Tag Archives: mathematics

Why Are There 7 Days In a Week?

Why does everyone use a 7 day week, and where did it come from? Where do the names of the days come from? And who can we blame for Mondays? Here’s the true story of one of the oldest human … Continue reading

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China’s Toughest Exam

America’s Toughest Exam: https://youtu.be/u03ST3ho9OU India’s most competitive exam: https://youtu.be/upOlpeJKVKA The Beijing physics paper (not translated): http://www.gaokao.com/e/20201124/5fbc… The Qinghai math paper (not translated): http://www.gaokao.com/e/20200709/5f06… 2020 gaokao exams (not an official site but a collection of exams from different regions): http://www.gaokao.com/e/20200712/5f0a… Gaokao … Continue reading

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The Woman Who’s Rewriting Higher Category Theory

 

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Is the London Underground knotted?

Check out Geoff’s video from the same day! Thanks very much to Vicki and Geoff for all their help. If you want some more maths, and the ‘rules’ for finding a Tube Knot, check out the bonus content video on … Continue reading

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Does Time Really Flow? New Clues Come From a Century-Old Approach to Math.

Natalie Wolchover Senior Writer/Editor April 7, 2020 The laws of physics imply that the passage of time is an illusion. To avoid this conclusion, we might have to rethink the reality of infinitely precise numbers. Strangely, although we feel as … Continue reading

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The Year’s Biggest Breakthroughs in Math and Computer Science

For mathematicians and computer scientists, 2020 was full of discipline-spanning discoveries and celebrations of creativity. We’d like to take a moment to recognize some of these achievements. 1. A landmark proof simply titled “MIP* = RE” establishes that quantum computers … Continue reading

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Yan, Tyan, Tethera and other sheep related historical facts…and a cross stitch sampler

Traditionally shepherds counted their sheep in scores – or lots of twenty – twice a day, morning and evening, just to check that they hadn’t lost any in the night.    When the shepherd got to twenty he or she would place … Continue reading

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12 Mind Blowing Number Systems From Other Languages

Today is a big day for lovers of the number 12, and no one loves 12s more than the members of the Dozenal Society. The Dozenal Society advocates for ditching the base-10 system we use for counting in favor of … Continue reading

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Maya Math

J&P Voelkel demonstrate Maya math – addition & subtraction.

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How To Count Past Infinity

Sources and links to learn more below! I’m very grateful to mathematician Hugh Woodin, Professor of Philosophy and Mathematics at Harvard, for taking the time on multiple occasions to discuss this topic with me and help me wrap my (finite) … Continue reading

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