Arcadia Public Library

It is one of the wonders of mathematics that, for every problem mathematicians solve, another awaits to perplex and galvanize them. Some of these problems are new, while others have puzzled and bewitched thinkers across the ages. Such challenges offer a tantalizing glimpse of the field's unlimited potential, and keep mathematicians looking toward the horizons of intellectual possibility.
In Visions of Infinity, celebrated mathematician...

"In How Not to Be Wrong, Jordan Ellenberg shows us that math isn't confined to abstract incidents that never occur in real life, but rather touches everything we do--the whole world is shot through with it. Math allows us to see the hidden structures underneath the messy and chaotic surface of our world. It's a science of not being wrong, hammered out by centuries of hard work and argument. Armed with the tools of mathematics, we can see through to...

While some statistics are deliberately misleading, others are the product of confused thinking due to Simpson's paradox and similar errors of statistical reasoning. See how this problem arises in sports, social science, and especially medicine, where it can lead to inappropriate treatments.

Professor Benjamin begins his discussion of mathematical proofs with intuitive cases like "even plus even is even" and "odd times odd is odd." He builds to more complexproofs by existenceandinduction, and ends with a checkerboard challenge.

Conclude the course by examining more types of number sequences, discovering how rich and enjoyable the mathematics of pattern recognition can be. As in previous lessons, employ your reasoning skills and growing command of algebra to find order - and beauty - where once all was a confusion of numbers.

The ability of statistics to extract insights from a random collection of facts is one of the most astonishing and useful feats of applied mathematics. This course surveys college-level statistics through dozens of exercises conducted through the statistical programming language R, a free, open-source computer language with millions of users worldwide.

Another indispensable number to learn ise= 2.71828 ... Defined as the base of the natural logarithm,eplays a central role in calculus, and it arises naturally in many spheres of mathematics, including calculations of compound interest.

Put your dots-and-boxes machine to work solving long-division problems, making them easy while shedding light on the rationale behind the confusing long-division algorithm taught in school. Then watch how the machine quickly handles scary-looking division problems in polynomial algebra.

Apply what you've discovered about equations of lines to two very special types of lines: parallel and perpendicular. Learn how to tell if lines are parallel or perpendicular from their equations alone, without having to see the lines themselves. Also try your hand at word problems that feature both types of lines.