It makes sense that an animal might hid away in the ground while it’s maturing, but 17 years is a long, seemingly random amount of time. But it’s not like cicadas picked a number out of hate and were stuck with it. There’s a something specific about that number, and numberphile is sussing it out.
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This is an American blog, but I am a British blogger. That naturally causes occasional tensions, especially when it comes to spelling. And the biggest issue? Math or maths.
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The Reimann Hypothesis, which deals with the distribution of prime numbers, was first put forth by mathematician Bernhard Reimann in 1859. It has yet to be fully proven and remains one of the most important unproven theories in mathematics. It’s so important that the Cray Mathematics Institute is even offering a $1 million purse to whoever solves it.
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There are some mathematical concepts that seem straightforward, but once you dig deeper seem to make less and less sense. Transcendental numbers are one of ’em—but what the hell are they?
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For a technology that’s still largely in its infancy, you can do some things with 3D printing that are pretty much impossible with any other technique. Take, for instance, these intricate 3D-printed mobiles.
Designed by kinetic sculptor Marco Mahler, along with mathematician Henry Segerman, these mobiles are unlike handmade mobiles you might have seen before.
Each one was designed using mathematical equations to generate shapes that range from organic to highly procedural in style. The most complex of the bunch is the Quaternary Tree (Level 6), which has a whopping 1,365 parts. Each model was then output using one of Shapeways’ industrial laser-sintering 3D printers.
Best of all, you can order a variety of these mobiles for yourself over at Shapeways. Since each one is made to order, it’ll take about 1 to 2 weeks to generate and then ship yours. Prices range from $10 (USD) for a small, simple mobile up to $600 for the most complex design.
It still blows my mind that a single 3D printing session can generate complex forms like these in which individual parts come out as separate, moveable objects.
Let’s admit it together. We all kind of suck at math. It’s okay! Numbers are evil. And back in high school when you were forced to struggle through Algebra and Geometry and Algebra again and if you were especially unlucky, Calculus, you probably thought to yourself when in the hell would you ever use all those stupid theories, equations and computational silliness in real life. And the truth is you won’t use them! Who needs math! More »
Before there was Adobe Creative Suite, digital art degrees, and New Aesthetic, there was Manfred Mohr grappling with ideas of logic, programming, and what he could make computers do in the early 1970s. Now, you can watch some of Mohr’s beautiful experiments on YouTube. More »
Think of a random number between one and ten. Most likely, you chose seven—so exactly how random was your choice? Turns out that generating a truly random number is more difficult than you might think—but this video should help you get to grips with the problem. More »
When you’re flying anywhere you can pretty much turn the whole day into a black hole. The airport/in-flight wifi wasn’t working. We sat at the gate for an hour. We were in a holding pattern. It’s great. But sometimes, sometimes you actually want to get where you’re going. More »
This board of tiles, or Azulejos which is a form of Portugese artwork that involves tilework, is making my brain lose its gray matter. The tile board somehow maintains the same number of tiles even when some individual tiles are removed. How did all the tiles fit in the first place? How does it still fit after getting rid of three tiles? Where is the missing square? What sorcery is this? More »
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
