33: The “jota” of Ollauri
When I come across the number 33 I remember my grandmother Rosario who, every time she heard that number, associated it with “la jota de Ollauri”. Apparently, there was a time when some people from […]
Month: March 2019
The exquisitely stupid questions of reporters (by A. Einstein)
Albert Einstein, also known as the “king of intelligence”, was loved by the media, which propelled him to media stardom; possibly also because, as C.P. Snow asserted, Einstein was something, perhaps a lot, of an […]
An invitation to amateur mathematicians
There are countless examples of advances made by amateur mathematicians. They are people who have another profession but who spend their free time trying to solve some mathematical problem. This is actually the origin of […]
Kristin and Kirsten
This entry is dedicated to two great researchers: Kristin R. Swanson and Kirsten A. Morris. The former is a pioneer in the application of mathematics to the detection, understanding and therapy of tumours. The latter is a […]
Geometric construction of Pi
The Workings To commemorate the approaching Pi Day, we propose a problem about a geometric construction of Pi. We recall that a number is algebraic if it is a root of a polynomial with integer […]
Solution: geometric construction of Pi
We publish here the solution to the divertimento about the geometric construction of pi. The problem is extracted from a paper by Thomas Osler. Divertimento Justify the following construction: Draw the unit square and the […]
Einstein, Newton and the eclipse a century ago
The IMUS, with the participation of the Faculty of Mathematics, will be holding a meeting on Wednesday 6 March to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the measurement of the deflection of light by gravity: the […]