Explaining the 'whys' of mathematics
Let be the statement This is an Easter Bunny, let be the statement There is a tooth fairy, and let be the statement There is a Queen of England. Translate the logical statement . This matches a line from the movie Megamind. Context: This semester, I taught discrete mathematics for the first time. Part of Continue reading Predicate Logic and Popular Culture (Part 297): Megamind
Let be the set of all things, be the proposition kills you, and let be the proposition makes you stronger. Translate the logical statement . This matches the first line of Stronger by Kanye West. Context: This semester, I taught discrete mathematics for the first time. Part of the discrete mathematics course includes Continue reading Predicate Logic and Popular Culture (Part 296): Kanye West
Let be the statement I am king and let be the statement You will be first against the wall. Translate the logical statement This matches a line by from Paranoid Android by Radiohead. Context: Part of a discrete mathematics course includes an introduction to predicate and propositional logic for our math majors. As you can Continue reading Predicate Logic and Popular Culture (Part 295): Radiohead
Let be the set of all people, and let be the statement has dues in life to pay. Translate the logical statement This matches a line by from Dream On by Aerosmith. Context: Part of a discrete mathematics course includes an introduction to predicate and propositional logic for our math majors. As you can Continue reading Predicate Logic and Popular Culture (Part 294): Aerosmith
Let be the statement You die a hero and let be the statement You live long enough to see yourself become the villian. Translate the logical statement This matches a line by Harvey Dent/Two-Face in The Dark Knight. Context: Part of a discrete mathematics course includes an introduction to predicate and propositional logic for our Continue reading Predicate Logic and Popular Culture (Part 293): The…
I m doing something that I should have done a long time ago: collecting a series of posts into one single post. The links below show my series on the incomplete gamma function and the confluent hypergeometric function. Part 1: Introduction Part 2: Direct confirmation Part 3: Start of the derivation Part 4: Link to Pascal s Continue reading The Incomplete Gamma and Confluent Hypergeometric…
This is a new favorite story to share with students: a high school student recently published an elementary proof of Cayley s Formula from graph theory. Professional article in the American Mathematical Monthly (requires a subscription): https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00029890.2025.2590423 By coincidence, this is one of the math theorems that was cited in the movie Good Will Hunting.
Let be the set of all things, be the statement You feel , and be the statement is there. Translate the logical statement This matches a line from There, There by Radiohead. Context: Part of a discrete mathematics course includes an introduction to predicate and propositional logic for our math majors. As you can Continue reading Predicate Logic and Popular Culture (Part 292): Radiohead
Let be the set of all things, be the statement is holding back our dreams, and be the statement We are going to let go of . Translate the logical statement This matches a line from Somebody by Lemonade Mouth. Context: Part of a discrete mathematics course includes an introduction to predicate and propositional Continue reading Predicate Logic and Popular Culture (Part 291): Lemonade Mouth
Let be the statement Our ideas held no water, and let be the statement We used them like a dam. Translate the logical statement This matches a line from Missed the Boat by Modest Mouse. Context: Part of a discrete mathematics course includes an introduction to predicate and propositional logic for our math majors. As you Continue reading Predicate Logic and Popular Culture (Part 290): Modest Mouse