Mathematics and lust (by Thomas Mann)
We have already devoted a pill or two to the question of science, mathematics and sex (see Sex, Lies and Videotape (by G. Allaire y P.-L. Lions), Sexual connotations of Eureka (by S. Hawking) o […]
Month: September 2019
The unsuspected journey from an Integral to a Series
Some mathematical proofs surprise us because they follows an unexpected path. This is what happens with Wiles’ proof of Fermat’s last Theorem. Today I bring here another problem, much more accessible than Fermat’s last Theorem, […]
Cauchy: educational agent in His Majesty’s service
In the summer of 1833, the great French mathematician Augustin Cauchy was in his third year of exile. Cauchy, convinced of the divine right that bound the French Bourbons to the throne, had left France […]
Lazzarini and Buffon’s needle: the art of cheating elegantly with probabilities
The first studied case of geometric probability – not discrete, therefore – was proposed and solved by Georges Louis Leclerc (1707-1788), Count of Buffon, better known as a naturalist and botanist, although he also had […]
Birthday problem
The workings Everyone has at least once in their life attended a friend or family member’s birthday party and has probably sung the well-known and famous song “Happy Birthday To You”, considered the most popular […]
Solution: 2019
The fun Prove that if \(x\) and \(y\) are positive integers such that \(x + y = 2019\), then \(x \cdot y\) is not divisible by \(2019\). Prove that the same is true for any […]
Solution: Birthday problem
This is the solution to the Birthday problem. The fun Three friends, Javi, Juan and Manolo, all mathematicians, want to celebrate the third anniversary of the presentation of the IMUS Blog by a mutual friend, […]