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If you consider where we were only seven years ago, the notion that the world and President Bush’s record would be the victim not to terrorism but to bad mortgages would have seemed incredible. And yet, the political terrain today is not made by the war on terror as much as it is by a […]
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September 24, 2008 [Update] This week is over! The winner, and the current contest, will be announced here. Today, we’ll start on the puzzles from Hexaflexagons, Probability Paradoxes, and the Tower of Hanoi. I’ll run three; that’s three more weeks of puzzle goodness. Incidentally, don’t miss Don Albers’ lengthy interview with Gardner, updated weekly. Last […]
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The overriding question of James Flynn’s latest book is so great that he’s named his book after it: Where Have all the Liberals Gone? His conclusion: liberals in the US need to show more courage in confronting the rhetoric and policies of the out-going administration, or they’ll prove themselves to be complicit. And that doesn’t […]
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Science, after all, is supposed to be searching for absolute truths verifiable (in principle) by anybody who cares to. It is supposed to uncover Nature using mathematical or logical tools, of course to formulate theories and hypotheses but to treat these with deep skepticism. Faith is anathema to science. Please understand me. Faith, a moral compass, spiritual values, all have a vitial role to play even in the life of a scientist. When you are stuck on a problem you have to put forth a hypothesis. You have to have some faith in it to take it seriously enough to explore.
Read MoreThe AP reported Friday that former Congressman Mark Foley, who was accused in 2006 of sending sexually suggestive email messages to underage congressional pages will not be prosecuted in part because Florida’s statute of limitations on such crimes is a mere 3 years. The vast majority of child victims do not come forward at all, […]
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As Darwin watches the preparation of the H.M.S. Beagle, he gets (understandably) excited. It also turns out that Captain FitzRoy was popular with the ladies. Darwin fears that he will get seasick on the voyage; it happens to everyone. Little did he know how bad it would be, and that raisins were all he could […]
Read MoreThree years ago, Martin Gardner‘s good friend, MAA Editorial Director Don Albers, interviewed him at length about his childhood, the roots of his fascination with math, and about his career. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting the interview in chunks, because his story is absolutely fascinating. * * * On October 21, Martin […]
Read MoreWelcome back! Go to the current contest here >> The entries are really coming in. Thanks to everyone for entering! Also, check out the interview with Gardner that I’ll be posting over the next few weeks. Last week’s question asked how many planes, re-fueling in midair, are required for one circumnavigation, assuming that a full […]
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