Do you have more time to waste?

Try this: You swing from wires to try to go as far as you can. You fling them by click on the screen and the wire shoots towards the direction of the click. It will stick to the brightly colored regions for a few seconds but then release. Very Tarzan-like, AHH-ahh-ahha-haahhha! (FYI: That was my… [Read more…]

Faith and Science: Historical Case Studies

Class Date: Friday, February 16, 2007 Dr. Boyd was in charge for another day. This time he covered topics from the history of science as an illustration of how science progresses. Using specific case studies from the history of scientific endeavor, we learn some important principles that undergird how we understand science as it is… [Read more…]

Friday Random 10

I almost missed it again, but I didn’t forget. Here’s another edition of the Friday Random 10: “Sinking” by Jars of Clay (Jars of Clay) “Blessed Be The Name” by Andy Park (25 Top Vineyard Worship Songs) “I’ll Fly Away” by the Blackwood Brothers “A Lover’s Concerto” by The Toys “Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in… [Read more…]

Another dose of math humor

I’ve posted a few like this before, but I was hit with a couple new ones today in my Inbox. Thanks LB and jonboy for sending them my way:

Friday Random 10 (late)

Sorry I missed Friday’s Random 10. That makes this, technically, a Monday Random 10 but we’ll overlook it this once. “Chevette” by Audio Adrenaline (Hit Parade) “More Than the Watchmen” by Jeremy Casella/Rebecca St. James (Worship God) “What If I Stumble?” by dc Talk (Jesus Freak) – One of my All-Time Favorites!!! “I Thank You,… [Read more…]

Calculus IV: Directional Derivatives

We finished the concept of directional derivatives, introducing the notation for the gradient of a function of several variables. We proved the formula of the maximum value of the directional derivative, as well as the direction for which it is maximized. Next time we’ll begin basic optimization theory for functions of several variables.

Intermediate Analysis: Supremums and Infimums

Thursday morning, three students presented homework problems at the board. I followed this with a lecture introducing the concepts of supremum and infimum of a set. Because I got a little sidetracked, I did not quite make it to the Completeness Axiom. What was the “rabbit chase” for this class? Well, at least a couple… [Read more…]

Linear Algebra: Polynomial Interpolation

Today, in class, I answered some homework questions from Section 1.4, including the following problems: Show that an upper triangular matrix with non-zero diagonal entries is nonsingular. (We’ve not covered determinants yet so we used a row-equivalence to the Identity argument) Show that the inverse of an upper triangular matrix is upper triangular. (We used… [Read more…]

Mistakes

Bulbous Blob Puzzle

Are you flush with free time or procrastinating on some big important project? Try out the Bulbous Blob Puzzle. Professor Albert von Braun, noted food researcher and author of the Chinese Laundromat Cookbook, has just made a major breakthrough on his long sought after Grand Unified Meal Theory. Working in his laboratory late into the… [Read more…]