Math Riffs Posts

Dad posts some thoughts on using the MegaPenny Project to help kids visualize large numbers, and including how many pennies might span the Golden Gate Bridge.

Dad's weight loss resolution looks a little less exciting when he multiplies the calories and figures out how long he needs to exercise to be Gerard Butler.

As I type this, the calm clicks of the keys are punctuated once a minute by a sound I can most accurately ascribe to an evil, mutant cricket. It is the smoke detector at the top of the stairs, warning...

In the previous post we set out to talk about the comparison between brains and computers, looking specifically at...

There are all sorts of interesting supercomputer news out there recently. Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Roadrunner supercomputer narrowly edged out Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Jaguar to take...

It's officially two weeks until Election Day, and we're already gearing up here for an evening of popcorn in front of the TV. With Dad not being a big sports fan, election night is something like the...

Big numbers starting with seven are in the news this week, and it’s worth a Math Riff to try to get a handle on just how much tax payer contribution our elected leaders are asking us to sign up for....

Oooh boy. It’s been a wild week in the stock market. With the Dow Jones Industrial Average (the DJIA or the “Dow”) swinging madly up and down several hundred points at a day, 100 year old companies...

Part of the fun with math is just playing with numbers, but the numbers have to actually mean something to make it interesting. I call these 'Math Riffs' as in many respects they're just...