NEWSLETTER January 2020 What's new in the world of math and education this month? |
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The study of randomness has a long history in mathematics. From pseudo-random number generators in computers to the random processes of statistics and chaos theory, randomness in numbers and shapes has been a key area of study. |
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Mathematics News New Random Surfaces Hide an Intricate Order In Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones must find a secret chamber that contains the legendary Ark of the Covenant. To identify its exact location, Indy must uncover a special map that’s only visible when the sun shines through a special crystal in a certain room at a certain time of day. This idea — that essential information can be revealed when circumstances are just right — occurs in many myths. It also appears in mathematics, sometimes in unlikely settings. Now three mathematicians have proved that when a certain type of randomness is tuned perfectly, intricate geometric shapes emerge in plain sight like a map revealed on an ordinary floor. | | |
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Education News LGBTQ Curriculum Is Coming To NJ Schools. Here Is a Glimpse The pilot program formally launched Tuesday with a training event at Union County College for 12 schools that will begin incorporating an inclusive interdisciplinary curriculum this school year. | | |
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Monthly Mind-Bending Math Video One simple equation can generate a startling amount of random behavior. But that randomness is not arbitrary. It seems that it is connected to the fundamentals of nature and the Universe in surprising ways. |
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Math In Everyday Life What's your type? The Maths behind the "QWERTY" keyboard OIn 1867, a newspaper editor in Milwaukee contemplated a new kind of technology. He had previously patented a device which could be used to number the pages of books but, inspired by the suggestions of fellow inventors, he decided to develop it further. The idea itself wasn’t exactly new – it had been echoing around the scientific community for over 100 years. The challenge was to realize it in a way that was commercially viable, and Christopher Latham Sholes was ready. | | |
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Math In Science Mathematicians Disprove Conjecture Made to Save Black Holes Nearly 40 years after it was proposed, mathematicians have settled one of the most profound questions in the study of general relativity. In a paper posted online last fall, mathematicians Mihalis Dafermos and Jonathan Luk have proven that the strong cosmic censorship conjecture, which concerns the strange inner workings of black holes, is false. | | |
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