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Search resuls for: "Eugenia Cheng"


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☆ Finding a Rare Use for Trigonometry After High School
  + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Eugenia Cheng | ) www.wsj.com   time to read: 1 min
Illustration: Tomasz WalentaMathematician Eugenia Cheng explores the uses of math beyond the classroom. Read more columns here. I recently needed to measure the angle of my computer keyboard, because I currently have it propped up in a rather makeshift manner, and I wanted to find a more permanent solution. I didn’t have a protractor handy, unlike when I was in high school and carried one at all times. But then I realized it was a rare chance to apply some trigonometry.
Persons: Tomasz Walenta, Eugenia Cheng
☆ Solving Our Problem With Math
  + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Eugenia Cheng | ) www.wsj.com   time to read: 1 min
Periodically during tax season a meme goes around saying something like this: I sure am glad we studied triangles every time triangle season comes around. The implication here is that we never need triangles in real life, whereas we do need to understand taxes, and so it would have been much more useful to study taxes in school rather than all that pointless stuff about triangles.
☆ How a ‘Fixed Point’ Keeps a Map on Target
  + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Eugenia Cheng | ) www.wsj.com   time to read: 1 min
This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-a-fixed-point-keeps-a-map-on-target-6399b484
Persons: Dow Jones
☆ What 20/20 Vision Really Means
  + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Eugenia Cheng | ) www.wsj.com   time to read: 1 min
Illustration: Tomasz WalentaMathematician Eugenia Cheng explores the uses of math beyond the classroom. Read more columns here. A friend of mine recently had laser eye surgery, after which he was declared to have “20/15 vision.” I was surprised by this way of describing vision that is even better than 20/20 and realized that, despite wearing glasses since the age of 4, I’ve never thought about what 20/20, or indeed my eyeglass prescription, means.
☆ Folding Paper Can Smooth Out Problems
  + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( Eugenia Cheng | ) www.wsj.com   time to read: 1 min
Mathematician Eugenia Cheng explores the uses of math beyond theclassroom. Read more columns here. I recently had to send a paper letter for the first time in years, so I found myself folding a sheet in thirds to put it in an envelope. When I was growing up I was baffled about how to estimate the thirds accurately. Finally I learned to roll the paper up and then flatten it, rather than making the folds one at a time.
☆ The Magical Curve for Holiday Lights and Sturdy Domes
  + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( Eugenia Cheng | ) www.wsj.com   time to read: 1 min
Mathematician Eugenia Cheng explores the uses of math beyond the classroom. Read more columns here. When we hang strings of Christmas lights or tinsel, we often drape them in curves instead of pulling them taut, to look more festive. In math, the curved shape they take is called a catenary. The word is derived from the Latin for “chain,” as it’s the curve that a chain or rope will make when hanging just by its own weight.
☆ When Is a Doughnut Like a Coffee Cup?
  + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Eugenia Cheng | ) www.wsj.com   time to read: 1 min
Mathematician Eugenia Cheng explores the uses of math beyond the classroom. Read more columns here. The Association of Women in Mathematics has produced a deck of cards featuring a female mathematician on each one, with a short biography. I was amused to find that the one for me says I was born in the “late 20th century,” whereas a friend of mine who’s only a few years older has “mid-20th century.” I think of her as around the same age as me, but those descriptions make us sound a generation apart.
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