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…