Math

Commensurability and Adding Fractions

Adding fractions is one of the hardest topics in the 7th grade math class I teach.

Nov 4 •

Jeff Sagarin's Visits to My 7th-Grade Math Class and the Pythagorean Theorem of Baseball, a Present for His 77th Birthday

Jeff Sagarin, the famed sports mathematician who supplied numbers to USA Today till they couldn’t afford him any more a couple of years ago, visited my…

Sep 8 •

Abolish Trapezoids

As I was recovering from a bout of flu contracted after my visit to the Indiana Senate last Wednesday, I had an idea: Abolish the trapezoid.

Feb 10 •

My weekly Curmudgeons’ Lunch at the Cloverleaf Cafe met today.

Jan 17 •

"How Many Degrees Are Inside the Following Shapes?"

Last April, renowned mathematician Timothy Gowers presented this puzzle on Twitter.

Sep 3, 2024 •

Trebuchet Two: More Musings on Modelling

Aug 5, 2024

Trebuchet Math, Revised

Part I: The Diagonal, Gravity, and Stopping Models

Jul 29, 2024 •

Part I: The Diagonal, Gravity, and Stopping Models

Apr 7, 2024 •

Pi, part II: Equations, Code, and Salvador Dali for Pi Day

Mar 14, 2024

Pi, part 1: Pi Day Friday

(There’s also Part II, with equations, Python code, and Dali circles)

Mar 8, 2024 •

Why Does (-2)(-3) = 6?

I taught how to multiply negative numbers to my 7th graders today, so I asked Twitter for ideas over the weekend.

Mar 6, 2024 •

The Two-Envelope Paradox Resolved (Part II)

Jun 19, 2023 •

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