Category Archives: Mathematics

Sum Of Squares & 9-digit Square Num3ers w/ digits from 1 to 9 #mathchat

Posted on January 14, 2012 by benvitalis

Here’s a list of 9-digit numbers (containing digits from 1 to 9) that have 1 or more representations as a sum of 2 squares. For example, the two numbers 1596 and 24837 contain all digits from 1 to 9 only … Continue reading →

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Math For All: Exploring Patterns in Pascal’s Triangle

Posted on August 15, 2011 by benvitalis

Here’s something to investigate: Look at the triangle using the divisors 3, 5, and 7. Do you see a pattern? What do 3, 5, and 7 have in common? Now try 9. Does the pattern continue? Can you figure out … Continue reading →

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Balinese cup trick / candle trick / spinor demonstration

Posted on August 1, 2011 by benvitalis

What’s the simplest explanation for this trick? How does this trick relate to the spin-statistics theorem? “It’s the Balinese candle-dance trick, and if you don’t know it, go find someone who can show you how to do it. You hold … Continue reading →

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The surprising math of cities and corporations

Posted on August 1, 2011 by benvitalis

Physicist Geoffrey West believes that complex systems from organisms to cities are in many ways governed by simple laws — laws that can be discovered and analyzed (Full bio and more links) Physicist Geoffrey West has found that simple, mathematical … Continue reading →

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Pascal’s Triangle Puzzle

Posted on July 14, 2011 by benvitalis

Find all possible triplets a,b,c that appear as adjacent coefficents in the same row of Pascal’s triangle and form an arithmetic sequence. To build the triangle, start with “1” at the top, then continue placing numbers below it in a … Continue reading →

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Existentialism Mathematics

Posted on July 12, 2011 by benvitalis

Mathematician Algirdas Javtokas Takes Mathematics Into Conceptual Art Algirdas Javtokas, a Lithuanian mathematician introduces mathematics which is no longer concerned with particular problems related to numbers, logic, space, transformations, etc. Instead Algirdas Javtokas gets beyond the limits of those traditional … Continue reading →

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Pi is wrong! Here comes Tau Day

Posted on June 28, 2011 by benvitalis

Are you marking Tau Day? Are you a π fan, or do you think it is time for change? Are you a tau convert? Describe your ‘conversion’ experience? Find out why mathematicians are campaigning for π to be replaced with … Continue reading →

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Listen to the Riemann Zeta Function

Posted on March 29, 2011 by benvitalis

Here’s something cool I found on the web: The Riemann zeta function, for values of its argument located on the critical line (z = 1/2 + i*t for real t), looks so much like a sound wave … Listen Read … Continue reading →

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Are Mathematicians Creative?

Posted on March 17, 2011 by benvitalis

Is doing research in mathematics a creative process? When mathematicians talk of their subject as beautiful, what do they mean? What are their motivations? Their dreams? Their disappointments? Produced by Chrystal Cherniwchan, Azita Ghassemi and Prof. Jon Keating, this film … Continue reading →

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A Mathematical Mystery Tour (In Popular Terms)

Posted on March 17, 2011 by benvitalis

The UK version of a documentary which looks at the development of mathematics in popular terms and highlights some of the great unsolved problems of the time. Broadcast as a documentary in the BBC “Horizon” series in late 1984.

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