Interactive Mathematics Miscellany and Puzzles
Raymond Smullyan, a Mathematician, Philosopher and author of several outstanding books of logical puzzles, tells, in one of his books, a revealing story. A friend invited him for dinner. He told Smullyan that his teenage son was crazy about Smullyan's books and could not wait to meet him. The friend warned Smullyan not to mention that he is a Mathematician and that Logic is a part of Mathematics because the young fellow hated Mathematics.
Having told this story, would it be wise to announce up front what this site is about? Perhaps against a better judgement, I've put together a manifesto that aims to explain the purpose of this site.
By the way, did you know that...
- The word 'fraction' derives from the Latin fractio - to break. However, there are continuous fractions
- You can't add apples and oranges but you can add their shapes
- The word 'fraction' derives from the Latin fractio - to break. However, there are continuous fractions
- How to write an equation of the union of two sets
- Everything you can do with a ruler and a compass you can do with the compass alone
- Some numbers are square, yet others are triangular
- There is something the dead eat but if the living eat it, they die
- You can't add apples and oranges but you can add their shapes
- In the sequence of all integers, there are arbitrary long runs with no primes
- In a group of 23 people, at least two have the same birthday with the probability greater than 1/2
- There are things distant yet near. There are others that are near yet distant
- Much as with people, there are irrational, perfect, complex numbers
- You are wrong if you think Mathematics is not fun
- Much as with people, there are irrational, perfect, complex numbers
- As in the art, there are imaginary and surreal numbers
- Among all shapes with the same perimeter a circle has the largest area
- Everything you can do with a ruler and a compass you can do with the compass alone
- Falsity implies anything
- Sometimes in order to add one has to take the difference
- A clock never showing right time might be preferable to the one showing right time twice a day
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Last updated: July 6, 2018 What has changed? |
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