Off on a Tangent
|
A Fortnightly Electronic
Newsletter from the Hope
College Department of Mathematics
|
Title:
|
|
Some Mathematical Games
|
Speaker:
|
|
Prof. Darren
Parker, GVSU
|
Time:
|
|
Wednesday,
October 24 at 4:00 p.m.
|
Place:
|
|
VWF
104
|
Abstract:
Aside from being fun, games can often be a passageway to some profound mathematics. I will focus
on three games in this talk. One will be a solitaire card game; one
involves people shifting seats in a canoe; and one will involve pushing
buttons and turning off lights. If
there is time, I will try to convince you
that I am not a complete loner by
showing you an interesting two-player game that requires only a pile of stones.
Colloquium
scheduled for next Monday
|
Title:
|
|
The Mathematics of Referendum Elections
and Separable Preferences
|
Speaker:
|
|
Prof.
Jonathan K. Hodge, GVSU |
Time:
|
|
Monday,
October 29 at 4:00 p.m. |
Place:
|
|
VZN 240
|
Abstract: Whenever voters are forced to
express their preferences simultaneously on multiple issues,
interdependencies within these preferences can lead to election
outcomes that are unsatisfactory or even paradoxical. The
notion of separability is used to describe preferences that are free
from such interdependencies.
In this talk, we will survey some of the
more recent mathematical contributions to the theory of separable
preferences. In particular, we will show that separable
preferences are structurally complex, rare, and sensitive to small
changes. We will also note some preliminary connections to
other areas of mathematics.
MATH 310
replaced by MATH 311/312
|
As
of this coming spring semester (Spring 2008) Statistics for Scientists
(Math 310) has been replaced by a sequence of two half semester courses
(Math 311/312). If you were planning to register for Math 310,
you should instead register for both Math 311 and Math 312 . Math
311 will provide an introduction to basic statistics and Math 312 will
provide exposure to advanced statistical methods and statistical
communication techniques in the context of group research projects on
real Hope faculty research data. Please direct any questions to
Prof. Nathan Tintle (tintle@hope.edu).
The
Problem of the Fortnight
|
Three Roots: Consider, if you will, the
equation Ax3 + (2
- A)x2 - x - 1 = 0, where A is a real number for which the
equation has three real roots, not necessarily distinct. For
certain values of A, there is
a repeated root r and a
distinct root s. List
all values of the triple (A, r, s).
Write
your solution on your favorite root and
drop it by Dr. Pearson's office (VWF 212) by noon
on Friday, November 2.
Be sure
to write your name, the name(s) of your
professor(s), and your math class(es) on your solution. (e.g.
Root E. Bagga, Profs.
Klump and Kelp, Math 232 and 295.)
Problem
Solvers of the Fortnight
|
A regular tetrahedron with edges of length
36 will have an altitude of length 12 √ 6.
We had lots of answers to this one. Some were even correct!
Congratulations to those giving correct solutions: Lauren Steel, Evan
Ormiston, Katie Heneveld, Katie
Johnson, Eric O'Brien, Eric Lunderberg, Jill Immink, Laura Smallegan,
Zachary Mitchell, Joel Mulder, Josh Kinder, Joel Blok, Layne Fowler,
Chris Ploch, Bri O'Connell, Kristian Cunningham, Chelsea Miedema, Blair
Williams, Josh Warner, Jeffrey Meyers, Jonathan Winne, Ashley
Gruenberg, Dan Halma, Jenny Birkenholz, Devin Bonnie, Luke Wendt, Jeff
Minkus, James Daly, Meghan Cook, and Benjamin Crumpler!
Pain
is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year,
but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place.
If I quit, however, it lasts forever.
~ Lance Armstrong
