because I had the opportunity to attend a conference on the subject with several of Mandelbrot's Proteges, and the legendary Chicago-land teacher, Lee Yonkers.

4) ME: Your blog is fairly unique in the daily chronological history-of-math format that it's adopted; always fascinating stuff, but I can also imagine both positive and negative aspects to such a focus. Is it fun and efficient for you to have a such a 'typecast' format, or does it ever feel overly-restrictive or repetitive? Also, I can't help but think there might be a book in the future, based on your math chronologies. Any comment in that regard?

PAT:  I still include blogposts about mathematical ideas.  These are frequently on areas that involve the history of the evolution of a theorem, but sometimes it's just something I think is "cute".  I think if I didn't mix in the math and history ideas I would feel the format constrained a little, but the daily events page was something I had been developing in my own teaching and felt that the response of students was so positive that other teachers might want such a resource who did not have the time to construct it for themselves.  The results have suggested that some people have found it worthwhile.  As far as a book, I'm not sure, but if an interested publisher out there ever approaches, I think I would love to fill out details in some of the "events" sections into stories that might be of interest.  I also have some articles I think would be great for future teachers about the emergence of some of the concepts and theorems that are part of the common high school curriculum. 

5) ME: Approximately how much time per week do you spend working on your blog? And is it principally "a labor of love" or much more than that for you?

PAT:  If you count the time reading, researching and just thinking about it, it is probably unnaturally long, but I manage to do the actual reviewing, updating, and editing within an hour or two.  As I mentioned earlier, I mostly put out ideas I wanted to share with students and other interested teachers and math hobbyists.   

6) ME: What are some of the historical math notes or events you've uncovered that you found most interesting or unusual?

PAT:  I think the ones that seem most interesting are the ones that I'm still searching for: What happened to the Pipe that Gauss gave to Farkas Bolyai, to commemorate their friendship, or the real origin of the term "law of cosines", which seems to have first emerged in the title of a chapter, which strikes me as unusual.  I also have been trying to reason out the fact that Professor David Singmaster has said that the process called casting out nines was introduced by Iamblichus, who lived in the Second Century. 
I do love the little living anecdotes that reveal the culture of mathematics, and mathematicians, and I love anything that reminds me of  the Pythagorean theorem variations. 

7) ME: Can you name some of your favorite math books to read for your own enjoyment, and how about math books that you'd especially recommend to lay people?

PAT:  I named a couple of the formative ones above, but right now I'm reading Strogatz Joy of X, and I just ordered Thomas Levenson's Newton and the Counterfeiter. 
I love the Ghost Map and Longitude, and have loaned out numerous copies to students.  Genius is another I give often.  I love biographies of math and science people in general. 
Most of my readings these days are other bloggers that I read every post.  I mentioned your post above, and  I read John D Cook at The Endeavour.  My favorite Science History blog is the Renaissance Mathematicus, Thony Christie.  I frequently steal from Gregg Ross at Futility Closet. I know from your blog that you, like me follow Sol at Wild About Math.  I have dozens of bloggers I keep on my reader who seem to have passed in and out of blogging.  Many of them shared their ideas with me and made me much better than I could have been without their input. 

8) ME: From having blogged as long as you have, do you have any words of advice you would offer to other bloggers or math communicators?

PAT:  I think you have to just write what you feel, but always out of respect for the reader.  Strogatz gave great advice to writers about how to handle critical comments, "I don't read them."  Perhaps a hint of direction from a quote I shared this morning with my beautiful sweetheart, Jeannie. 
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs, Ask yoursef what makes you come alive. And then go and do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

9) ME: Any parting words, not covered above, you'd care to pass along to a math-oriented audience?

PAT:  If I suggested from Strogatz's quote above that you shouldn't read your comments, let me advise you to read them, but not just criticism.  Constructive criticism and advice can make you much better. I can't name all the people who sent me information, and corrections that helped me make my blog more effective. 
And find lots of other blogs to read. 

****************************************

-- THANKS for participating Pat, and getting the ball rolling here. If you're not already familiar with it, be sure to stop by Pat's blog at: http://pballew.blogspot.com/

 

Synchronization...

Slightly more into physics here than pure math (…not that the two are always so separable), but caught this 4-min. video of synchronizing metronomes over at Cosmic Variance blog:



Read the CV blog post for a fuller explanation (which is dependent upon subtle movements/oscillation of the platform the metronomes sit on):

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2012/10/01/you-are-getting-sleeeeeeepy/

Meanwhile, in other matters, this week's NY Times offering from Steven Strogatz is a fun exposition on "the birthday problem" with Johnny Carson making an appearance:

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/01/its-my-birthday-too-yeah/

Strogatz, by the way, once wrote a book on synchrony entitled "Sync", describing how order arises from a chaotic universe.

Joy To The World (of Math)

"…there's a profound but little-recognized hunger for math among the general public. Despite everything we hear about math phobia, many people want to understand the subject a little better. And once they do they find it addictive.
"The Joy of X is an introduction to math's most compelling and far-reaching ideas….

"Math swaggers with an intimidating air of certainty. Like a Mafia capo, it comes across as decisive, unyielding, and strong. It'll make you an argument you can't refuse.
"But in private, math is occasionally insecure. It has doubts. It questions itself and isn't always sure it's right."

-- from the Preface and next-to-last chapter of "The Joy of X" by Steven Strogatz

A review of Steven Strogatz's latest gift to math lovers:

Why even bother writing a review of Steven Strogatz's new book, "The Joy of X"?-- what a waste of my writing time… You already know you want it without any prodding from me, right! ;-)

Still, coming on the heels of Paul Lockhart's "Measurement" (which I also recommended here a short while back) I think it worth contrasting Strogatz's offering from the latter. They are very different books (though Strogatz, like Lockhart, is enthralled with math, and wishing to pass along some of that delight), so this is not meant as a direct comparison, except that both are directed at a mass audience.

In reviewing Lockhart's volume I mentioned being annoyed with all the books (UNlike Lockhart's) that come out pretending to be for lay folks, but really requiring some clear math aptitude to get through them (Lockhart is refreshingly upfront in telling readers ahead of time that his material will at times be difficult).

Well, Steven Strogatz (a Cornell University math professor) has, as one familiar with his writing might expect, truly written a math book for lay people. The book is a compendium of the popular 15-part series he did for the NY Times back in 2010, plus new essays (so if you read that series you know what type of writing to expect here, AND Strogatz is currently running a new set of essays in the Times as well).

The six parts of the book, in order, are labeled: Numbers, Relationships, Shapes, Change, Data, Frontiers (each part containing 5-6 short essays). I very much like the layout of the book going from more basic/elementary topics to more complex ones. The book starts off with Sesame Street (on arithmetic) and ends at Hilbert's Hotel… gotta love that! ;-) Strogatz says the chapters stand on their own as independent pieces that can be "snacked on" in any order, which is true, but I still recommend reading from beginning to end, and experiencing the natural progression of ideas/complexity as the best way to take in the volume.

The usual sorts of topics that appear in popular math books are all here… infinity, group theory, complex numbers, functions, differential equations, e, Mobius strips, statistics, and on and on. If you have an extensive math library, there won't be much new here that isn't covered, and likely more fully, by other volumes on your shelf. So why buy yet another math book?… because Steven's treatment of each topic is THAT enjoyable!

When I mini-reviewed Clifford Pickover's "The Math Book," my biggest complaint was that he introduced the reader to topics just enough to pique their interest and then dropped the ball by not giving them more. What Strogatz does so well, so expertly, is give you an introduction, a main body or discussion, and a tidy little wrap-up on each topic, all in a handful of pages (Pickover restricted himself to a single page per topic).
The range of topics is great (30 chapters); the writing is succinct and descriptive... erudite, without being over people's heads. As in the Goldilocks story, Strogatz serves up math, not too hot, not too cold, but j-j-j-just right!!

My favorite chapters (and believe me, it's hard to choose) are these:

Chapter 8: 'Finding Your Roots' on imaginary numbers
Chapter 9: 'My Tub Runneth Over' on word problems
Chapter 10: 'Working Your Quads' on the quadratic equation
Chapter 12: 'Square Dancing' on proofs
Chapter 17: 'Change You Can Believe In' on derivatives
Chapter 22: 'The New Normal' on the Bell Curve
Chapter 24: 'Untangling the Web' on the algorithms behind Web searching
Chapter 25: 'The Loneliest Numbers' on prime numbers
Chapter 27: 'Twist and Shout' on the Mobius strip
Chapter 29: 'Analyze This! on series

(…ohh, did I mention, it's really, really hard to choose favorites)
And, by the way, don't skip over the 40 pages of "Notes" at the end of the book, which are a cornucopia of links to other worthwhile reads (including a LOT of interesting internet pages that could keep you busy for a long time).

I highly recommend both the new Paul Lockhart and Strogatz volumes, and find it a joy to behold so many wonderful mass appeal mathematics books being put out these days. Having said that, I'd caution that Lockhart's book is especially for teachers, students, and math fans already enamored of the subject, whereas I believe Strogatz's offering really can appeal in a rare way to a wider swath of avid and normally-non-mathy readers out there.

So, if you're not a math buff, but secretly always wanted to be, you can do no better than start with this volume. If you are already an established math buff I don't promise you'll learn a lot new from Strogatz, but you'll be highly entertained along the way, and likely see some things you already knew from fresh or different angles.
Thanks for the book Steven… and, the joy is all OURS!

Strogatz Is Golden

I've just finished reading Steven Strogatz's new volume, "The Joy of X," and will do some sort of brief writeup on it soon. But to hold you over in the meantime, his latest entry at the NY Times, on the golden ratio (what it is and isn't), is here:

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/24/proportion-control/

an excerpt:

"Unfortunately, in the more than two millenniums since Euclid, the golden ratio has suffered from so much hype, numerology and wishful thinking that it’s become hard to separate the myth from the math. Many of its supposed occurrences in nature, anatomy, art and architecture don’t stand up to careful scrutiny. For example, you can find lots of books and Web sites claiming that the shell of the chambered nautilus obeys the golden ratio, but in reality, nautilus shells have average growth ratios between 1.24 and 1.43, quite far from 1.618.
"So be skeptical the next time you see the golden ratio being used to sell blue jeans, stock tips or the perfect smile."

Strogatz on Singularities

It's a good day when you wake up to find Steven Strogatz writing in the NY Times about mathematics. Today was a good day:

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/10/singular-sensations/

(the 1st of a new 6-part series from Strogatz)