Mathematics

Large Scale Structure of an Alter Ego Universe.

Max Tegmark calculated a Really Big Number 1 (RBN). It represents the probability of you having an identical Alter Ego (AE) at some other place than where you are now. This distance is so vast, it is many many times beyond your cosmological horizon, and w ...

Blog Post - Quentin Rowe - Sep 28 2011 - 1:24am

Once in 737,000

Once in 737,000 times. That's how frequently happens what I saw yesterday evening, playing poker with my kids.  We were playing with eights and up since we were three, so 28 cards. And Filippo got served off the deck a straight flush. Even waiving the ...

Blog Post - Tommaso Dorigo - Oct 29 2011 - 8:23am

Stochastics: Spectral Analysis And A New Distance Dimension

Statistical tests and economic forecasting are something of a joke; Paul Krugman is fun because he rants about Republicans in the New York Times but no one would ever actually let him manage money.  ...

Article - News Staff - Oct 30 2011 - 10:35am

Homo Stupidus

You are in a game with one hundred other players. They don't know you, you don't know them, and you can not communicate with any of them. The game is called ' even/odd(s) ' and is explained to you as follows: "You have the choice b ...

Article - Johannes Koelman - Oct 31 2011 - 2:28pm

THE STRANGE MATH OF STRING THEORY- The Past, Present and Future of Multiple Dimensions

A forgotten number system invented in the 19th century may provide the simplest explanation for why our universe could have 10 dimensions. ...

Blog Post - Akshit Kumar - Nov 4 2011 - 10:13pm

Can A Numerical Model Predict Geopolitics?

Numerical models had a tough decade to start off the 2000s.  A field that had shown itself to be both scientific and applied in areas like semiconductor physics was extrapolated out to cultural issues and economics and successfully predicted...nothing. A ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Nov 17 2011 - 1:28pm

Debunking Myths About Gender And Math

Is there still a gender gap in math?  There is if you are selling cultural drama but in actuality, not so much.  Complaints aside, the No Child Left Behind program accomplished its mission; by focusing on the same sort of educational system other countries ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 12 2011 - 7:34pm

Patterns In Randomness: The Bob Dylan Edition

The human brain is very good — quite excellent, really — at finding patterns. We delight in puzzles that involve pattern recognition... consider word-search puzzles, the “ Where’s Waldo ” stuff, and the game Set. ...

Article - Barry Leiba - Dec 21 2011 - 12:07pm

How To Choose An Elementary School By The Numbers

Lately, my wife and I have been staring slack-jawed at elementary school options, little ropes of drool hanging zombie-like from the corners of our mouths  – and so we’ve decided to cede our choice to the numbers. But when you peel back the data, things l ...

Article - Garth Sundem - Feb 9 2012 - 10:09pm

The World's Greatest Mathematical Card Trick

For my book Brain Trust, I chatted with Ian Stewart, mathematician, prolific puzzle author and very fun person to shoot the mathematical breeze with, who explains the following best card trick I’ve ever seen, invented by mathemagician Art Benjamin of Harv ...

Article - Garth Sundem - Mar 12 2012 - 5:47pm