A WELL-EMPLOYED (AND WELL-TRAVELED) DEVICE
WHAT A THOUGHT-PROVOKING HEADLINE: “This 1,000-Year-Old Smartphone Just Dialed In,” by Franz Lidz and Clara Vannucci, The New York Times, March 12, 2024. This and following images by Clara Vannucci … Continue reading
DOES CAROLINE SEE THE SAME COLORS I SEE?
I CONFESS I’M A BETTER READER than podcast listener, but those I listen to invariably come from the BBC. On March 11, 2024, I got attracted to one following my … Continue reading
DECIMAL SEPARATOR TIDBITS
“THE DECIMAL POINT,” REPORTS SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE, February 29, 2024, “is 150 Years Older Than Previously Thought, Medieval Manuscript Reveals.” Sarah Kuta writes, “A Venetian merchant used the mathematical symbol while … Continue reading
NON-ABELIAN OPERATIONS
AN OPERATION IS COMMUTATIVE (OR ABELIAN) if the order of its application is irrelevant to the result: A • B = B • A. It is non-commutative (or non-abelian) if … Continue reading
PHYSICS OF A FORWARD PASS
I HAVE LONG ASSUMED GYROSCOPIC ACTION was responsible for the stability of a football’s spiral pass. Well, it turns out yes and no, as described by Regina G. Barber, Rachel … Continue reading
PHONY MATH CITATIONS
THE QUALITY OF A RESEARCH PAPER, in mathematics as well as other areas, is often assessed by counting the number of other scholars who have referred to the paper. Alas, … Continue reading
VAMPIRIC NUMERICS
I’M NOT PARTICULARLY INTO BLOODY TALES; I love garlic; and I’m not adverse to mirrors nor crosses. But by training I am a mathematician and can thus understand arithmomania, a … Continue reading
KUDOS ALL AROUND!!
HIGH PRAISE TO NASA AND ITS OVERACHIEVEMENT! On April 19, 2021, NASA’s helicopter Ingenuity made history in completing its first powered, controlled flight on Mars. As noted by NASA, “Designed … Continue reading
ROSSUM’S UNIVERSAL ROBOTS REDUX
“ČAPEK’S ROBOTS” EXPLORED ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE here at SimanaitisSays back in September 2017. In reviewing Karel Čapek’s 1920 play R.U.R., the article asked, “Will its advancement be to mankind’s good or … Continue reading
THE PHONY—AND THE SERIOUSLY PHONY
HAVING ONCE EXPLORED “Comparative Mendacity 101,” I feel qualified, sorta, to separate phony from seriously phony. This pertains to concepts as well as people. Here are tidbits about this perhaps … Continue reading
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