All Stories by Ivars Peterson
- Math
Online Bidding Tips
The auction Web site known as eBay has become a vast marketplace, bringing together buyers and sellers of all sorts of goods. It has also become a handy laboratory for testing ideas in economics about markets and prices. In general, auctions ought to serve as an efficient mechanism for setting prices. Consequently, you would expect […]
- Math
Online Bidding Tips
The auction Web site known as eBay has become a vast marketplace, bringing together buyers and sellers of all sorts of goods. It has also become a handy laboratory for testing ideas in economics about markets and prices. In general, auctions ought to serve as an efficient mechanism for setting prices. Consequently, you would expect […]
- Math
Absolutely Abnormal
Identifying the normal (or even the abnormal) in mathematics can pose serious difficulties. In 1909, mathematician Émile Borel (1871–1956) introduced the concept of normality as one way to characterize the resemblance between the digits of a mathematical constant such as pi (the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter) and a sequence of random […]
- Math
Tolstoy’s Calculus
“Absolute continuity of motion is not comprehensible to the human mind. Laws of motion of any kind become comprehensible to man only when he examines arbitrarily selected elements of that motion; but at the same time, a large proportion of human error comes from the arbitrary division of continuous motion into discontinuous elements.” This striking […]
- Math
Firm Data
Business firms range in size from boutiques operated by individuals to huge multinational corporations employing thousands. You would expect that there are fewer large businesses than small ones. In economics, however, it’s useful to characterize the size distribution of firms more precisely than that. Within an industry, for example, the firm size distribution would indicate […]
- Math
Spotting Ladybugs
Ladybugs are among the most familiar of beetles. More than 4,000 species are found throughout the world, ranging in size from 4 to 18 millimeters. Also known as lady beetles or ladybirds, these insects (coccinellids) have rounded bodies and bright red, orange, or yellow wing covers, which usually bear an array of contrasting black spots […]
- Math
Spotting Ladybugs
Ladybugs are among the most familiar of beetles. More than 4,000 species are found throughout the world, ranging in size from 4 to 18 millimeters. Also known as lady beetles or ladybirds, these insects (coccinellids) have rounded bodies and bright red, orange, or yellow wing covers, which usually bear an array of contrasting black spots […]
- Math
Follow the Leader
In the sport of orienteering, a competitor uses a detailed map (and perhaps a compass) to navigate his or her way across varied terrain following a course drawn on the map. Selecting the best available route, each participant races from one marker to the next in the required sequence. The winner is the person who […]
- Math
Sand Drawings and Mirror Curves
To accompany the telling of a story or recounting of a fable, men of the Chokwe people in south-central Africa traditionally made sand drawings, called sona, to illustrate the tale. These highly stylized geometric illustrations also served as memory aids. Sand drawing. Paulus Gerdes Plaited mat designs. Mark Schlatter Lion’s stomach design. Mark Schlatter Example […]
- Math
Waves of Congestion
You’re confined to a single lane as you drive along a narrow, winding road. The car in front of you suddenly slows, then just as inexplicably accelerates a short time later, only to slow again. As you keep adjusting to the leading car’s erratic speed changes, you sometimes find a clump of vehicles closely tailing […]
- Math
Waves of Congestion
You’re confined to a single lane as you drive along a narrow, winding road. The car in front of you suddenly slows, then just as inexplicably accelerates a short time later, only to slow again. As you keep adjusting to the leading car’s erratic speed changes, you sometimes find a clump of vehicles closely tailing […]
- Computing
Computer paints a charged bioportrait
By employing a novel computational strategy, researchers have mapped the electrical landscape of biological molecules made up of more than 1 million atoms.
