Knots and Links
Simon explains: The Knot Atlas is a complete catalogue of all the possible knots and links and links with 3 or fewer components and 11 or fewer crossings. The number … Continue reading Knots and Links
Author: Geeks out of the Box
This is a blog about Simon, a young mathematician and programmer, and his little sister Neva. We write this blog together, share their projects and thoughts on their journey towards self-dicovery. They’re growing up in a supportive non-coercive learning environment. We deeply believe in interest-based, self-paced education and have had to move countries to make this possible as a family.
Visit Simon’s website at https://simontiger.com/
We are a family from Amsterdam who moved to Antwerp because homeschooling is illegal in The Netherlands.
This blog started as https://antwerpenhomeschooling.wordpress.com in March 2016. Over the years, most of our entries have gravitated towards exploring together with Simon as he has developed an insatiable passion for programming, math and science. His sister Neva is treading on his heals. We changed or name to Geeks of the Box in May 2021.
Tricks with paperclips and Knot Theory
Simon is pretty obsessed with Knot Theory at the moment (a mathematical theory that is widely used in advanced biology and chemistry, for example in handling tangled DNA). He also … Continue reading Tricks with paperclips and Knot Theory
The three stated of matter (plasma not included)
Inspired by a Numberphile video with Tadashi Tokieda.
Circle passing through a smaller square
Simon made a remix of the Numberphile video called “Round Peg in a Square Hole” (by Tadashi Tokieda) and worked out the albraic formula behind the trick.
Convex vs. Concave Mirror
Simon learned this from Tadashi Tokieda in a Numberphile video called “Reflected Cats” and recreated the experiment.
Is the Universe random?
Simon, looking at the dust particles in the sun: “Is brownian motion random? If we look small enough, we might see something deterministic… but it might also be stochastic. What you’re … Continue reading Is the Universe random?
Simon’s Formula for the Zeta Function
Simon worked out this formula using the traditional formula for the Zeta Function. He’s not not sure it’s new (he says he’s even sure it’s not new) but he has … Continue reading Simon’s Formula for the Zeta Function
Either gamma of 1/2 is infinity or the Riemann hypothesis is false
“All you need to see that eta of one is the natural log of 2 is that! Easy, right? I was joking. Proving these things is pretty damn complicated, so … Continue reading Either gamma of 1/2 is infinity or the Riemann hypothesis is false
Simon’s formula for an inverse function of quadratic polynomial
Simon worked out this formula using the quadratic formula.
Magic Tile
Simon is very fond of the Magic Tile app, a virtual environment where complex and simpler Rubik’s cubes and other shapes can be solved. He loves the Hyperbolic plane: “Infinitely … Continue reading Magic Tile
One more of Simon’s impossible puzzles
Simon made this puzzle for me to solve… Except that it’s impossible. The objective is to move 5 so that no other number would be “lonely” (no longer adjascent to … Continue reading One more of Simon’s impossible puzzles
Geeks out of the box 