Tim Chartier
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In several hours, Super Bowl XLVI will begin. Sports fans will fall silent as the Giants and Patriots meet, yet again, in the championship game. Fans and not-so-strong-fans will turn and focus on the TVs, large and small alike, as the multimillion dollar adds will also air. This year, a 30 second commercial costs 3.5 [...]
Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, which honors and remembers the accomplishments of this influential and historic leader. My children enjoyed “King Day for Kids” activities at Davidson College, which sparked conversation about King, civil rights, and freedom. As I read my children’s self-authored books about freedom and civil rights, I thought about King’s [...]
If you didn’t see it live, you’ve seen it — again and again…yes, and again! The Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers were locked in a tie in their Wildcard game. Only 11 seconds of overtime were needed for Tim Tebow to throw the longest overtime touchdown pass in what then became the shortest overtime playoff [...]
Ron Weasley’s twin brothers Fred and George convinced him that the following poem was a Color Change Charm: “Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid, fat rat yellow.” The incantation of the poem was supposed to turn Ron’s rat Scabbers yellow. All Ron got was teasing and snickering from his brothers! If linear algebra were [...]
This fall, I’ve been leading a seminar for the Charlotte Teachers Institute entitled, Math through Popular Culture. This Thursday will be our last session together. We will lead a Celebration of Mind event co-hosted by CTI, the Bernard Society of Mathematics at Davidson College, UNCC Math Department, the Charlotte Teachers Circle, and HHMI Outreach at [...]
Yesterday, I recorded my first webinar. The process was much simplier than I anticipated. The results? Take a look for yourself and see what you think! The webinar is based on my previous blog posting on using the topic of polynomials as studied in many secondary algebra classrooms to play Angry Birds. Just click the [...]
They’re a phenomenon! They’re addictive. They’re angry…really, angry! But, they’ll be happier when they see how math can help them. Yes, we’re going to use ideas often introduced in algebra, specifically polynomials, to help those Angry Birds take out their aggression on the sneaky pigs. Much of angry birds comes down to choosing the angle [...]
Did you know that math helped pick your clothes today? Indeed, you dressed up with math! One particular way this is true relates to the clothes you buy in a store. Your choices are constrained by the selections in the store. To get a sense of what is “popular,” opinion groups rate products via surveys [...]
It is October 21, 2011 and around the world have been, are, or soon will be Celebration of Mind events to honor Martin Gardner who was born on this day in 1914. His work and writing, which infused fun into math, touched millions of lives. The Celebration of Mind at Davidson College will be in [...]
Last Sunday, the Carolina Panthers narrowly lost to the New Orleans Saints 27-30 in week 5 of the 2011 NFL season. From the score, Cam Newton appears to have led the Panthers to 3 touchdowns and 2 field goals. The score gives a sense of how the game unfolded that afternoon in Charlotte. Or does [...]