Go Girl!
Our living room has this air of an open source digital studio, sizzling with contagious creativity. I have always encouraged the kids to do their stuff in a shared space … Continue reading Go Girl!
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.
DIY: Derive It Yourself
This is Simon’s preferred way of learning math and physics: try to work out the formulas independently. This time it’s the collision formulas which he attempts to depict geometrically. You … Continue reading DIY: Derive It Yourself
Some weekend combinatorics
Combinatorics problems (each one builds on the previous one): If there’s a sequence of tasks you need to do, and you know how many ways there are to do each … Continue reading Some weekend combinatorics
What is a fidget spinner’s actual speed, in km/h?
How fast can a fidget spinner spin? Is it not that fast or can you literally use it as a car wheel? Inspired by Matt Parker, who listened to the … Continue reading What is a fidget spinner’s actual speed, in km/h?
Chaos with Legos and Shapes
It’s not that easy to make a chaos model. A system where a slight tweak in the initial conditions creates major change down the road and even makes it impossible … Continue reading Chaos with Legos and Shapes
Telestrations
One of our favorite games to play together is Telestrations, a version of the telephone game where players illustrate a word and pass it on for the next player to … Continue reading Telestrations
Integration Techniques for Physics Simulations
Simon has made a visual about what he calls “three different ways to make a physics simulation”: Blue: Modified Euler Integration (aka Backward Euler Integration); Green: Euler Integration (aka Forward … Continue reading Integration Techniques for Physics Simulations
Simon continues to explore ways to simulate evolution
Simon’s code: https://editor.p5js.org/simontiger/sketches/5Sx2Solm7 Simon made this by reverse-engineering Primer’s project as shown in his video Simulating Natural Selection.
Trig is About Circles
Simon’s really proud of himself for being helpful during The Coding Train’s tutorial recording sessions. He hopes to have converted Dan Shiffman to approach trigonometry as something about circles, not … Continue reading Trig is About Circles
How to Lie Honestly
Really enjoying the chapter on Statistics in our bed-time read, Math with bad Drawings by Ben Orlin, who approaches the subject in the most profound and at the same time … Continue reading How to Lie Honestly
Particles connected with springs and Simon’s Physics Library
Simulation of multiple particles connected mutually with springs. Made for Dan from the Coding Train. Simon’s original code with 2 particles: https://editor.p5js.org/simontiger/sketches/18ib3ZNKm Four particles: https://editor.p5js.org/simontiger/sketches/gkexoSqZZ Simon has also started building … Continue reading Particles connected with springs and Simon’s Physics Library
Piano as a mini habit
Because Simon’s regular in-person piano classes stopped due to the pandemic, he has tried various techniques to keep practicing on his own until he would be able to take lessons … Continue reading Piano as a mini habit
Geeks out of the box 