a collection of maths, languages, and my thoughts
Join me today on 22 July (22/7) as we celebrate Π\Pi Approximation Day! It s a convenient excuse for me to justify eating another McDonald s Apple Pie to be honest but unlike the more celebrated Pi Day on 14 March (or the International Day of Mathematics), today honours one of the most famous approximations in mathematics: Continue reading "Happy π Approximation Day!"
Yesterday was 28 June and it s time to announce once again that it was a perfect day. Not because the weather was great (it was not) nor because I regained what I lost, but simply because 28 and 6 are the first two perfect numbers and the next two are 496 and 8128 and so Continue reading "A perfect day"
I am turning 32 this year. It s been five long years since I last posted here. During these five years, while I have taught, researched, designed learning experiences, I have gradually moved away from mathematics. The further I wander, the more I wonder what if I didn t. Perhaps drifting away and coming back is part Continue reading "Seeing Sums: Diagrams are more than Decorations"
Author s Note (2026)This article was originally published in Unravelling Linguistics Magazine on August 12, 2017. The original publication is no longer available online. I am republishing it here for archival purposes and to preserve a piece of my early writing on language and linguistics olympiad. Apart from minor formatting changes, the article remains substantially unchanged Continue reading…
After a lengthy hiatus, I am back again. The last three months have been proper busy as I adjust to my new school, many classes, and supportive colleagues. In the two weeks of break that I can finally have to myself, I have been hiking and catching myself up on some of the latest happenings Continue reading "Curving the Triangle"
I was recently teaching Polynomials and Identities to my students, introducing to them cubic polynomials. I shared with them about the dramatic Renaissance wikileak by famed Cardano vs Tartaglia (think about Keeping Up With The Mathematicians, check out the paper here) and how in modern times, mathematicians celebrated breaking a 64-year-old problem by representing the Continue reading "Add up…
In ancient times, there were three famous impossible problems. One is required to either trisect (to divide equally into three) an angle, to construct a cube with twice its volume, and to square a circle. One might think these tasks are easy but here’s the catch: to do all of that with a ruler and Continue reading "A modern illusion of Squaring the Circle"
My semester at teacher s college is coming to an end and here I am taking a breather. I am grateful that I am currently residing in Singapore, where COVID-19 seems to be largely under control (there are even talks to bring the country towards Phase 3 soon i.e. the new normal). However, Singapore and few Continue reading "Second wave: Circumambulating a Pandemic"
It has been months since I sat down to write a post. Work has kept me busy and I haven’t really had time to myself until now. Check in on your friends if you haven’t. On the same note, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in huge behavioural changes in societies: more people on the street Continue reading "Checking in during a Pandemic"
Quick question: How many small cubes are visible in a standard 3 x 3 Rubik s cube? In a standard Rubik s cube, there are a total of 3 x 3 x 3 = 27 small cubes but only 26 are visible! Which is the one that is not visible? As I turn a year older, I Continue reading "Guess what, I m turning 26."