Dobble: a game played by kids, but still very popular among adults. In the game, you have to draw two random cards and place them face-up on the table between all the players. Then, you have to look for the identical symbol between the two cards. Between every two...
Gabriel’s Horn Paradox
Some people just die too soon. One such person was Evangelista Torricelli, an Italian mathematician who died at the age of 39 in the year of 1647. Had Torricelli lived longer, he just might have discovered calculus, before Sir Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz....
Why do we count in base 10?
What is two plus two? The realist will say four, the computer will say 100, and the cynic will say 5 – but which is correct? The reason we count in base 10 stems from the simplest fact: humans have 10 fingers. Understandable and logical, as this seems to be nature’s...
Win a stage in the Tour de France using Mathematics
In seventeen days, it is the most wonderful time of the year for cycling fans: the Tour de France will start again. This year, the Tour will cover a total distance of 3328 kilometers through four different countries over a total of 24 days, in which only three rest...
Are you living inside a black hole?
In 1915 Einstein wrote the leading description of gravitation in modern physics, also known as the general theory of relativity. This theory describes the universe so well that it never fails, except for the Big Bang and at centres of black holes, both are...
Why Mathematics is a Language
Mathematics is considered the heart of the beta-field, whereas languages are by definition alpha. One could say, therefore, that mathematics and language are direct opposites. Yet, mathematics is sometimes called the language of science and considering the definition...
The fourth side of a triangle
Yes, you are reading this correctly: a triangle can have four sides. If this sounds strange, I have to agree: this statement could be formulated in a more nuanced way: when we look from the point of view of the associated circles to the sides of a triangle, the fourth...
Differential equations ODEs versus PDEs
Differential equations came paired with the invention of calculus and have been around for a long time. They are still the main study of a lot of mathematicians. Many famous mathematicians such as Newton, Leibniz, d’Alembert, Euler and Lagrange have made discoveries...
The Infinite Monkey Paradox
To most people the notion of infinity is unfathomable. That has to do with the strange behavior some things demonstrate when the concept of infinity is introduced. Think for example of an infinite time horizon. No one knows what it feels like for an infinite amount of...
What God’s number has to do with a Rubik’s Cube
The Rubik’s Cube: we have probably all tried to solve it. Some of us failed to do it and some of us have found real successes. The 3-D combination puzzle was invented in 1974 by the Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik. As of March 2021, over...
The Legacy of Frank Ramsey
In history, there have been numerous influential scholars in the field of economics and econometrics. Think for instance of John Maynard Keynes, who is known for his influence in macroeconomics through the Keynesian School. Or think of Adam Smith, who introduced the...
Diophantine equations
Diophantine equations are polynomial equations over the integers. These are useful in many fields of mathematics such as group theory and operations research.
Discovering the Frequencies in Financial Markets
Wavelet analysis stems from the 19th century when Joseph Fourier studied the heat equation. From his work, a foundation was set for Fourier transformations (FT). However, FT requires conditions such as stationarity of the data set and it only gives frequency...
Is math discovered or invented?
Mathematics has been used and researched since ancient times. The point of view on what mathematics is shifts from being an invention, a discovery to an artefact, by the influence of time and people. -Britt Brugts
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