On taking down the Christmas tree

Amanda was very interested in helping put away all the ornaments from our Christmas tree, and she was actually a big help, rather than a hindrance. We also took down the stockings, the wreaths, the Nativity scene... When we finished moving the Christmas tree out of the house, Amanda looked and said sadly, "Christmas is really all gone!" She was pleased to learn that it would come back next year.

Comments

C. L. Hanson said…

I put away all my Christmas stuff last weekend too. It's a little sad, but also nice to get things back to normal. If only the weather would start warming up.

p.s. Thanks for the adorable Groundhog's Day card! :D

January 14, 2009 at 10:07 AM

Why you should study the history of math

Why you should study the history of math In the mid 1300s a fad made its way around Italy. Mathematicians would challenge each other to “mathematical duels”. They would post problems for their opponents to solve, sometimes along with their solutions in coded poetry. The winners would get support and funding from rich patrons, the losers would descend into obscurity. One such contest, between Fiore and Tartaglia, involved a new method for solving the cubic. In order to win, Tartaglia worked day and night to find Fiore’s method---unfortunately, Fiore did not do the same and only knew his own method and no others. (*Recall that the formula for solutions to quadratic equations of the form use the quadratic formula, Giorlamo Cardano---physician, philosopher, astrologer and mathematician---convinced Tartaglia to share his method and promised never to reveal it. Then Cardano figured out a more general method, and wanted to share it, but was blocked by his promises. Fortunately (for Ca...

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