Happy Valentine's Day!

 

I saw the idea on Cut-the-Knot page  and decided to make my Valentine to all friends of my blog.
Here are the steps:
1. Take two paper strips.

2. Glue ends together with 180 degree twist - yes, make two Moebius bands BUT make sure they have - twisted differently : one is right, the other is left.

3. Now glue these two strips together:

4. Cut the strips in the middle and your mathematical Valentine is done!

 

As a reading for Valentine's Day something romantic and mathematical at the same I suggest

Paolo Giordano the Solitude of Prime Numbers

During the Nemo storm I finished a piece which will go to the exhibit this year. It has been confirmed that my dream has come true - I will be having joint exhibit in Mattatuck Museum with my friend Gail Rothschild - please visit her webpage! And if today's meeting will have a positive outcome, then there will be another exhibit - in New York...

A little glimpse in MoMath

It was cold in NYC last Thursday, wind trying hit me almost around every corner. Must say - the wind won - came back to Ithaca with bad laryngitis. Glad I am not making movies but just writing a blog.
One of the destinies this time in New York was to go to Flatiron district. See that iconic building through Leo Villareal's Buckyball in Madison Park? Across from it on the other side of the park is National Museum of Mathematics. Mathematicians are more used to acronyms, so MoMath for me sounds much better;-).

 

I liked the wall with holograms. Wish there would be some explanation what these surfaces are. I believe that museum staff would explain if asked but since there were just few of them I think it would be helpful to have some simple description. Missing explanations was what I found in several places. For example, on the wall there was a big 1, then something and then 0. With my computer science background I got that "something" in between was a switch. Wish there would be at least a year - 1936, picture of Turing and mention of Turing machine.



 



 

 

This sculpture reminded me about Geometry Playground in Exploratorium

 

 

It was nice to see Reuleaux triangle application and constant width solids under it. Besides using this as a rolling attraction There could be added an activity when kids can build there own curves with constant width.

 

Before too many kids arrive some elderly people also can have fun riding this square wheel tricycle. To make your own square wheels follow these instructions.

 

 

 

I noticed this corner just because couple boys were having fun there. You can take a "brush", dip into "paint can" and then just with couple strokes artistic pattern will appear.

 

 

This paraboloid looked spectacular in the video featuring the opening of the museum. In daylight I did not succeeded to get that effect.

 

But musical spheres look also like one of the pictures in my book ;-) Without an explanation though I do not think kids understood what is going on. There were several school groups in the museum. One small group was with their teacher, and they followed with a great interest their teacher telling them about cross sections of solids and then challenging to get hexagon as cross section of the cube at  "The Wall of Fire".

 

I was happy to observe that MoMath is not like most of Science Centers which has turned mostly into little children playgrounds. It is a success of MoMath to get teenagers interested.

 

I think that the most successful exhibits are those where kids can have hands-on activities and particularly if they have something to figure out. Some of them were deeply engaged in Math Cafe were on tables are several puzzles. Of course, not all of them...

 

I also had to do something hands-on - so I tried this Fractal Tree. I wish I could have so many arms to have my work done....

 

 

MoMath is having lots of various activities. This Zome sculpture was built with the help of museum visitors on one of the weekends.

 

 

It is possible to organize a birthday party in the museum - great idea! One of offered activities during the party is to build this Sierpinski pyramid.

Once a month MoMath is having Family Fridays. My turn will be on April 26. I was pondering what title should I give to it and came up with "Crackers, Oranges, and Pringles". Got it what I will be talking about? ;-)

I am very much looking forward to March 6 Math Encounters because finally this event coincides with the time I will be in NYC.

Visiting museum it is very clear that the work is still going on. I read that since its opening some 18 000 visitors have gone through it. Not all of electronics can take such stream, so some exhibits already need repairs. But the staff in museum is actively thinking of more ways how to involve public, so that MoMath visit would not be just one time one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy, Healthy, Creative 2012!

I can't believe - this was not published when it was written!!! so sorry....But later later than never...;-)

 

2013 seems to be a very inspiring number - this is a collection of various greetings for 2013 from my friends on Facebook and Twitter - enjoy!

2013 is the first year in our lifetime to be written with 0, 1, 2, 3.

12 + 345 · 6 – 78 + 9 = 2013 = - 9 · 8 – 76 + 5 · 432 + 1

10/9!*8!*7!-6!*5!/4!+3!*2!+1! = 2013

Properties of the number 2013
Factorization  3*11*61
Divisors 1, 3, 11, 33, 61, 183, 671, 2013
Count of divisors 8
Sum of divisors 2976
Is prime? No
Previous prime  2011
Next prime  2017
2013th prime  17491
Is a Fibonacci number?  No
Is a Bell number?  No
Is a Catalan number?  No
Is a factorial?  No
Binary  11111011101
Octal  3735
sin(2013) = 0.68956696500461
cos(2013) = -0.72422192784694
sqrt(2013) = 44.866468548349

 

 

After a while you learn...

 by Veronica A. Shoffstall

After some time you learn the difference, 
The subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul. 
And you learn that love doesn't mean leaning, 
And company doesn't always mean security. 
And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts, 
And presents aren't promises. 
And you begin to accept your defeats, 
With your head up and your eyes ahead, 
With the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child. 
And you learn to build all your roads on today, 
Because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans, 
And futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight. 

After a while you learn, 
That even the sun burns if you get too much, 
And learn that it doesn't matter how much you do care about, 
Some people simply don't care at all. 
And you accept that it doesn't matter how good a person is, 
She will hurt you once in a while, 
And you need to forgive her for that. 
You learn that talking can relieve emotional pain. 
You discover that it takes several years to build a relationship based on confidence, 
And just a few seconds to destroy it. 
And that you can do something just in an instant, 
And which you will regret for the rest of your life. 
You learn that the true friendships, 
Continue to grow even from miles away. 
And that what matters isn't what you have in your life, 
But who you have in your life. 
And that good friends are the family,
Which we choose.
You learn that we don't have to change our friends, 
If we understand that friends can also change. 
You realize that you are your best friend,
And that you can do do anything, or nothing, 
And have good moments together. 
You discover that the people who you most care about in your life, 
Are taken from you so quickly, 
So we must always leave the people who we care about with loving words, 
It may be the last time we see them. 

You learn that the circumstances and the environment have influence upon us, 
But we are responsible for ourselves. 
You start to learn that you should not compare yourself with others, 
But with the best you can be. 
You discover that it takes a long time to become the person you wish to be, 
And that the time is short. 
You learn that it doesn't matter where you have reached, 
But where you are going to. 
But if you don't know where you are going to, 
Anywhere will do. 
You learn that either you control your acts, 
Or they shall control you. 
And that to be flexible doesn't mean to be weak or not to have personality, 
Because it doesn't matter how delicate and fragile the situation is, 
There are always two sides. 

You learn that heroes are those who did what was necessary to be done, 
Facing the consequences. 
You learn that patience demands a lot of practice. 
You discover that sometimes, 
The person who you most expect to be kicked by when you fall, 
Is one of the few who will help you to stand up. 
You learn that maturity has more to do with the kinds of experiences you had 
And what you have learned from them, 
Than how many birthdays you have celebrated. 

You learn that there are more from your parents inside you than you thought. 
You learn that we should never tell a child that dreams are silly, 
Very few things are so humiliating, 
And it would be a tragedy if she believed it. 
You learn that when you are angry, 
You have the right to be angry, 
But this doesn't give you the right to be cruel. 
You discover that only because someone doesn't love you the way you would like her to, 
It doesn't mean that this person doesn't love you the most she can, 
Beacuse there are people who love us, 
But just don't know how to show or live that. 

You learn that sometimes it isn't enough being forgiven by someone, 
Sometimes you have to learn how to forgive yourself. 
You learn that with the same harshness you judge, 
Some day you will be condemned. 
You learn that it doesn't matter in how many pieces your heart has been broken,
The world doesn't stop for you to fix it. 
You learn that time isn't something you can turn back, 
Therefore you must plant your own garden and decorate your own soul, 
Instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers. 

And you learn that you really can endure. 
You really are strong .
And you can go so much farther than you thought you could go. 
You really do have worth. 

And you learn,

And you learn, 

With every goodbye, you learn...


This poem was written by Veronica A. Shoffstall in 1971 and all rights are reserved to her.