My Jiu Jitsu Journey
Today's post will be divided into two sections, the first of which will be a geometric series lesson geared toward those that consider themselves novices in the mathematical arena followed by an application of that lesson in solving last week's Riddler Classic. The second section is for those of you that are math nerds and … Continue reading Summing An Infinite Series
When I taught a 3-week intensive course for 6th-8th graders called The Beauty of Mathematics several years ago, I used many mathematical card tricks. Some of these mathematical card tricks are quite amazing when embellished for an audience. They were quite fun to perform, instruct how to perform, and then to break down and analyze. … Continue reading Face-Up Card Puzzle Explained
Price Is Right Wheel has 20 sectorsThe ProblemThis is the 97th Riddle proposed by The Riddler from FiveThirtyEight.The three contestants that win all go head to head at this wheel at a chance to advance to the Showcase Showdown. The one with the least amount of money goes first (the worst position in this game), … Continue reading The Price is Right Wheel: How to Spin it Optimally
The ProblemLast Friday, The Riddler posed quite the challenging problem. Here it is in my own words. You are in prison with 99 other inmates (there are 100 of you). The warden presents you with a game. Prisoners are to be randomly selected with replacement and taken into Cell Zero. Inside Cell Zero, there are two levers … Continue reading Escaping Prison
Unlucky you, to be the last person to board a 100 seat plane. This is the setting of this week's riddle from Ollie on FiveThirtyEight. Here's the problem. The first person to board is a complete asshole. This guy is to airplane boarding as Martin Shkreli is to pharmaceuticals. When this guy boards, he could care … Continue reading Airplane Seating Etiquette
The Shaw Show 