Colin the Mathmo

ColinTheMathmo@mathstodon.xyz

Fulltime freelance provider of outreach and enhancement in maths ... I talk a lot. About maths.I talk about other stuff too, like ballroom dancing, juggling, unicycling, education, engineering, software, and "other things".But mostly about maths.I tend to follow back, but only if you have something in your profile.

Posts

Post #4447409
If you choose an answer at random, what is your probability of being correct? A: 25% B: 50% C: 60% D: 25%
Post #4372107
Time for a question. * In the expression "18÷3x2" ... if I say (regardless of anything you've ever been taught) to do the multiplication first, what happens? I'd run this as a poll but I don't want to lead the witnesses, so to speak. * Start with "18÷3x2" * Do the multiplication first * What are the steps you go through? If you are content to do so, please boost to get out of my bubble. Thanks. CC: @solderandchaos@mastodon.me.uk
Post #4132669
"What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure." -- Samuel Johnson
Post #4091225
"People don't hate computers. What they really hate is lousy programmers." -- Larry Niven (paraphrased)
Post #4071879
HAH !!! My (first) talk from #EMFCamp is up! https://media.ccc.de/v/emf2026-60-1-juggling-surprisingly-mathematical I honestly didn't know what I was going to say, although I've been giving talks about this material for a long time, so parts of it were well rehearsed. I'd welcome feedback. It wasn't perfect, but let me know what you think. I only ask that you be kind. Honest, but kind.
Post #3958370
Brilliant day at #EMF ... so many amazing people, so many amazing things. Thank you for having me. #EMF2026 @emf@social.emfcamp.org
Post #3908168
Your fingers have fingertips but your toes don't have toetips. Yet, you can tiptoe but not tipfinger.
Post #3860863
Learning how to use "timeout" because I'm using someone else's software that's interacting with hardware that might be less well behaved than they expected.
Post #3860774
@ansuz@gts.cryptography.dog Typo alert: https://cryptography.dog/blog/rng-day-2024/ ... because they are >quiet< closely related ... That should be "quite".
Post #3830406
"The measure of a society is found in how they treat their weakest and most helpless citizens." -- Jimmy Carter
Post #3784654
This graph should be front page news. Instead, there is silence. This is now a projection, not a prediction, not the result of a model. These are measurements, it is what is happening. Now. https://www.lyrebirddreaming.com/post/the-graph-that-should-be-front-page-news
Post #3701090
Spotted on a Health and Safety poster, and again my mathematical mind betrays me. Quoting: "Safe use of projectors : Avoid staring directly into the projector beam at all times." I avoid spending all my time staring into the projector. I stare at it occasionally, here and there, now and again, but I don't stare into it "at all times". So ... is that OK? 1/n
Post #3668783
One thing no one ever talks about being an adult is how much time you debate yourself on keeping a cardboard box because it's, like, a really good box.
Post #3556958
"NASA launches robot to save Swift telescope falling to Earth" -- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0ry4xx7rk8o When I was a kid this was science fiction.
Post #3468299
I don't usually do this, but I found this too funny not to share: The Bob Newhart Toupee Sketch That Broke Dean Martin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uau2DK4kwyo Not entirely sure you can use this to help calibrate your understanding of what I find funny ... I'm in an odd mood today. #Video #Humour #NotForEveryone
Post #3373162
"... we should catch young people before they become CEOs, investment bankers, consultants, and money managers, and do our best to poison their minds with humanity." -- Kurt Vonnegut
Post #3266991
EDIT: FOUND !!! I'll avoid spoilers for those who enjoy the chase, I'll happily reply to DMs asking for the answer ------------------ Here's a real challenge for die hard fans of older #SciFi ... I remember in my teens in Australia, 70s?, reading a story or novel in which two computers (or neural nets) were interacting, having a conversation in English, and at one point one of them offered the other a banana. The humans who were watching discussed this, and one said that this wa...
Post #2663085
"Email is a wonderful thing for people whose role in life is to be on top of things. But not for me; my role is to be on the bottom of things. What I do takes long hours of studying and uninterruptible concentration." -- Donald Knuth
Post #2443317
There&#39;s a fine line between numerator and denominator (and it&#39;s called a &#39;vinculum&#39;).
Post #2397688
Wishing a Happy Birthday to Cecilia Helena Payne-Gaposchkin. Extraordinary woman ... simply extraordinary. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecilia_Payne-Gaposchkin
Post #2367570
Fabulous pass of the #ISS ... totally clear skies, magnitude around -3.6 ... brilliant to watch it sail serenely overhead. Wanted to share the experience with a passerby: Me: In about 30 seconds the International Space Station will come into view over there. Him: Will it. I suppose you also believe we&#39;ve landed on the Moon. Me: Yes. Him: What about the Van Allen Belt Me: They went through thin parts, and they&#39;re a lot less serious than people seem to think ... about the sa...
Post #2057106
&quot;When someone has trouble in mathematics, we should bolster our support, not lower our expectations.&quot; -- Francis Su
Post #2057105
&quot;Being a student is easy. Learning requires actual work.&quot; -- William Crawford
Post #2057104
&quot;You are a ghost driving a meat-coated skeleton made from stardust, riding a rock, hurtling through space. Fear nothing.&quot; -- Unknown.
Post #2044045
&quot;C++: An octopus made by nailing extra legs onto a dog&quot; -- Steve Taylor
Post #2017631
&quot;Everyone has a photographic memory; some just don&#39;t have film.&quot; -- Steven Wright
Post #1948438
Sent to me by a round-about route. I&#39;ve tracked down a link that allegedly is the original, but fortunately it&#39;s been deleted, so I don&#39;t need to include a link to Xitter. (Edit for a typo fix)
Post #1866247
&quot;Power corrupts. Powerpoint corrupts absolutely.&quot; -- Edward R. Tufte
Post #1842534
&quot;Learn from the experts. You will never live long enough to learn it all directly from experience&quot; -- Kop Kopmeyer
Post #1747409
&#39;Jail&#39; and &#39;Prison&#39; are synonyms. But &#39;Jailer&#39; and &#39;Prisoner&#39; are antonyms.