Category: Math
-
Math Problem: from 2007 Colorado Math Olympiad
The problem: Each cell of an 8×8 chessboard is filled with either a 0 or a 1. Prove that if we compute the sums of the numbers in each row, each column, and each of the two diagonals, at least three of the sums must be equal. I worked on this recently with some middle…
-
To 80s Hong Kong Pop With Love
In the 80s, in June, when I was in graduate school, a friend called me up and asked if I wanted to make an impromptu trip from Berkeley, California to Vancouver, BC. He wanted to drive up and see his father, who was ill, and could use help driving. I had family in Vancouver too.…
-
Boost profits, analyze metrics
Once upon a time in math, I studied metric spaces, spaces for which there exists a way to measure distances between points. At first glance the non-mathematician might say: yuck, this is the genesis and justification of corporate bean counting and turning people into numbers, stay the heck away from me. But this is not…
-
Math problem fun
Yep, I like math problems. But just like anyone, I feel frustrated and stupid when I don’t get them. The thing is, the harder the problem, the more satisfying it is to solve it. Here’s a pretty easy one I did recently (it had me stumped for a while though): Find three positive, distinct integers…