Math on my mind
I've been reading a book I owned for more than a decade but never managed to read (skim, yes, read, no) called "Ancient Puzzles: Classic Brainteasers and Other Timeless Mathematical Games of the Past 10 Centuries" by Dominic Olivastro. Apparently it's a fairly obscure book and author since I've only found a handful of references to it or the author online (his other publications appear to be related to patenting of technology, and he may be deceased since he hasn't published since 2007).
Anyhow, while some of the equations are over my head, I can follow the general ideas and philosophies even when I can't solve the equations. And, in many cases, I can follow the math & I'm pleased that I have retained some of my algebra at least. The history of numbers and math included in the book is quite compelling as well.
A few new things I've learned that please me:
- There exists a publication called "The Journal of Recreational Mathematics." I don't want to subscribe, but it tickles me that such a thing exists.
- I've heard African American activists urge black kids to study math by telling them that "Black people invented math" (like the Math Doctor in this YouTube clip). There does actually seem to be some evidence for that in the form of the Ishango Bone. If you don't already know about it, click the link - I promise it's pretty interesting.
-I also learned about a deceptively simple geometrical puzzle/shape game called Tangrams, occasionally known as "the Prostitute's puzzle" because supposedly Chinese prostitutes played it while waiting for their customers.