Category Archives: Mathematics to the rescue

TYI 39 : Can a coalition of children guarantees all being in the same class?

There is a class of children that have just finished elementary school. Now they all move from elementary school to high school and classes are reshuffled. Each child lists three friends, and the assignment of children into classes ensures that … Continue reading

Posted in Combinatorics, Economics, Mathematics to the rescue, Test your intuition | Tagged | 3 Comments

Layish

This story is implicitly referred to in the 2008 opening post of this blog. ———– It was high time to raise the level of the discussion, I thought. Princeton, Fall 1995. We were a group of mathematicians at the IAS … Continue reading

Posted in Combinatorics, Computer Science and Optimization, Games, Mathematics to the rescue, Philosophy, Rationality, Sport, Taxi-and-other-stories | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Angry Birds Update

Angry birds peace treaty by Eretz Nehederet link to the video (English, Hebrew) Arqade A few years ago I became interested in the question of whather new versions of the computer game “Angry Birds” gradually makes it easier to get high scores. … Continue reading

Posted in Mathematics to the rescue, Updates | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

In how many ways you can chose a committee of three students from a class of ten students?

The renewed interest in this old post, reminded me of a more recent event: Question: In how many ways you can chose a committee of three students from a class of ten students? My expected answer: which is 120. Alternative … Continue reading

Posted in Mathematics to the rescue, Riddles, Teaching | 1 Comment

Another way to Revolutionize Football

The angle of Victoria Beckham’s hat (here in a picture from a recent wedding) is closely related to our previous post on football One of the highlights of the recent Newton Institute  conference on discrete harmonic analysis was a football … Continue reading

Posted in Games, Mathematics to the rescue, Sport | Tagged , | 9 Comments

Believing that the Earth is Round When it Matters

A world map. Canada seems much bigger than Israel. Note, however, that in the map countries near the equator looks smaller than they are. Update: The round-earth hypothesis is clearer to the people of New Zealand; see the comments section. … Continue reading

Posted in Mathematics to the rescue | Tagged , , , | 16 Comments

Mathematics to the Rescue: Computing the Root of all Evil

Michael Joswig pointed my attention to the following unbelievable front page of the Frankfurter Allgemeine.  

Posted in Mathematics to the rescue | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

The Möbius Undershirt

“Look at this brand new undershirt,” my wife said. “I am shaking it and shaking it but still I have this twist.  Can you see what to do?”  I gave the undershirt a good shake. And another one. And one more. And … Continue reading

Posted in Mathematics to the rescue, Taxi-and-other-stories | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

What can the Second Prize Possibly be?

You are guaranteed to win one of the following five prizes, the letter says. (And it is completely free! Just 6 dollars shipping and handling.) a) a high-definition huge-screen TV, b) a video camera, c) a yacht, d) a decorative … Continue reading

Posted in Mathematics to the rescue, Rationality | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

The Intermediate Value Theorem Applied to Football

My idea (in my teenage years) of how to become a professional basketball player was a bit desperate. To cover for my height and my athletic (dis)abilities, I would simply practice how to shoot perfectly from every corner of the … Continue reading

Posted in Mathematics to the rescue, Sport, Taxi-and-other-stories | Tagged , , , , , | 20 Comments