Jul 25
Google’s search-based calculator is a bit of a God-send when it comes to impromptu math, but now the Big G has gone and extended its functionality by rolling out a full-on, 34-button scientific calculator. More »
Jul 24
When you’re watching the Spiderman movies, you hardly ever stop to think about whether Peter Parker could actually physically swing from buildings on threads of silk. C’mon! Suspend your disbelief! It’s a superhero movie! Jeez. Except as this mathematics professor points out, it’s freaking possible. More »
Jul 18
War is, you might think, unpredictable, especially when it comes to insurgent attacks carried out by loosely organized factions. But while strikes might appear to come from nowhere, researchers have now shown that crunching through WikiLeaks data can predict where attacks will happen. More »
Jul 12
It took them 40 tries, but a group of geneticists have developed a generation of fruit flies that can count. Flies that can count, you say? Apparently, it’s possible, and it could give researchers some new clues into dyscalculia, a dyslexia-related learning disability that impedes a person’s ability to understand math. More »
Jul 03
Educational videogames are nothing new, but they’re often nothing to write about either. But an upcoming DSiWare game lets players harness the awesome power of algebra, even if they don’t know what algebra is. The game is called Ace Mathician! No, Phoenix Wright isn’t in it, but a koala is.
Developed by Goodbye Galaxy Games, Ace Mathician! won’t actually ask players to solve math equations. You’ll indirectly use mathematical concepts to help a koala named Ace grab some fruit. If that’s not a good use of math then I don’t know what is. At the very least, I’ll always remember this game for being the first to feature the sine function.
Players are presented with four symbols that they can use to form an equation. The graph of that resulting equation will then change the layout of Ace’s surroundings.
As you can see, knowledge about algebra is a big advantage in solving the puzzles, but it’s also something that can be learned while playing the game. Ace Mathician! will be released in North America on July 12.
[via Ace Mathician! via Circle Ent. via Tiny Cartridge]
Jun 26
Sixty years ago, Alan Turing sat down to write a computer algorithm which could play a human at chess. Sadly, he never got to see it running on a computer, but now it’s been coded up and who better to pit it against than… Garry Kasparov? Gulp. More »
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