RecursiveEnigma

[recursiveenigma]

Yup, relearning maths again, from the ground up, as an adult. It's awesome!

[recursiveenigma]

[lthmath]

Researchers discover the mathematical system used by the brain to organize visual objects

When Plato set out to define what made a human a human, he settled on two primary characteristics: We do not have feathers, and we are bipedal (walking upright on two legs). Plato's characterization may not encompass all of what identifies a human, but his reduction of an object to its fundamental characteristics provides an example of a technique known as principal component analysis.

[philamuseum]

Happy birthday to Vasily Kandinsky. An early champion of abstract painting, Kandinsky held the firm belief that “the relationships in art are not necessarily ones of outward form, but are founded on inner sympathy of meaning.” In works such as “Isolated Objects,” he introduced more playful shapes that evoke larvae and other miniscule life that he observed under a microscope. While this was a departure from the spontaneity of his earlier works, he maintained a strong use of color and form that was inspired by the strong affinity he felt between music and painting.

“Isolated Objects,” 1934, by Vasily Kandinsky 

[mathhombre]

Tell me this guy wasn’t a closet mathematician.

[recursiveenigma]

Continued Fractions 1: Introduction and Basic Examples - LearnMathsFree

This is the first part in a video series about continued fractions. In this video, we define a finite continued fraction and explore some basic examples. Mor...

Good explanation of Continued Fractions

[recursiveenigma]

[recursiveenigma]

(Structure.)

[magdaliny-deactivated20191030]

“One of the most painful parts of teaching mathematics is seeing students damaged by the cult of the genius. The genius cult tells students it’s not worth doing mathematics unless you’re the best at mathematics, because those special few are the only ones whose contributions matter. We don’t treat any other subject that way! I’ve never heard a student say, ‘I like Hamlet, but I don’t really belong in AP English – that kid who sits in the front row knows all the plays, and he started reading Shakespeare when he was nine!’ Athletes don’t quit their sport just because one of their teammates outshines them. And yet I see promising young mathematicians quit every year, even though they love mathematics, because someone in their range of vision was ‘ahead’ of them. We lose a lot of math majors this way. Thus, we lose a lot of future mathematicians; but that’s not the whole of the problem. I think we need more math majors who don’t become mathematicians. More math major doctors, more math major high school teachers, more math major CEOs, more math major senators. But we won’t get there until we dump the stereotype that math is only worthwhile for kid geniuses.”

— Jordan Ellenberg, How Not To Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking

[recursiveenigma]

A weekend of physical & mental concentration

[recursiveenigma]

If the heavens we're indeed controlled by the whims of gods, then these gods themselves seemed under the spell of exact mathematical laws.

The Road to Reality by Roger Penrose

[mad--house]

[thingsfromthedirt]

[recursiveenigma]

Assembled my 1st skateboard from Peg, the Al Capo, https://pegworld.com/collections/skateboard-completes-south-africa/products/peg-skateboard-complete-al-capo-8-125. Made a bit of a mistake with the grip paper's edge, but apart from that, all went well.

[recursiveenigma]

Assembled my 1st skateboard from Peg, the Al Capo, https://pegworld.com/collections/skateboard-completes-south-africa/products/peg-skateboard-complete-al-capo-8-125. Made a bit of a mistake with the grip paper's edge, but apart from that, all went well.

[recursiveenigma]

A Canadian tweet in a Saudi king's court crosses a red line

For years, Canadian pressure on human rights in Saudi Arabia had elicited no more than a standard rejection. But all that changed last week, when a Canadian complaint was translated into Arabic and set off a diplomatic row.

Truly inspiring to see a country stand up for human rights in a non-violent way. Well done Canada.

[recursiveenigma]

Only 800 left. Then the bulldozers come!

They're fighting for their lives right now. Let's save them! ...

[recursiveenigma]

Cape drought: What’s happening to our groundwater? | Daily Maverick

It would be a pity if all the energy and money spent on groundwater drought relief projects over the past couple of months does not realise some meaningful contribution to better understanding of groundwater in and around Cape Town.