Natural Blogarithms

Current Mood: “I’m getting very angry”
No, I am not really angry. That just happens to be my favorite quote by Marvin the Martian, whose homeland is the central topic of this evening’s post. I imagine you have heard of the Google Maps (online mapping or route planning available through Google) or even Google [...]

Good news!! I found out today that my salary is getting a bump upward. I’m getting a raise and my salary finally shows up somewhere on the map of Faculty Salaries for Assistant Professors of Mathematics at Bachelor’s degree granting institutions (see below). Sure, I always wish I could do better. But I [...]

I just wanted to mention that I will be preaching this Sunday (April 23) at Broadview Baptist Church in Lubbock, TX. The plan is to preach a revised (improved?) version of the sermon I preached earlier this year in Muleshoe. I’ll post the revised version when it is finished. And yes, I [...]

Did you know that in the year 2531, Easter will be on April 8th? I’ve often wondered where in the world the date for Easter comes from and have not taken the time or exerted the effort to answer the question to my satisfaction. That is, until today.
According to Wikipedia,
Computus (Latin for [...]

This site, Math Applets at SLU, blew me away. I was just browsing around looking for some interesting applets to demonstrate some concepts in multi-variable calculus and differential equations and came across this collection of Java Applets that are designed to visualize concepts ranging from basic algebra, through trigonometry up to multi-variable calculus. [...]

Things have finally come together for the summer. I was beginning to wonder if anyone would hire me at all. I had submitted applications to several research labs and other facilities hoping to work on some research over the summer. All of them fell through, so I began volunteering at the extension [...]

Some of you may know of a theorem called the Four Color Theorem. Many of you may not. It has the distinction of being the first major theorem to be proved using a computer. And thus, to many mathematicians the proof is not accepted since faith must be placed in the computer [...]

Planarity.net

Click above to play a fascinating little game where you are challenged to take a planar graph that is “jumbled”. The goal is to arrange the graph so it “looks” planar. Note that a planar graph is a graph that can be drawn so that no edges intersect. (Wikipedia)

I tried something new in reviewing for the upcoming exam. Actually, the class structure (or lesson plan) was not really any different from past reviews: Divide into groups, provide exercises for the groups to work on, have the groups report on their work.
The new component of today’s class was its location. [...]

This one’s old but new to me:
There are 10 types of people in this world: those who understand binary code and those who don’t.
HT: Joel M.