Math in the News: Monty Hall Strikes Again
I apologize in advance for the fact that this references an article that is four months old. However, given the connection between the Monty Hall problem and popular culture, it cannot rightly be overlooked here, and this article from the New York Times allows us to discuss this problem from a unique perspective.
The Monty Hall problem is so named because of its origins in the game show "Let's Make a Deal." The problem itself is famous for having a completely counterintuitive solution, and my goal after discussing the problem and its relationship to the New York Times article on cognitive dissonance will be to explain where this disconnect between the problem and our intuition arises.
Here is a rigorous and unambiguous statement of the problem:
Suppose you're on a game show and you're given the choice of three doors. Behind one door is a car; behind the others, goats. The car and the goats were placed randomly behind the doors before the show. The rules of the game show are...
Math in the News: Worms Love Calculus?
Those of you itching for some news last weekend may have noticed the following article, which was briefly featured on the front page of Yahoo News. In short, the article discusses the results of an experiment on the brains of roundworms. The experiment indicates that roundworms can mentally compute changes in salt levels with respect to their position in order to find food. Anyone who's taken a bit of calculus may recognize that hidden in this is the notion of a derivative. In essence, concludes University of Oregon biologist Shawn Lockery, the worms use calculus to survive.
More computing power than an Apple IIe?
The notion that insects can do calculus is certainly good for a headline, and from a pedagogical standpoint it may be useful, although somewhat insulting to those who have trouble with math: "If worms can do calculus, anyone can!" All that aside though, isn't the claim a bit disingenuous?
The idea that calculus is related to the ability of animals to find food should...
Math in the News: The Gender Gap is Closed for Business
Math made the headlines last Thursday, with an article about a recent study in the journal Science, which discredits the perceived Gender Gap in mathematics. The AP article can be found here - if you can't bring yourself to read the article, you can also watch the following clip from NBC Nightly News on the same topic.
The AP article offers a more thorough discussion of the study, which examined standardized test scores for more than 7 million American students. Given the breadth of the study, one hopes it will help dispel any lingering notion girls may have that they are some how innately unable to measure up to boys in math. We do, however, have a ways to go before math professor Barbie starts flying off the shelves.
Any news that can help persuade women to enter mathematically demanding fields is good news. Not only because America needs to retain all the talent it can, but also because every math department party tends to be a huge stag fest. Single ladies, if you're ever...
Math on TV: Numb3rs
You knew it had to be coming. Any self-respecting individual interested in the intersection of math with popular culture must, at some point, discuss the canonical element of said intersection: CBS's own crime solving math show, Numb3rs. The use of the 3 is to eliminate any ambiguity surrounding the subject matter of a show called "Numbers."
Since premiering in January of 2005, Numb3rs has been a consistent performer for CBS, in spite of (or because of, depending on your assumptions about the makeup of the show's audience) its Friday night time slot. For those of you who may have never seen the show, the following synopsis should help give you some perspective:
Body counts, multiple criminal masterminds, and perpetrators who are likely to act again ... this is the world of NUMB3RS. FBI agent Don Eppes (Rob Morrow) couldn't be more different from his younger brother, Charlie (David Krumholtz), a brilliant math professor at a California university. Don deals in hard facts and evidence...
Designer Math
A well designed t-shirt has the power to delight and inspire; it can break the ice at the start of the evening, and seal the deal at the end. It can be a powerful tool for social interaction, and can help forge the bonds that will last a lifetime.
It is with this in mind that I bemoan the present state of mathematically themed t-shirts, many of which are asinine to the point of nausea. I also feel the need to speak out and warn those who would consider buying such t-shirts for friends or loved ones, under the misguided impression that anyone who studies math will appreciate (much less wear) a t-shirt just because it is related to math.
Let's analyze some examples, to see just what's gone wrong with the current state of mathematically inspired fashion. The following five designs can be found here, along with a multitude of others. However, every design seems to fall into one of the categories below:
1) The Symbol Design (epitomized by the pi design):
Many t-shirt designs seem...
Math Gets Around: Politics
Many students often ask their teachers, "Why do I have to learn this boring mathematics? Nobody uses mathematics anyhow." This new feature, entitled Math Gets Around, will attempt to show you that in fact, mathematics will pop up even in the least likely of places. So learn those multiplication tables, chief.
Today, we see how mathematics has weaseled its way into an unlikely place: the realm of politics. This is particularly relevant given the fact that, as some of you may have heard, there is a presidential election in just a few short months.
Among the general population, there will always be dissidents who complain of the failings of our democratic process. Among these dissidents, you may even find those who question the existence of our two party system, and claim that a system with a larger number of parties would be better for everyone involved. But I am here to tell you the shocking truth: from a mathematical standpoint, this is not the case.
Let me explain what I mean in...
Three and a Half Things You Shouldn't Say to a Mathematician
Mathematicians are a rare specimen to behold. While not quite endangered, they tend to congregate in areas less prone to large population densities, such as libraries, or the basements of math buildings, thus making their numbers seem lower than they actually are. This type of behavior is fortunate, for it is because of these tendencies to cluster together that breeding mathematicians in captivity has proven extremely successful - much more so than attempting to breed mathematicians in the wild with the general population (although there are successful cases of the latter phenomenon as well). The point here is that, unless you are of a certain persuasion, you could find yourself going years, possibly your whole life, without ever meeting a mathematician.
Should you be so fortunate to spot one, make sure not to approach too quickly, or you may scare the mathematician away. If you are vigilant, you may be able to engage the mathematician in conversation. In the event that this happens...
Math in the News; All for Algebra, and Algebra for All?
With the blessing of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, it looks like the great state of Kah-lee-foh-nya is set to require all 8th graders to take Algebra I. The Sacramento Bee has an article regarding this development.
A valiant effort, to be sure. But what good does this do, aside from making for good press? Let's examine.
Recalling, first of all, that the California public education system is typically ranked somewhere in the lower forties (and recalling also that, given there are but 50 states in the union, this makes California's ranking fairly dismal), it is natural to ask what the short term impact of this new requirement will be. If we're looking for a sustainable solution to the education crisis in this state (forgetting for a moment what's going on at a national level), this hardly seems to fit the bill. There's no mention in the article about how such a proposal will be funded - a fairly basic question if such a revamp is to occur. How will we pay for training current teachers...
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