Grothendieck’s Sheaf (束)

tomcircle's avatarMath Online Tom Circle

Natural Numbers (N) = {1,2,3, 4…}
1-dimension: a Line
2-dimension: a plane
n-dimensional flat space: a Vector Space

Now imagine in a world where we replace every natural number by vector space:
1 by a Line
2 by a Plane
n by a flat space Vector Space

Sum of numbers = Direct sum of vector space.
E.g. Add a 1-D Line to a 2-D Plane = 3-D Space

Product of numbers = Tensor Product (of two vector spaces of respective dimension m & n) with dimension m.n

This new world would be much interesting and richer than the Natural Number world: vector spaces have symmetries, whereas numbers are just numbers with no symmetries.
(Interesting): we can add 1 to 2 in only ONE way (1+2), but there are many ways to embed (add) a Line in a Plane (perpendicular, slanting in any angle, etc).
(Richer): the Lie Group SO(3)…

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Applied Math in Medicine

tomcircle's avatarMath Online Tom Circle

The young Russian doctor Sergei Arutyunyan was working with patients whose immune systems were rejecting transplanted kidneys.

The doctor has to decide whether to keep or remove it. If they kept the kidney, the patient could die, but if they remove it, the patient would need another long wait (or never) for another kidney.

The mathematician Edward Frankel helped him to analyze the collected data with ‘expert rules’ in a decision tree. (Note: this is like the Artificial Intelligence Rule-based Expert System, except no fuzzy math).

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Love and Math by Edward Frenkel http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0465050743/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_53swtb16779PY

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“Turn-off” School Math

tomcircle's avatarMath Online Tom Circle

“…There’s a long history of high caliber mathematicians finding their experiences with school mathematics alienating or irrelevant. “
Read here:
http://lesswrong.com/r/discussion/lw/2uz/fields_medalists_on_school_mathematics/

In Récoltes et Semailles Fields Medalist Alexander Grothendieck describes an experience of the type that Alain Connes mentions:

I can still recall the first “mathematics essay” (math test, or Composition Mathématique) , and that the teacher gave it a bad mark. It was to be a proof of “three cases in which triangles were congruent.” My proof wasn’t the official one in the textbook he followed religiously. All the same, I already knew that my proof was neither more nor less convincing than the one in the book, and that it was in accord with the traditional spirit of “gliding this figure over that one.” It was self-evident that this man was unable or unwilling to think for himself in judging the worth of a train of…

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The Gap of Today’s Math Education: Rigor

tomcircle's avatarMath Online Tom Circle

This professor criticized the lack of rigor in today’s math education, in particular, there exists universally a prevalent ‘ambiguous’ gap between high school and undergraduate math education.
image

I admire his great insight which is obvious to those postwar baby boomer generation.

I remember I was the last Singapore batch or so (early 70s) taking the full Euclidean Geometry course at 15 years old, and strangely in that year of Secondary 3 Math (equivalent to 3ème in Baccalaureate) my (Chinese) school had 2 separate math teacher for Geometry and Elementary/Additional (E./A.) Math.

Guess what ? the Geometry teacher was an Art teacher. It turned out it was a blessing in disguise, as my class of average Math students who hated E./A. Maths all scored 90% distinctions in Geometry. We did not treat Geometry like the other boring maths. The lady Art teacher started on the first day from Euclid’s 5 axioms…

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Lie Algebras & Lie Groups

tomcircle's avatarMath Online Tom Circle

Best way to study abstract math is to use concrete examples, visualizable 2- or 3- dimensional mathematical ‘objects’.

Groups:
(Do not need to search too far…) Best example is the Integer Group (Z) with + operation, denoted as {Z, +}. (Note: Easy to verify it satisfies the group 4 properties: CAN I“.

It has infinite elements (infinite group)

It is a Discrete Group, because it jumps from one integer to another (1,2,3…, in digital sense).

The group of rotation of a round table, which consists of all points on a circle, is an infinite group. We can change the angle of rotation continously between 0 and 360 degrees, rotating around a geometrical shape – a circle. Such shapes are called Manifolds (流形).

All points of a manifold forms a Lie group.

Example: The group of rotations of a sphere around a central…

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From Durian to Group Theory

tomcircle's avatarMath Online Tom Circle

Durian & Group

The Nature applies Group Theory to the King of fruits : Durian.
Look at the kernels, there are more than one, each kernel partitions the Durian Group into several similar sections (which you can pull them apart ).
Those durians which have no kernel (jiu-jee) but meat are excellent – they are SIMPLE.
Eating one kernel (Normal Subgroup) is enough to know whether the Durian (Group) is D24 or D18 type.
Bon appétit !
Knowing the kernel 核of a fruit will allow biologists to understand the whole fruit.
In Group, a kernel of group homomorphism is a Normal subgroup, hence will let us know the whole group.
Normal subgroup is the important essence revealing the whole group.
First, you must realize what a Group is? Group is a set with an operation (Transformation) acting on its elements such that
“CAN I” –
C: closed
A: Associative

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Recommended Tuition Agency: Startutor

startutor

If you are wondering which tuition agency is the best, look no further. The best tuition agency in Singapore is without a doubt Startutor.

Startutor is highly recommended by our tutor Mr Wu, and he himself is listed there.

For other subjects besides Mathematics, request for a tutor at Startutor! Startutor is Singapore’s most popular online agency, providing tutors to your home. There are no extra costs for making a request. Tutors’ certificates are carefully vetted by Startutor. (Website: http://startutor.sg/request,wwcsmt)

Startutor is suitable for English Tuition, Social Studies Tuition, Geography Tuition, Physics Tuition, Chemistry Tuition, Biology Tuition, Chinese Tuition, Economics Tuition, GP Tuition, Piano Lessons and more!

Startutor: http://startutor.sg/request,wwcsmt

(Please use the link above directly, thanks!)

Cute Geometry Proof

tomcircle's avatarMath Online Tom Circle

Prove:  Any line L will cut a circle at most 2 points:

Let circle C (x,y) be unit circle defined by
C(x,y) : x² + y² = 1
 

Factorize C(x,y) : (x+iy) (x-iy) = 1 in the complex plane.
So C  = {L1} U {L2}
where L1 and L2 are two lines

L1= x+iy
L2= x – iy
L1 and L2 intersect at origin (0,0):
x+ iy = x-iy
We know that any line L will cut L1 at most 1 point, and L2 at most 1 point
Therefore,
L cuts the circle C at most (1+1=) 2 points. [QED]

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Best Singapore Math Books

Just to reblog this earlier post on Recommended Singapore Math Books. Ideal for parents living outside Singapore who wish to teach their child the Singapore Math curriculum!

mathtuition88's avatarMathtuition88

We have compiled a list of Top 5 Best selling and Top rated Singapore Math Books on Amazon. This list is more targeted towards parents and students living outside Singapore, like in the United States. Students in Singapore are already breathing and living Singapore Math!

Hope this list will help you in finding the Best Singapore Math Books for your child. The reviews are from actual customers on Amazon.
1)

Singapore Math Practice, Level 1A, Grade 2

This math practice book contains wonderful teaching strategies from the Singapore math program including number bonds and counting on. This would be a good book for homeschooling. We use it as an enrichment tool when we have a little extra time during vacations or on weekends.
I would recommend it to parents who would like to teach their struggling kids math, because it tells you how to teach these concepts.

2)

Why Before How: Singapore Math Computation…

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On Dimensions

tomcircle's avatarMath Online Tom Circle

The dimension of a hypersphere inside a n-dimensional space = $latex boxed {n – 1}$

Examples:

Dim (Circle) in 2-dim plane = 1

image

As we approach near the neighborhood of the tangential point on the circle, the curvature of the circle disappears, there is no difference between the circle and the tangent line (dim = 1).

Hence, Dim (Circle) = 1

A point on a circle is determined by one independent variable only, which is the polar angle.
image

Note:
The dimension of the ambient space (2-dim plane) is not relevant to the dimension of the circle itself.

Dim (Sphere) in 3-dim Space = 2

The 2 variables (longitude, latitude) determine a position on the globe. Therefore dimension of a sphere is 2.
image

Interesting note:
Four Dimension Space (x, y, z, t): what we get if the 4th dimension time is fixed (frozen in time) ? We get a…

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Fibonacci Numbers and the Mysterious Golden Ratio

What are Fibonacci Numbers?

Fibonacci Numbers, named after Leonardo Fibonacci, is a sequence of numbers:

F_0=0, F_1=1, F_2=1, F_3=2, F_4=3, F_5=5,

with a recurrence relation F_n=F_{n-1}+F_{n-2}.

Fibonacci.jpg
Fibonacci

Relation to Golden Ratio

Fibonacci Numbers are linked to the mysterious Golden Ratio, \displaystyle \phi=\frac{1+\sqrt{5}}{2}\approx 1.61803

In fact, the ratio of successive Fibonacci numbers converges to the Golden Ratio! The first person to observe this is Johannes Kepler.

How do we prove it?

Recall the recurrence relation: F_n=F_{n-1}+F_{n-2}

Dividing throughout by F_{n-1}, we get \displaystyle \frac{F_n}{F_{n-1}}=1+\frac{F_{n-2}}{F_{n-1}}

(We will first assume \displaystyle\lim_{n\to\infty}\frac{F_n}{F_{n-1}} exists for the time being, and prove it later)

Taking limits, we get \displaystyle\lim_{n\to\infty}\frac{F_n}{F_{n-1}}=1+\lim_{n\to\infty}\frac{F_{n-2}}{F_{n-1}}.

Denoting \displaystyle\lim_{n\to\infty}\frac{F_n}{F_{n-1}} as \phi, we get:

\displaystyle \phi=1+\frac{1}{\phi}

Multiplying by \phi, we get \phi^2=\phi +1

\phi^2-\phi-1=0

This is a quadratic equation, solving using the quadratic equation, we get:

\displaystyle \phi=\frac{1\pm\sqrt{1^2-4(1)(-1)}}{2}=\frac{1\pm\sqrt{5}}{2}

Since \phi is clearly positive, we have \displaystyle \phi=\frac{1+\sqrt{5}}{2} which is the Golden Ratio!


For a complete proof, actually we will need to prove that \displaystyle\frac{F_n}{F_{n-1}} converges. This is a bit tricky and requires some algebra.

Interested readers can refer to the excellent website at: http://pages.pacificcoast.net/~cazelais/222/fib-limit.pdf

for more details.


Interesting video on Fibonacci numbers!

Fibonacci numbers and the Golden Ratio can also be used for trading stocks.

 

 

Shimura-Taniyama-Weil Conjecture (Modularity Theorem)

tomcircle's avatarMath Online Tom Circle

Shimura and Tanyama are two Japanese mathematicians first put up the conjecture in 1955, later the French mathematician André Weil re-discovered it in 1967.

The British Andrew Wiles proved the conjecture and used this theorem to prove the 380-year-old Fermat’s Last Theorem (FLT) in 1994.

It is concerning the study of these strange curves called Elliptic Curve with 2 variables cubic equation:

Example:
$latex boxed {y^{2} + y = x^{3} – x^{2}
} &fg=aa0000&s=3 $ — (I)

There are many solutions in integers N, real R or complex C numbers, but solutions in modulo N hide the most beautiful gem in Mathematics.

For modulo 5, the above equation has 4 solutions:
(x, y) = (0, 0)
(x, y) = (0, 4)
(x, y) = (1, 0)
(x, y) = (1, 4)

Note: the last solution when y=4,
Left side = 16 + 4 = 20 = 4×5 = 0…

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http://www.pastyearpaper.com

Just to share a website on Tuition Agency and Past Year Papers.

Website:  http://www.pastyearpaper.com

Past Year Paper is an established Singapore Home Tuition Agency that brings to you quality private tutors and free exam papers for primary, secondary school to junior college level students.

Amazing Math Magic Video

http://www.ted.com In a lively show, mathemagician Arthur Benjamin races a team of calculators to figure out 3-digit squares, solves another massive mental equation and guesses a few birthdays. How does he do it? He’ll tell you.

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers are invited to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes — including speakers such as Jill Bolte Taylor, Sir Ken Robinson, Hans Rosling, Al Gore and Arthur Benjamin. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, politics and the arts. Watch the Top 10 TEDTalks on TED.com, at
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10


Interested to learn more tricks? Check out these two books:

Secrets of Mental Math: The Mathemagician’s Guide to Lightning Calculation and Amazing Math Tricks

Mathemagics: How to Look Like a Genius Without Really Trying

Secrets of Mental Math: The Mathemagician’s Guide to Lightning Calculation and Amazing Math Tricks

These simple math secrets and tricks will forever change how you look at the world of numbers.
Secrets of Mental Math will have you thinking like a math genius in no time. Get ready to amaze your friends—and yourself—with incredible calculations you never thought you could master, as renowned “mathemagician” Arthur Benjamin shares his techniques for lightning-quick calculations and amazing number tricks. This book will teach you to do math in your head faster than you ever thought possible, dramatically improve your memory for numbers, and—maybe for the first time—make mathematics fun.

Yes, even you can learn to do seemingly complex equations in your head; all you need to learn are a few tricks. You’ll be able to quickly multiply and divide triple digits, compute with fractions, and determine squares, cubes, and roots without blinking an eye. No matter what your age or current math ability, Secrets of Mental Math will allow you to perform fantastic feats of the mind effortlessly. This is the math they never taught you in school.

Free Online Math Game for Very Young Kids

http://edu-games.atspace.com/

Help the Gorilla find bananas by adding the numbers correctly!

Suitable for ages 5 and above.
More games:
Math Memo – click on cards to match the correct pairs
Star alphabet – press letters on the keyboard to hear their names
Star numbers – press digits

Amazon Kindle for Reading Math Books

Looking for an alternative to the Ipad? Why not try out the Amazon Kindle?

Are your books taking up too much space and collecting dust? Want to switch to Ebooks in this Electronic Age?


Kindle Fire HDX 7″, HDX Display, Wi-Fi, 32 GB – Includes Special Offers

There are many free or affordable Kindle Math Books online for download/purchase. Other than Math books, the Kindle can also be used for reading other books, and also for playing games and using apps. It is a decent alternative to the Ipad, if you are not a fan of Apple.


Kindle Paperwhite, 6″ High Resolution Display with Next-Gen Built-in Light, Wi-Fi – Includes Special Offers

Unlike tablets, Kindle Paperwhite is designed to deliver the best reading experience
  • No screen glare in bright sunlight
  • Read with one hand—over 30% lighter than iPad mini
  • Battery lasts weeks, not hours
  • Next-gen built-in light—read without eyestrain

Here are some very afforadable Kindle Math Books/Apps:

1)

Math BINGO – Kindle Fire (Kindle Tablet Edition)

Price: $0.99

Math BINGO Kindle Fire Edition!

The object of Math BINGO is to practice math facts while playing BINGO!

Features:
-Choose from 5 games: Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division and Mixed
-Choose from 3 different levels of difficulty: Easy, Medium and Hard
-Create up to 5 player profiles
-Choose from 8 different fun cartoon avatars
-Keep track of number of games played by player profile
-The Scoreboard keeps track of scores for each game and level
-Collect and play with BINGO Bugs when you earn a high score!
-Fun bonus game: BINGO Bug Bungee

2)

Secrets of Mental Math: The Mathemagician’s Guide to Lightning Calculation and Amazing Math Tricks

3)

Preschool and Kindergarten Learning Games Free

FREE Learning Games for Young Children!


Check out this post on Why the Kindle Fire HDX is a far better tablet than the iPad, if you are not convinced.

“I used to think that the iPad was the king of the tablets, but not any more. It’s time to whip the crown away from Apple and give it to its rightful holder – Amazon’s Kindle Fire HDX.”

 

Looking for a Math Board Game / Fun Math Game?

Look no further! In this post I will recommend the Top 5 Math Games for kids, on Amazon.com. Amazon is one of the biggest companies in the world, and is a highly trusted and respected online retailer. Sometimes, it is hard to find Math Games in the local area, the internet provides a convenient and hassle-free way to buy Fun Math Games.

Without further ado, these are the Top 5 Math Games for children:

1)

Learning Resources Sum Swamp Game

Math becomes an adventure

  • Takes kids on a journey through the Sum Swamp
  • Endless loop of adding and subtracting
  • Make your way over the crocodile shortcut
  • For 2-4 players

222 people rated it 4.8 out of 5 stars. #301 selling item in Amazon (Office Products section)

2)

Learning Resources Penguins On Ice Math Activity Set

Bars hold 10 penguins each and connect 2 ways

  • Reinforces math concepts – numbers, counting, patterning, sorting, operations, hundreds and base ten
  • Includes 10 plastic ice bars (12 x 1 Inches), 100 plastic penguins in 10 colors and Activity Guide

Rated 4.6 out of 5 stars.

3)

Learning Resources Hands-On Standards Photo-Illustrated Lessons for Teaching with Math Manipulatives-Grades 5-6

Teaches fractions, problem solving, multiplication, division, algebraic thinking and more

  • Offers problems designed to resemble questions on standardized math tests
  • Aligned with NCTM standards and expectations
  • For children between 10 to 11 years

4)

Equate: The Equation Thinking Game

Have fun creating equations crossword-style.

  • Includes a laminated playing board, 190 tiles, and 4 racks behind which players hide their tiles.
  • Ages 8 through adult. 2 to 4 players.
  • Great for the family or classroom
  • Easy to learn

5)

Carson Dellosa Math File Folder Game (140306)

Perfect for use in centers or for individual practice.

  • Challenging games include What’s Scoop, Royal Patterns, Under the Sea, Facts in Flight and more!
  • Explores concepts in place value, time, shapes, skip counting, addition and subtraction and more.
  • Includes 16 full color game boards with 21 sheets of cards, and 24 page resource guide.

If you are interested in buying Singapore Math books, please check out our post on Singapore Math books.

Les maths ne sont qu’une histoire de groupes

tomcircle's avatarMath Online Tom Circle

“Math is nothing but a history of Group”

The Math teaching from primary schools to secondary / high schools should begin from the journey of Symmetry.

After all, the Universe is about Symmetry, from flowers to butterflies to our body, and the celestial body of planets. Mathematics is the language of the Universe, hence
Math = Symmetry

It was discovered by the 19th century French tragic genius Evariste Galois who, until the eve of his fatal death at 21, wrote about his Mathematical study of ambiguities.

Another French genius of the 20th century, Henri Poincaré, re-discovered this ambiguity which is Symmetry : Group, Differential Equation, etc.

Only in university we study the Group Theory to explore the Symmetry.

image

image

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Le meilleur score possible au 2048 : 131072

tomcircle's avatarMath Online Tom Circle

This addictive game “2048” is better than any other violent game like “The World of Warcraft”. At least it improves your math!

The video explains its principle and why you will never exceed 131,072.

It is binary arithmetic, or power of 2 = $latex 2^{n} &s=3$

image

Notice the rule of 0 & 1:
$latex 32 = 1underbrace {00000}_{5 : zero}$

Minus 2:
$latex 30 = 1111underbrace {0}_{1 : zero}$

Minus 4:
$latex 28 = 111underbrace {00}_{2 : zero}$

image

The maximum scenario whereby all 15 boxes are filled with the power of 2:

Final score (Maximum)
$latex 131,072 = 1underbrace {00,000,000,000,000,000}_{17: zero} = 2^{17} $

Case 1: The 16th box: – 2
$latex 131,070= underbrace {1111111111111111}_{16 : one} underbrace {0}_{1: zero}$

Case 2 (Maximum) : The 16th box: – 4
$latex 131,068 = underbrace {111,111,111,111,111}_{15 : one} underbrace {00}_{2: zero}$

image

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Russian Math VZMSh

tomcircle's avatarMath Online Tom Circle

Israel Gelfand, the student of Kolmogorov (the Russian equivalent of
Gauss), created in 1964 the famous VZMSh, a national Math Correspondence School.

He wrote: “4 important traits which are common to Math, Music, and
other arts and sciences:
1st Beauty
2nd Simplicity
3rd Precision
4th Crazy ideas.

The Russian mathematicians also built special Math-Physics schools:
Moscow School #7, #2, #57 (one of the best high school in the world, http://www.sch57.msk.ru) Leningrad Schools #30, #38, #239 (Perelman studied here)

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IMO Super-coach: Rukshin

tomcircle's avatarMath Online Tom Circle

Rukshin at 15 was a troubled russian kid with drink and violence, then a miracle happened: He fell in love with Math and turned all his creative, aggressive, and competitive energies toward it.

He tried to compete in Math olympiads, but outmatched by peers. Still he believed he knew how to win; he just could not do it himself.

He formed a team of schoolchildren a year younger than he and trained them.
At 19 he became an IMO coach who produced Perelman (Gold IMO & Fields/Clay Poincare Conjecture). In the decades since, his students took 70 IMO, include > 40 Golds.

Rukshin’s thoughts on IMO:

1. IMO is more like a sport. It has its coaches, clubs, practice sessions, competitions.

2. Natural ability is necessary but NOT sufficientfor success: The talented kid needs to have the right coach, the right team, the right kind of family…

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2048 Math Game Free Strategy Guide / Walkthrough

2048 Strategy

2048 is a highly popular Math/Puzzle game that can be played on the computer or on mobile devices. The game is about adding two tiles together until you get the number 2048.

The link for the desktop version is: http://gabrielecirulli.github.io/2048/. Alternatively, 2048 can also be enjoyed on your mobile device (or desktop), here.

Like most fun games, the concept of 2048 is deceptively simple, even a 5 year old kid could play it. However, it is hard to master it, and getting the coveted “2048” could prove quite tricky. Do not despair, for after reading this strategy guide, you have a much higher chance of winning the game!

2048
Finally…!!! This is a screenshot of my personal game

 Strategy Guide / Walkthrough / FAQ

The 3 Top Priorities for 2048 game:

1) Keep your highest tile in the top left corner of the grid. This is your top priority.

2) Do not let low tiles, especially 2’s or 4’s, clog up the upper two rows. This is your second priority.

3) Keep your top row in the following order, from left to right, 2^{n+3}, 2^{n+2}, 2^{n+1}, 2^{n}. An example would be, 512, 256, 128, 64.

The reason for Priority 1 is that this immensely increases your chances of successful merges of two higher numbers into 1. It synergises with Priority 3 to create a chain-effect. For example, imagine you have 512, 256, 128, 64 on the top row. After merging another 64 with the 64 on the top row, you will have 512, 256, 128, 128. The two 128’s can merge together, making 512, 256, 256. The two 256’s can merge together, making 512, 512. And then, we have a 1024!

The reason for Priority 2 is that letting 2 or 4’s clog up the top rows is very bad. It greatly reduces your mobility (the top 2 rows clogged up with even a single ‘2’ is hard to move). The 2 or 4’s up there have little to no chance to get merged since most of the numbers at the top are high numbers.


Top 3 Guidelines for 2048 game:

1) Press up and left arrows only. Only press right when the upper row is full. Press down only when you have utterly no other choice.

2) Keep the top row filled up, as far as possible.

3) Your general aim is to target the lowest tile on the upper row, to set up the chain effect described above.

Reason for Guideline 1: Pressing right when the upper row is not full has the chance of introducing a new tile on the upper left corner, so now your highest tile is no longer on the upper left corner. This is not good. (Violates Priority 1)

Reason for Guideline 2: Keeping the top row filled up enables you to press “right” without fear of introducing a new tile on the upper left corner.

Reason for Guideline 3: After reaching the late game, we need to think a few steps in advance, and think of which is the best move in accordance to the Top 3 Priorities, and also can target the lowest tile on the upper row to set up a chain effect.


Top 3 Time Saving Quick and Fast Tips for 2048 game

1) The first few steps do not require thinking. Just spam up and left until you get a moderately high number like 128 or 256. There is no harm done about this as the board is uncluttered and there is little chance of losing. You only need to start thinking deeper during the later part of the game, when your highest tile is 512 or more.

2) If Priority 1 is violated, i.e. your highest tile is no longer in the top left corner of the grid, try a few steps to see if you can salvage the situation and get it back to the top left corner. If no, it is better to quit and start a new game to save time. Same for Priority 2, if there is a 2 or 4 clogging the upper row, try a few more steps to see if you can salvage the situation, by merging to make a higher number. If no, we can restart to save time. Priority 3 is less crucial, if the numbers in the top row do not form 2^{n+3}, 2^{n+2}, 2^{n+1}, 2^{n}, no need to restart. But keep it in mind and keep trying your best to achieve the ideal order.

3) When there is only one possible move, make that move without thinking to save time. (No other choice anyway)


This is the best video on youtube about 2048 Strategy. (Note: They put the highest tile on the bottom right instead. Should be no difference due to the symmetry of the board)

Note: Even the expert maker of this video only has a 30% winning rate! 2048 has some element of luck (the tiles arrive randomly). Personally, I took quite some time to beat the game too.

Good luck! 🙂


Featured from Amazon:

Kindle Paperwhite, 6″ High Resolution Display with Next-Gen Built-in Light, Wi-Fi – Includes Special Offers

Unlike tablets, Kindle Paperwhite is designed to deliver the best reading experience
  • No screen glare in bright sunlight
  • Read with one hand—over 30% lighter than iPad mini
  • Battery lasts weeks, not hours
  • Next-gen built-in light—read without eyestrain

Math Weekly News

This is the list of Top Weekly Math News around the world. To view more Math News, you can scroll down to the bottom of this website, and there will be more Free Math News for your viewing.

Math, reading scores tick up; low proficiency levels persist
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Results from the final administration of an annual standardized reading and math exam show student achievement has ticked upward very slightly in …
Math homework gives some parents trouble
Sturgis Journal
Some educators say more and more parents are having trouble helping their young children with basic math. They say Common Core State Standards …
Math Minions are market masters: Oak Grove sixth-graders’ stock picks beat teams at top US
WDAY
FARGO –- Oak Grove Lutheran School has some sixth-grade minions worth investing in. Math teacher Dave Carlson’s “Math Minions” posted 21.6 …
Math Field Day draws almost 700 junior, senior high school students
Southeast Missourian
Students from 28 area schools compete during the Southeast Missouri State University Department of Mathematics’ 37th annual Math Field Day …
New math app shortcuts jet-lag recovery
Financial Express
SummaryA new smartphone app uses math to help travellers alter their internal body clocks to new time zones more quickly in order to overcome jet …
Math team from UNO finishes in top 10 percent
Omaha World-Herald
Some math students at the University of Nebraska at Omaha are celebrating their finish in the top 10 percent in the annual William Lowell Putnam …
Math Academy expands program in county
Shelby Star
The summer program that serves Cleveland County Schools students to enhance their math skills is planning to have a permanent location in Kings …
Math-O-Vision Calls for Video Contest Entries
DigitalJournal.com
Here’s some math for you: High school students could win $4,000 simply by entering Math-O-Vision’s video contest to show how they see and …
Doing the math on Red Sox’ poor start
Boston Globe
NEW YORK — The Red Sox took two of three games from Baltimore to open the season and it appeared the defending World Series champions were …
STEM Heroines: Math role models for girls
Christian Science Monitor
The number of women in science, technology, engineering, and math fields is growing, but women are still a minority overall in STEM career paths.

Explain Math in Simple Language

tomcircle's avatarMath Online Tom Circle

The great Mathematician Israel Gelfand used to say:

“People think they don’t understand math, but it’s all about how you explain it to them.

If you ask a drunkard what number is larger , 2/3 or 3/5, he won’t be able to tell you. But if you rephrase the question:
What is better, 2 bottles of vodka for 3 people or 3 bottles of vodka for 5 people, he will tell you right away: 2 bottles for 3 people, of course.”

– Extract: “Love and Math”
by Edward Frenkel

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Best Mathematical Writing in 2012

The Basel Problem

This identity is usually proved by induction, here is the real ‘frontal attack’ from Euler who gave the first convergent sum of (pi^2/6) for Zeta (2).

tomcircle's avatarMath Online Tom Circle

The Basel Problem is:
$latex displaystyle sum_{k=1}^{infty} frac {1}{k^2} = frac {{pi}^2}{6}$

Euler was 28 years old when he proved that it converged.

The Basel Problem is also called the Riemann Zeta function: ζ(2).

He studied the function sin x which has zeroes,
i.e. sin x= 0 for
$latex x=npi, n = 0,pm1,pm 2, pm 3…$

image

In other words, we can factor sin x this way:
$latex sin x = x.(1+frac {x}{pi}) .(1-frac {x}{pi}).(1+frac {x}{2pi}). (1-frac {x}{2pi}).(1+frac {x}{3pi}). (1-frac {x}{3pi})…
&s=3$

Note: the right side any factor = 0 when
$latex x=npi, n = 0,pm1,pm 2, pm 3…$

$latex frac {sin x}{x}
= (1-frac {x^2}{1^{2}{{pi}^2}}).
(1-frac {x^2}{2^{2}{{pi}^2}}).
(1-frac {x^2}{3^{2}{{pi}^2}})…
&s=3
$

Note: $latex (1+a).(1-a)= 1 – a^{2}$

From Taylors series,
$latex
sin x = +frac {x}{1!} – frac {x^3}{3!} + frac {x^5}{5!} – frac {x^7}{7!} +…
&s=2$

$latex
frac {sin x}{x} = 1 – frac {x^2}{3!} + frac {x^4}{5!} –…

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最強大腦 Powerful Minds

tomcircle's avatarMath Online Tom Circle

The Powerful Brains:

1. Spot the odd magic cube
2. “Drain man” Arithmetics
3. The mental Hanzi (汉字笔画) strokes
4. The ‘Breathing and Smelling’ (气息触觉) cognitive power of a blind.

I found (3) fantastic but the judge Dr. Wei disqualified her for being an “Asperger’s Syndrome” rather than a skill.

View original post

Math Joke: Counting Essay

tomcircle's avatarMath Online Tom Circle

Ah Beng was asked to make a sentence using 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,10.

Not only did he do it 1 to 10, he did it again from 10 back to 1. This is what he came up with…..

1 day I go 2 climb a 3 outside a house to peep.  But the couple saw me, so I panic and 4 down. The man rushed out and wanted to 5 with me. I ran until I fell 6 and threw up. So I go into 7-eleven and grabbed some 8 to throw at him. Then I took a 9 and try to stab at him. 10 God he run away.

10 I put the 9 back and pay for the 8 and left 7-eleven.  Next day I called my boss and told him I was 6.  He said 5 , tomorrow also no need to…

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HCI Confession Page Math Joke

Source: https://www.facebook.com/HwaChongConfessions

“Today I asked the girl I like on FB to help me do math prob
9x-7i>3(3x-7u)
9x-7i>9x-21u
-7i>-3(7u)
-i>-3u
=
i<3u

but she go put the ans as 3u>i ruining my whole plan T.T”
-HCJC Student (M)

hwa chong



Math Girls

Math isn’t hard. Love is.
Currently in its eighteenth printing in Japan, this best-selling novel is available in English at last. Combining mathematical rigor with light romance, Math Girls is a unique introduction to advanced mathematics, delivered through the eyes of three students as they learn to deal with problems seldom found in textbooks. Math Girls has something for everyone, from advanced high school students to math majors and educators.

Praise for Math Girls!

“…the type of book that might inspire teens to realize how much interesting mathematics there is in the world—not just the material that is forced upon them for some standardized test.” “Recommended”
—CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries

“Imagine the improbable: high-school students getting together on their own — not in a Math Club or Math Circle, not in preparation for any Math Olympiad or “regular” test, not on the advice of any of their teachers, not as part of any organized program — to talk about pure math, math more interesting than the math found in their textbooks. The three students in this book do that for the sheer love of it. That to me is the beauty and fascination of this novel for young people, mostly young people interested in math.”
—Marion Cohen, Arcadia University, MAA Reviews

“Sometimes the math goes over your head—or at least my head. But that hardly matters. The focus here is the joy of learning, which the book conveys with aplomb.”
—Daniel Pink, NYT and WSJ best-selling author of Drive and A Whole New Mind

“if you have a…teenager who’s really into math, this is a really interesting choice”
—Carol Zall, Public Radio International, The World

“Math Girls provides a fun and engaging way to learn and review mathematical concepts…the characters’ joy as they explore and discover new and old ideas is infectious.” —review, “Experiments in Manga” blog

Reviews from amazon.co.jp

“As a physics major, math has always been a painful tool to use and nothing more. But Math Girls changed the way I look at mathematics. Now I actually find it interesting!”
— “Au”

“Math Girls is a fun read, but I was surprised to find that it’s also a serious math book chock full of careful explanations. I hope that people who think they don’t like math will read it. Even when the formulas go over your head, just following the story gives you a great feel for how fun math can be.”
— “Nyanta”

“I got hooked on this book during summer vacation, and had a great time reading it by the pool. It was so good that I read it twice, the second time while working out the problems on the hotel stationary.”
— “Kei0210”

“Advanced math, explained in a playful way. But it’s not just a textbook, with dry solutions to problems. It’s a bittersweet story, with mathematics telling part of the tale. A brilliant comparison between the uncertainties of youth and the absolute proofs of symbols and numbers.”
— Shiori Oguchi

 

Paul Erdos’ Proof that there are Infinite Primes

 Paul Erdos’ Proof that there are Infinite Primes (with Examples)

Every integer can be uniquely written as rs^2, where r is square-free (not divisible by any square numbers). For instance, 6 is square-free but 18 is not, since 18 can be divided by 3^2.

We can do this by letting s^2 to be the largest square number that divides n, and then let r=n/s^2. For instance, if n=108, 6^2 is the largest square number that divides 108, so we let r=108/6^2 = 3.

Now, suppose to the contrary that a finite number k of prime numbers exists. We fix a positive integer N, and try to over-estimate the number of integers between 1 and N. Using our previous argument, each of these numbers can be written as rs^2, where r is square-free and r and s^2 are both less than N.

By the fundamental theorem of arithmetic, there are only 2^k square free numbers. (The number of subsets of a set with k elements is 2k) Since s^2<N, we have s<\sqrt{N}.

Hence, the number of integers less than N is at most 2^k \sqrt{N}. (2^k choices for r and \sqrt{N} choices for s)

i.e. \boxed{ 2^k \sqrt{N} \geq N}, for all N.

This inequality does not hold for N sufficiently large. For instance, we can let N=2^{4k}, then 2^k \sqrt{2^{4k}}=2^{3k} < 2^{4k}.

Hence, this is a contradiction, and there are infinitely many primes!

An example of how the above argument works: Suppose the only prime numbers are 2, 3, 5. (k=3)

Then, there are only 2^3=8 square-free numbers, namely, 1, 2, 3, 5, 2×3=6, 2×5=10, 3×5=15, 2x3x5=30.

For example, if we fix N=2^{12}, s< \sqrt{2^{12}}=2^6.

2^k \sqrt{2^{12}} = 2^3 \cdot 2^6 = 2^9 < N, which is a contradiction.



The Man Who Loved Only Numbers: The Story of Paul Erdos and the Search for Mathematical Truth


References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euclid’s_theorem#Erd.C5.91s.27s_proof

An elegant proof from Erdős


PAUL ERDOS – N IS A NUMBER

Nephew and Maternal Uncle

tomcircle's avatarMath Online Tom Circle

There is a common proverb in my Chinese dialect Fujian spoken today in China Fujian province, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia, which says
“A nephew is like his maternal uncle”  外甥像母舅
In modern Biology we know mother passes some genes to her children. Some disease like colorblind is carried by mother down to her sons, the mother herself is immune but her brothers are colorblind as the nephews.
Interesting behavior, intelligence are also similarly inherited from mother and maternal uncles.

Two greatest mathematicians in the history, Newton and Gauss, were the lucky nephews from their maternal uncles who were highly educated to spot the nephew’s genius, although the boys’ parents were uneducated.

Newton’s father died early, mother Hannah Ayscough had a brother William Ayscough educated in Cambridge. William convinced Hannah to send the talented boy Newton to Cambridge.

Gauss’s father was a bricklayer, mother Dorothy Benz had a younger brother Friedrich…

View original post 292 more words

Eccentric Issac Newton

tomcircle's avatarMath Online Tom Circle

Newton on how he made his discoveries:
“I keep the subject constantly before me and wait until the first dawnings open little by little into the full light.”

Newton was Lucasian prof of math at Cambridge. It was not obvious to
his students that he would become the greatest scientist in history.

His students wrote:
“… So few went to hear him, and fewer yet understood him, that
oftimes he did in a manner, for want of Hearers, read to ye Walls. ”

“He always kept close to his studies, very rarely went a visiting, &
had as few visitors… I never knew him take any Recreation or
Pastime, either in Riding out to take ye Air, Walking, Bowling, or any
other Exercise whatever, thinking all Hours lost, that was not spent
in his studies… He very rarely went to Dine in ye Hall…& then, if
He has not been minded, would…

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Falling Factorial

tomcircle's avatarMath Online Tom Circle

Definition of Combination:
$latex displaystyle boxed {
{_n}C_k = frac {n!}{k!(n-k)!}
= binom{n}{k}
}$

Example:
$latex displaystyle
{_5}C_3 = frac {5!}{3!(5-3)!}
= frac {5!}{3!2!}
= frac {5.4.3.2.1}{3.2.1.2.1}
= frac {5.4.3}{3.2.1}
= binom{5}{3}
$

Combinations are even simpler to write with ‘Falling Factorial’ $latex x^{underline {n}}$

$latex x^{underline {n}} = underbrace {(x-0)(x-1)(x-2)… (x-(n-1))}_{n factors}$

$latex n! = n^{underline {n}} $

$latex displaystyle
binom{n}{k}
= frac {n!}{k!(n-k)!}
= frac {(n-0).(n-1)… (n-(k-1))}
{ (k-0).(k-1)… (k-(k-1)) }
= frac { n^{underline {k}}}
{k^{underline {k}}}
$

$latex displaystyle boxed {
binom{n}{k}
= frac { n^{underline {k}}}
{k^{underline {k}}}
}$

View original post

Convolution

tomcircle's avatarMath Online Tom Circle

$latex (2^0 +2^1 + 2^2 +…). (3^0 +3^1 + 3^2 +…)
$
$latex = (2^{0}3^{0})+ (2^{0}3^{1}+ 2^{1} 3^{0}) + (2^{0} 3^{2} + 2^{1} 3^{1} + 2^{2} 3^{0} ) + …
$
$latex displaystyle
= sum_{n=0}^{infty}
sum_{k=0}^{n}
2^{k} 3^{n-k}
$

Let the sequence $latex left { a_{n} right }$ convolved with another sequence $latex left { b_{n} right }$

$latex boxed {
left { a_{n} right } = left { a_{0}, a_{1}, a_{2}, …, a_{n}, … right }
}$
Its correspondence $latex leftrightarrow $ the generating function:
$latex displaystyle boxed {
a(x) = sum_{k=0}^{n}a_{k}x^{k}
}$

$latex boxed {
left { b_{n} right } = left { b_{0}, b_{1}, b_{2}, …, b_{n}, … right }
}$
Its correspondence $latex leftrightarrow $ the generating function:
$latex displaystyle boxed {
b(x) = sum_{k=0}^{n}b_{k}x^{k}
}$

The convolution is $latex displaystyle boxed { left { a_{n}* b_{n} right } =
left { sum_{k=0}^{n} a_{k}b_{n-k}right }
&fg=aa0000&s=1}$

View original post 22 more words

Generating Functions: linking Sequence & Series

tomcircle's avatarMath Online Tom Circle

Donald Knuth, et al :
“The most powerful way to deal with sequences of numbers, …, is to manipulate infinite series that generate those sequences.” – “ Concrete Mathematics

“…to discover the equation in the first place, using the important method of generating functions, which is a valuable technique for solving so many problems.” – “The Art of Computer Programming Volume I

Example:
Fibonacci sequence: {0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13…}

Definition of the Fibonacci sequence as a recurrence relation:
$latex
boxed{
F_{n}=
begin{cases}
0, & text{for }n=0
1, & text{for }n=1
F_{n-2} + F_{n-1} , & text{for } n geq { 2}
end{cases}
}
$

This definition is not so useful in computation, we want to find a general term formula $latex F_{n}$ in terms of n.

image

Step 1: Find the generating function F(x)

The correspondence below:
Sequence $latex leftrightarrow $ Generating…

View original post 512 more words

Math Girls Manga

tomcircle's avatarMath Online Tom Circle

Chapter 3 on Rotation is excellent ! He combines Analytic Geometry, Linear Algebra (Matrix) , and Physics (Rotation) into “one same thing” to show the beauty of Mathematics:

The following matrix represents a rotation $latex rho (theta)$ by an angle $latex theta$:

$latex begin{pmatrix}
cos {theta} & -sin {theta}
sin {theta} & cos {theta}
end{pmatrix}
$

Rotate by $latex 2theta $ will be:
$latex begin{pmatrix}
cos {2theta} & -sin {2theta}
sin {2theta} & cos {2theta}
end{pmatrix}
$

Which is equivalent to rotate 2 successive angle of $latex theta $:
$latex rho (theta) .rho (theta) = rho^2 (theta) $:

$latex begin{pmatrix}
cos {theta} & -sin {theta}
sin {theta} & cos {theta}
end{pmatrix}^2
$
= $latex begin{pmatrix}
cos {theta} & -sin {theta}
sin {theta} & cos {theta}
end{pmatrix} $ $latex begin{pmatrix}
cos {theta} & -sin {theta}
sin {theta} & cos {theta}
end{pmatrix}$
= $latex begin{pmatrix}
cos ^2 {theta} – sin ^2 {theta…

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Math Joke from China

Translation:

After class, Xiaogang asks Xiaodong what is the Math homework for today. Xiaodong replied, “The integer solutions of

\displaystyle \frac{x-2}{2}+3\geq x+1

1-3(x-1)<8-x

are the question numbers of the Math Homework that are due.”

A Netizen posted: “If I had such a classmate, I would say, “Sorry I don’t know you, bye””
chinese math joke

(10 分)放学时,小刚问小东今天数学作业是哪儿题,小东回答说:“不等式组

\displaystyle \frac{x-2}{2}+3\geq x+1

1-3(x-1)<8-x

的整数解就是今天数学作业的题号”,聪明的你知道今天的数学作业是哪几题吗?