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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Cataloging Wonder: The Art And Science Of The Collection, Christine Metzger Dec 2017

Cataloging Wonder: The Art And Science Of The Collection, Christine Metzger

The STEAM Journal

The Exploring Science in the Studio National Science Foundation grant funded three initiatives at California College of the Arts, a private four-year art and design college in the San Francisco Bay Area. The grant sponsored annual Science-in-the-Studio which embedded scientists into the art and design studio curriculum, the creation of Mobile Units for Scientific Exploration (MUSE) and a new collection of science materials, equipment, and natural specimens, and a national symposium on integrating science into the art and design studio curriculum. Approximately 30 SitS classes have been offered since 2010, and the Exploring Science in the Studio symposium was convened …


Getting Girls In Stem & The Dangers Of Forgetting That Science Is Art - Someone Made It Up, Heidi Therese Dangelmaier, Camilla Hermann Dec 2017

Getting Girls In Stem & The Dangers Of Forgetting That Science Is Art - Someone Made It Up, Heidi Therese Dangelmaier, Camilla Hermann

The STEAM Journal

Encouraging girls to participate in STEM is a hot topic that has captured the concern of the world’s academic, business and scientific communities. The intention is noble, however the strategies being deployed are reinforcing the very bias society seeks to eliminate. If we wish to advance our evolutionary journey as a species, a shift from “feeling sorry for disadvantaged girls” to “fearing STEM without girls’ reformation” is imperative. This piece discusses the rise to an initiative to redesign culture: Girlapproved.


Discovering And Demonstrating Patterns, Maria Klawe Dec 2017

Discovering And Demonstrating Patterns, Maria Klawe

The STEAM Journal

Harvey Mudd College's President Maria Klawe shares her personal journey in combining a love of mathematics and art.


Voices: Conference On Teaching Stem With Music, September 27-28, 2017, Gregory J. Crowther Jul 2017

Voices: Conference On Teaching Stem With Music, September 27-28, 2017, Gregory J. Crowther

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This first-of-its-kind, online-only conference will explore the use of music to teach STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) at the college level (including AP courses). Presentations will be live-streamed from the conference website, https://www.causeweb.org/voices. Online registrations (for only $10 apiece!) will be accepted at the conference website until the conclusion of the conference on September 28, 2017.


Math In Seventeen Syllables: An Open Call For Mathematical Haiku, Mark Huber, Gizem Karaali Jul 2017

Math In Seventeen Syllables: An Open Call For Mathematical Haiku, Mark Huber, Gizem Karaali

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

The Journal of Humanistic Mathematics invites submissions of mathematical haiku for an upcoming poetry folder tentatively titled Math in Seventeen Syllables. Please send your submissions via email to the editors by November 1, 2017. Publication decisions will be made by December 15, 2017.


One = Zero, Eric John Gofen Jul 2017

One = Zero, Eric John Gofen

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

In this paper, I use Mathematics in addition to the three most pure sciences --- Physics, Chemistry, and Rap --- to prove that 1=0. The argument uses The Ideal Gas Law, Ohm's Law, the Definitions of Power and Velocity in addition to indefinite integrals, simple mathematical operations, and the 99 Problems Law. The intuition-crushing result can be applied to all branches of mathematics and sciences and will likely go down as one of the greatest discoveries of all time.


Descartes Comes Out Of The Closet, Nora E. Culik Jul 2017

Descartes Comes Out Of The Closet, Nora E. Culik

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

While “Descartes Comes Out of the Closet” is ostensibly about a young woman’s journey to Paris, the descriptive detail borrows language and images from Cartesian coordinate geometry, dualistic philosophy, neuroanatomy (the pineal), and projections of three dimensions onto planes. This mathematical universe is counterpointed in the natural language of the suppressed love story that locates the real in the human. Thus, at the heart of the story is the tension between competing notions of mathematics, i.e., as either an independent realm apart from history or as a culturally produced and historical set of practices. Of course, the central character proves …


Disciple, Jessica K. Sklar Jul 2017

Disciple, Jessica K. Sklar

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This is a love poem for mathematics.


Nostalgia For Quieter Times, Pedro Poitevin Jul 2017

Nostalgia For Quieter Times, Pedro Poitevin

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

No abstract provided.


A Calculus, Sandra Lindow Jul 2017

A Calculus, Sandra Lindow

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

A poem that compares calculus to life.


Book Review: Bridges 2013 Poetry Anthology And Bridges 2016 Poetry Anthology, Robin Chapman Jul 2017

Book Review: Bridges 2013 Poetry Anthology And Bridges 2016 Poetry Anthology, Robin Chapman

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Two collections of mathematical poetry edited by poet and mathematician Sarah Glaz are enthusiastically recommended to readers for the quality of the poetry, the diverse voices speaking in many modes—praise, elegy, philosophical musings, story-telling, humor, playfulness—and the variety of ways in which mathematical references are incorporated or illustrated. The work comes from participants in the Bridges conferences connecting mathematics, the arts, and the sciences over the last seven years.


Uncovering Gems Of Mathematics, Asuman G. Aksoy, Ellis Cumberbatch Jul 2017

Uncovering Gems Of Mathematics, Asuman G. Aksoy, Ellis Cumberbatch

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Gateway to Exploring Mathematical Sciences (GEMS) is an outreach program offered by the six mathematics departments of the Claremont Colleges for eighth, ninth, and tenth graders. In this paper, we describe our program (in terms of format, participants, mathematical activities and topics involved) and share why we are so enthusiastic about it.


Shakespeare, A Supernova, And A Little Green Man Walk Into A Mathematics Classroom, Sheila Kirstin Miller Jul 2017

Shakespeare, A Supernova, And A Little Green Man Walk Into A Mathematics Classroom, Sheila Kirstin Miller

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Creativity amidst constraints is a hallmark of the STEM researcher. It is precisely what is required to see what has never been seen. It is also at the core of creative mathematics, more commonly called “research”. We in the 21st century tell ourselves that science and story are separate enterprises. One goal of this article is to tell parts of the human story—featuring Shakespeare, Tycho Brahe, visiting stars, Little Green Men, and modern astrophysics—that might erode belief in that duality and illustrate why dissolving the artificial barriers between talents within individuals is to the benefit of ourselves, our students, …


One + One > Two: The Effects Of Pair Quizzes On Student Attitudes And Perceptions, Harrison W. Straley, Lauren Dupee Jul 2017

One + One > Two: The Effects Of Pair Quizzes On Student Attitudes And Perceptions, Harrison W. Straley, Lauren Dupee

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Pair Quizzes are cooperative pop quizzes, taken by a pair of students working together for the same grade. The first author, Chuck, had used pair quizzes in many of his courses through his tenure teaching and was interested in determining their perceived effect on student learning and attitude toward mathematics.To this end, we designed a questionnaire and distributed it to all students currently taking and who had taken two different mathematics courses within a span of four years. Responses from those who chose to complete the survey seem to indicate that the pair quizzes had a positive effect on students’ …


A Generalised Song, Will Turner Jul 2017

A Generalised Song, Will Turner

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

We consider parallels between words and music. We call a triple of structures, one verbal, one musical, and one mathematical, in which the mathematical structure is related to the verbal and musical structures, a generalised song. With the intention of exhibiting the potential of this form, we describe a generalised song called ‘Cube’.


They Say She Was Good -- For A Woman: Poetry And Musings, Joanne Growney Jul 2017

They Say She Was Good -- For A Woman: Poetry And Musings, Joanne Growney

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

These pages contain ideas and verses that consider the roles of women in mathematics. Details of the life of Amalie “Emmy” Noether inspired a poem and the poem, in turn, led to the poet’s growth and awareness of her self and her voice.


A Mathematician Reads Plutarch: Plato's Criticism Of Geometers Of His Time, John B. Little Jul 2017

A Mathematician Reads Plutarch: Plato's Criticism Of Geometers Of His Time, John B. Little

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This essay describes the author's recent encounter with two well-known passages in Plutarch that touch on a crucial episode in the history of the Greek mathematics of the fourth century BCE involving various approaches to the problem of the duplication of the cube. One theme will be the way key sources for understanding the history of our subject sometimes come from texts that have much wider cultural contexts and resonances. Sensitivity to the history, to the mathematics, and to the language is necessary to tease out the meaning of such texts. However, in the past, historians of mathematics often interpreted …


Mathematics In The Mind's Eye: Michael Schultheis Paints Poetic And Conceptual Geometries, Patricia Grieve Watkinson Jul 2017

Mathematics In The Mind's Eye: Michael Schultheis Paints Poetic And Conceptual Geometries, Patricia Grieve Watkinson

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Michael Schultheis is an established artist and a formally-educated mathematician. In his practice the two disciplines are inextricably linked. His large-scale lyrical paintings at first glance seem to focus on the effects of light and atmospheres, representing cloudscapes or waterscapes in resonant color. Yet moving through these mists are decidedly mathematical references --- drawn geometric shapes and hand-written equations. These are employed by Schultheis to represent the physical world or to express feelings (or both). For example, he may examine the structure of a pine cone or reflect on human relationships or do both at the same time. The resulting …


On French Pudding And A German Mathematician, Amy Shoemaker Jul 2017

On French Pudding And A German Mathematician, Amy Shoemaker

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

At the turn of the 19th century, mathematics developed the rigor that is now considered essential to the field. Mathematicians began going back and proving theorems and statements that had been taken to be true on face value, ensuring the underpinnings of mathematics were solid. This era of mathematics was characterized not only by setting foundations, but also by pushing the boundaries of new ideas. In 1830, Bolzano found an example of a function that was nowhere differentiable, despite being continuous. Thirty years later, Cellerier and Riemann each discovered another example of such a pathological function. The first everywhere …


Multifaceted Mathematicians, Juan M. Sepulcre Jul 2017

Multifaceted Mathematicians, Juan M. Sepulcre

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This report attempts to provide an overview of some of the mathematicians who have combined their mathematical knowledge with other academic and non-academic specialities. The various examples given, many of them included in the well-known MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, corroborate the fact that although the idea of the typical polymath has receded with the passage of time, until the end of the Renaissance, most well-known mathematicians were also well-versed in a number of different sciences such as philosophy, astronomy, and physics. We also highlight other, less common combinations of knowledge, in famous mathematicians who were experts in other disciplines …


Some Thoughts On The Epicurean Critique Of Mathematics, Michael Aristidou Jul 2017

Some Thoughts On The Epicurean Critique Of Mathematics, Michael Aristidou

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

In this paper, we give a comprehensive summary of the discussion on the Epicurean critique of mathematics and in particular of Euclid's geometry. We examine the methodological critique of the Epicureans on mathematics and we assess whether a 'mathematical atomism' was proposed, and its implications. Finally, we examine the Epicurean philosophical stance on mathematics and evaluate whether it was on target or not.


Does Content Matter In An Introduction-To-Proof Course?, Milos Savic Jul 2017

Does Content Matter In An Introduction-To-Proof Course?, Milos Savic

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Introduction-to-proof courses are becoming more prevalent in mathematics departments as more recognize the need to support students while they transition from courses focused on computation (such as calculus) to proof-intensive courses (such as real analysis). In such introduction courses, there are some common proving techniques to teach (induction, contradiction, and contraposition to name a few), but the content varies from institution to institution. This note adds to the discussion on content in such courses by analyzing two prior studies, one using a coding scheme designed to illuminate step-by-step justifications in a proof, and the other focused on interviews with course …


On Commensurability And Symmetry, David Pierce Jul 2017

On Commensurability And Symmetry, David Pierce

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Commensurability and symmetry have diverged from a common Greek origin. We review the history of this divergence. In mathematics, symmetry is now a kind of measure that is different from size, though analogous to it. Size being given by numbers, the concept of numbers and their equality comes into play. For Euclid, two magnitudes were symmetric when they had a common measure; also, numbers were magnitudes, commonly represented as bounded straight lines, for which equality was congruence. When Billingsley translated Euclid into English in the sixteenth century, he used the word "commensurable" for Euclid's symmetric magnitudes; but the word had …


The Biblical Value Of Pi In Light Of Traditional Judaism, Morris Engelson Jul 2017

The Biblical Value Of Pi In Light Of Traditional Judaism, Morris Engelson

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

There are numerous attempts at a solution to the puzzle as to why the Biblical value of pi, as demonstrated by the measurements of King Solomon's pool, is exactly 3 and not a better approximation. This article shows that virtually all such published solutions are deficient because volume-based factors are ignored. Issues respecting the volume of this pool are explained, and some possible solutions of the puzzle are presented.


Perchance To Dream: Art, Mathematics, And Shakespeare, Randall E. Cone Jul 2017

Perchance To Dream: Art, Mathematics, And Shakespeare, Randall E. Cone

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Visual representation of textual works has often aided in the understanding of sophisticated concepts. In the Digital Age this is particularly true, given the advent of natural language processing, the ubiquity of general programming languages, and the maturation of digital visualization. In this article, we eschew the traditional disciplinary boundaries to view and analyze Shakespeare’s works in various ways. Our point of departure is Hamlet, where we first examine the play as a unity — both graphically and analytically. We then focus on Act III, Scene 1, where we analyze one of the most famous passages in English Literature: …


Front Matter Jul 2017

Front Matter

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

No abstract provided.


Ichme-5: Fifth International Conference On The History Of Mathematics Education, Jenneke Krüger Feb 2017

Ichme-5: Fifth International Conference On The History Of Mathematics Education, Jenneke Krüger

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

No abstract provided.


Ladies' Night, Robert Dawson Feb 2017

Ladies' Night, Robert Dawson

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

"Lady" Jane is an expert at her racket. The Joint Statistical Meetings are in Vegas, and she reckons it's payday. But she's taking on the professionals.


The University Of Montana Department Of Mathematics Post-Apocalyptic Working Seminar, Kenan A. Ince Feb 2017

The University Of Montana Department Of Mathematics Post-Apocalyptic Working Seminar, Kenan A. Ince

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

No abstract provided.


16, Dan Mcquillan Feb 2017

16, Dan Mcquillan

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This 15 word poem suggests that the reader count the words of the poem. Since every line has half as many words as the previous line, and since the poem urges the reader to keep counting forever, one imagines a total of 16 words.