Category Archives: sciences

m4th3m4t1c5 R k3wL

Netflix (or should I say N3tfl1×) got the first season of Numb3rs this week, and I watched the first four episodes with mixed reactions. On one hand, any popular presentation of mathematics in the real world is a treat. But … Continue reading

Posted in cinema, mathematics | 2 Comments

the axes of confusion

When economists draw supply-demand charts, they put the independent variable (price) on the vertical axis and the dependent variable (quantity) on the horizontal, contrary to the usual practice in physics and pure mathematics. It’s surprisingly hard for me to adjust … Continue reading

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things that go round

weird orbits (cited by John Baez) rotating infrared Titan

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how sick on average?

I’ve been hearing on the radio a statement that hospital emergency rooms in California admit 25 thousand people every hour. That’s equivalent to the entire population every eight weeks. –??–

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QotD

Solutions to this [public goods] problem in the context of basic research are discussed at some length by Terence Kealey. (The Economic Laws of Scientific Research, New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1996) Knowledge of current cutting edge research – Kealey’s … Continue reading

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when grown-ups play with blocks

I’ve redone the Wikipedia page on convex uniform tilings of Euclidean 3-space. It occurs to me that one could enumerate the convex uniform tilings of flat, spherical and hyperbolic 3-spaces by an approach similar to what I’ve used to find … Continue reading

Posted in eye-candy, mathematics | Leave a comment

wandering the web

Gunnerkrigg Court, a newish cartoon-strip set in a decidedly weird boarding school. This is too good to leave buried in the comments: Loituma perform “Ievan polkka” Sheldon Richman: Capitalism vs Capitalism Something Positive: It’s entirely possible that you’ll appreciate this … Continue reading

Posted in arts, cartoons, economics, music+verse | 1 Comment