#maths blogger

[schrodingersmath]

New video!

What do Alice in Wonderland, Charles Dodgeson, and maths have in common? everything.

please comment, rate, and subscribe!

[schrodingersmath]

New videoooo!!! Achilles and the Tortoise/Zeno's Paradox

For those of you who subscribe already, you'd know this (please subscribe..!) but this actually went up a little while ago. 

huge kudos to Em, whose hands feature prominently in this video as both Achilles, the Tortoise, and my card holders

if you find (or make) embarrassing gifs of these, it's a rule to share. So i can delete the internet and whatnot

I spent half an hour on the phone with an apple man to get iMovie fixed. I had to show him these clips, over and over and over. This was a labour of love

I'm slowly going mad. This video is proof

Please watch, and let me know what you think. 

[schrodingersmath]

Mathematician of the month: Evariste Galois

After a lengthy essay from my friend, this month’s mathematician is Evariste Galois (GAL - wah). 

Galois was born on the 25th of October, 1811. He first took the entrance exam for highly prestigious École Polytechnique in 1828 despite a lack of normal preparation; he failed due to a lack of explanations for his work in the oral exam. In the same year, he entered the far inferior École Normale, where some of the teachers were more sympathetic. 

In 1829, Galois’s father committed suicide, and days later Galois took his second (and final) entrance exam for the École Polytechnique. Again, he didn’t get in - however the reasons for this are disputable. Allegedly he made too jumps between his explanations, which confused the incompetent examiner, and infuriated Galois. In 1830, Galois and his fellow students were locked in the school by its director to prevent their participation in the historic les Trois Glorieuses. Galois wrote a scathing, critical letter to the Gazette des Écoles, and although his name was ommitted, he was then expelled. 

Galois grew up in a era of political turmoil, and ended up in a military branch deemed so generally offensive that it was a criminal offense to be wearing their uniform. At one point Galois himself was arrested and charged with 6 months in prison for illegal wearing of it. 9 and a half months later and he was released. 

Galois died on the 30th May, 1832, in a duel with Pescheux d’Herbinville. Despite speculation, it’s unclear as to the cause of the duel. It’s unlikely we will ever know...

'je regrette nothing'