How many weeks old are you?
I always have my birthdays on a Saturday, a little girl told us at a playground. We laughed at first. But then we asked ourselves, why are we celebrating how … Continue reading How many weeks old are you?
Category: Simon’s sketch book
More Math games on a sheet of paper or on the street, using two pieces of chalk
Here come a few simple but beautiful math games that don’t take much time or preparation. Simon has learned about these from the following great resources, worth checking out: Math … Continue reading More Math games on a sheet of paper or on the street, using two pieces of chalk
James Tanton’s Hat Problems
James Tanton has also inspired Simon with his daily puzzles. Below is a set of puzzles all centered around guessing which color your hat is (your life depending on that … Continue reading James Tanton’s Hat Problems
James Tanton’s Matrix Math
Yes, this one is about what Simon learned from James Tanton again. Simon basically spent two months living on Tanton’s websites. He even gave me two colorful lectures on matrix … Continue reading James Tanton’s Matrix Math
P-adic System is used in computers!
Back in October, Simon got fascinated with this weird system called p-adic numbers (where p stands for “prime”). It’s a system in which you can have numbers going infinitely far … Continue reading P-adic System is used in computers!
Simon’s first impressions of this year’s first course with World Science Scholars
Last weekend, Simon started this new school year’s first World Science Scholars course, A Beautiful Universe: Black Holes, String Theory, and the Laws of Nature as Mathematical Puzzles with Breakthrough … Continue reading Simon’s first impressions of this year’s first course with World Science Scholars
Square Roots on Napier’s Checkerboard
I’ve figured out how to do square-roots in binary on Napier’s Checkerboard! I’ve learned how to do addition, subtraction, multiplication and division from James Tanton’s vids. I’ve shown how to … Continue reading Square Roots on Napier’s Checkerboard
Base 3/2
Simon is simply mesmerized by the founder of the Global Math Project James Tanton. He has watched countless tutorials by Tanton and frequents Tanton’s Exploding Dots website that features a … Continue reading Base 3/2
Squangular numbers
Simon has created a Python program that looks for “squangular” numbers. 36 is both a square number (6×6 square of things makes 36 things) and a triangular number (8×8 triangle … Continue reading Squangular numbers
Latin Square Puzzle
This is called a Partially-Filled Latin Square. There’s a theorem stating that a partially solved Latin Square can always be completed such that every row has each symbol and every … Continue reading Latin Square Puzzle
Ways to construct an ellipse
Simon has been greatly inspired by the Tech Square website and tutorials on tech drawing. We have also ordered a drawing kit from their company based in Ireland but haven’t … Continue reading Ways to construct an ellipse
Year two of the World Science Scholars program
The new cohort of World Science Scholars (a World Science Festival program for young math talents from across the world) seems to be more active than last year’s group. Or … Continue reading Year two of the World Science Scholars program
Geeks out of the box 