Math Minds: Holly Krieger

This week, Center of Math intern Tori sat down with Dr. Holly Krieger, a post-doctorate fellow and instructor at MIT. Dr. Krieger discusses her research, her favorite math class, and her time with web series Numberphile below.

Dr. Holly Krieger

I’ve done a little bit of background research on your research topics-  is there any reason you chose algebraic geometry and dynamical systems as your focus?

I was always interested in Number Theory, just because it’s an incredibly appealing subject. You can state some of these problems very simply, but they’re very intricate and deep mathematics. I got into dynamical systems through coursework I took in graduate school. It’s sort of a new field, it’s not something that [undergraduates] would necessarily take a class in, but once I became aware of the field it was of course interesting, and that’s how I ended up going that direction.

Throwback Fact: Pi Day

image: flickr.com

This Saturday, March 14th, is known as the "Ultimate Pi Day" because the first 10 digits of pi (3.141592653) line up with an observable time: March 14th, 2015 at 9:26:53 AM or PM. 

But actually, all infinite digits are represented.

All of the digits after the first 10 are not quite observable. But about halfway between the 9:26:53 and 9:26:54, there will also be 58 centiseconds, 97 deciseconds, and so on until infinity.

This fact is exciting mathematicians into celebrating Pi Day even if they haven't bothered before. In fact, choosing March 14th to celebrate Pi annoyed a few mathematicians. Using 3.14 cuts Pi into a tiny approximation, and ignores everything that makes Pi incredible, like its transcendentalism.

Throwback Fact: Magic Squares

image: commons.wikimedia.org
An example of a 4th order Magic Square

Last week we discussed Japanese geometry puzzles. If you missed it, check out Sangaku here. This week, we’ll talk about a puzzle game again: Magic Squares.

These fascinating puzzles date back to around 2200 B. C. E. Traditionally, they are played on a grid consisting of n-rows and n-columns, for a total of n^2 boxes. Each of the boxes are filled with integers so that the sums of the horizontal rows, vertical columns, and diagonals are equal. If each integer from 1-n is used, the square applies for special qualifications. These squares are known as nth order magic squares, and the sum of each row will always be equal to: [n(n^(2)+1)]/2.

UncommonGoods Pi Day Giveaway

UPDATE: The contest has concluded, and the winning comment has been randomly selected! Congratulations Sara, we are working to get in contact with you now. Thanks everyone for participating!

Image: http://www.uncommongoods.com/product/pi-basket

March 14, 2015 will be a date of celebration for many "math nerds" around the country. Whether you celebrate the date, or think it's a little too silly, it's fun to see all of the creativity that pours out of mathematicians, designers, writers, and artists alike as "Pi Day" approaches each year. This year's date is even more momentous than usual- at 9:26:53 AM and PM, the date and time will represent the first 10 digits of pi. 3.141592653... If you count your milliseconds and beyond, to each infinitessimally small fraction of a second, the date and time will represent the infinite digits of pi between 9:26:53 and 9:26:54.

Our Reaction to the Textbook Market

Image: commons.wikimedia.org

As college students ourselves, we (the interns at the Center) worry about the price of textbooks at the beginning of each semester.

Would you rather have this?

Why spend $1,200 on textbooks in a calendar year if you simply don’t need to? For less than $200 ($169.23 before taxes, to be precise) students or professors could purchase a digital copy of every textbook, electronic study guide, and iPhone/Android app we offer, plus a sweet Center of Math t-shirt. Our prices provide an opportunity for college students to deviate from the doldrums of the dining hall to …*gasp*…edible food!

Problem of the Week

Happy Monday to all of our readers, regular and new. We've been working on a lot of great new content for the blog that should be starting this month, including the continuation of the interview series. But for now, take a look at our newest Problem of the Week. Like usual, I've hosted the solution below. Here's what was posted to our Facebook, Twitter, and Google +:

Click to expand!

A proof! This one shouldn't be too difficult. It will act as a good brain teaser to kick off the week. Here's how I solved the problem.