Applied Math
Why Averaging Percentages Can Give You the Wrong Answer
Two classes take the same test. In the smaller class, 95% pass. In the larger class, 45% pass. What percentage of all the students pass? The tempting answer…
Applied Math
Articles
Applied Math
Review: Problem Solving and Reasoning With Discrete Mathematics
Book Review: PROBLEM SOLVING AND REASONING WITH DISCRETE MATHEMATICS by Dr. Joseph G. Rosenstein US K-12 mathematics has long been dominated by the notion that any legitimate pathway…
Applied Math
Joe Rosenstein: The Art of Being Discrete
Joseph G. Rosenstein It’s our pleasure to welcome Professor Joseph G. Rosenstein to the Math Blog. He is Distinguished Emeritus Professor of mathematics at Rutgers University. His…
Applied Math
The Nightmare of Algorithm Interviews
A recent widespread custom in the high technology industry is the “coding interview” where applicants typically stand in front of a white board for three or more hours…
Applied Math
Book Review: Peak — Secrets from the New Science of Expertise
Peak — Secrets from the New Science of Expertise by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, 216 307 pages My Rating: 4/5 How does one…
Applied Math
Invasion of the Physicists
Wired recently published an article with the sensational title “Move Over, Coders — Physicists Will Soon Rule Silicon Valley” primarily concerned with physicists or former physicists working in…
Applied Math
Should You Get Started in Data Science?
I recently received an inquiry on how to get started in the currently hot field of data science. Perhaps a better question is: should you get started in…
Applied Math
Arbitrary Precision Integer Arithmetic in the Bourne Again Shell (BASH)
This is a brief post on quick ways to perform arbitrary precision integer arithmetic in the GNU Bourne Again Shell (BASH), either at the command prompt or in…
Applied Math
Did Facebook’s News Feed Algorithm Elect Donald Trump?
Dozens of articles are trying to blame the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States on Facebook’s news feed algorithm, and especially its supposed propensity…
Applied Math
Pre-Election Polls That Were Wrong
Following up on my last post Big Data Flubs Donald Versus Hillary, here are some famous cases where pre-election polls were wrong. The Literary Digest Predicts Landon Will…
Applied Math
Big Data Flubs Donald Versus Hillary
Donald Trump’s unexpected upset victory over Hillary Clinton raises troubling questions about the use of mathematical models and “Big Data” in politics. With the possible exception of the…
Applied Math
Algebra, Asimov, and Missing Steps
When I was young, I could not get algebra. In particular, I would encounter magical operations like this: [latex]x + 5 = 8[/latex] followed by: [latex] x =…