Tag Archives: math

A curious inversion problem

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Dan

I’ve been exploring a new problem with a couple of students recently that I find incredibly compelling, and I thought I’d mention it here. The main idea is looking at the behavior of functions of the form f(x) = ax … Continue reading →

Posted in lesson, Math Musings | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Processed Math: Don’t Eat This

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Katherine

There has been considerable backlash against processed food products in the last few years, and for good reason. A slew of health problems implicate what we eat, and processed food products are more product than they are food. As industry … Continue reading →

Posted in Math Musings | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Doubling Algebra? Or making it work?

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Dan

I’d call this article, about how doubling the time students spent studying algebra led them to do better in math and also reading and writing(!) a case of burying the lead. Why? Before anyone rushes to double the lengths of … Continue reading →

Posted in link, Math Musings | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

In science, questions are much more valuable than the answers.”

Posted on December 18, 2012 by Dan

The title of this blog post is the last line to a beautiful, short film called GÖMBÖC. For a film where almost nothing happens, it’s compelling watching. And wonderfully, it captures the simple, profound, mathematical joy of thinking really, really … Continue reading →

Posted in video | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Math and the Drug War

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Dan

The drug war is one issue that tends to be too hot for presidential politics. You won’t hear any questions at the debates about it, and you can be sure the candidates won’t be talking about it. But there’s a … Continue reading →

Posted in link, Math Musings, video | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bill Clinton Teaches Arithmetic, Plus Exciting News on abc

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Dan

Last week was a very big week for mathematics. First of all, Bill Clinton made arithmetic the centerpiece of his speech at the DNC. While it may not be new to let arithmetic affect policy, it has been absent from … Continue reading →

Posted in Announcement, link, Math News, video | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Nine Dangerous Things & Math Isn’t Necessary

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Dan

I like this little writeup on Nine Dangerous Things You Were Taught In School from Forbes. It pithily gets into the consequences of having a system that’s so standardized that is responsible for educating–a fundamentally intimate and nonstandard task, if … Continue reading →

Posted in link, video | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Julia Robinson Festival Retrospective

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Dan

It was the culmination of a lot of work, and now it’s over. The conclusion: Seattle’s first Julia Robinson Festival was amazing. We had 150 students and 50 volunteers working on compelling activities for almost three hours followed by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Announcement, photo | Tagged , | 2 Comments

A Math Lesson in Three Acts

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Dan

(With apologies to Dan Meyer) I’ve often had a gut feeling that we actually invest life into math questions that grab us. Here’ s a question I like: Question: How does a bishop behave on a torus chess board? Many … Continue reading →

Posted in lesson | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Juggling and Mathematics: Nickolai Pirak at Julia Robinson Festival

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Dan

Looking for another reason to sign up for the Julia Robinson Math Festival, happening this Sunday, March 18? http://mathforlove.com/julia-robinson-festival/register/ Nickolai Pirak is a professional juggler from Seattle who will be giving a presentation at the festival on the relationship between … Continue reading →

Posted in Announcement | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment