## Whiteboard Spheres Redux

In my last post I wrote about how excited I was for the upcoming California Math Council conference. Some of that may have derived from the venue being Palm Springs, but most of my anticipation was about the talk I… Continue Reading

## Whiteboard Spheres

I am, quite literally, gearing up to leave for the California Math Council’s annual South section conference in Palm Springs. On Saturday, I’ll be presenting a talk called Euclidean Geometry Through a Non-Euclidean Lens. I’m really excited for this particular talk, partially… Continue Reading

## A Game of Chess

Who wins this game of chess? The board is $2\times 2$ instead of the usual $8\times 8$, and each side has only a king and a queen. On the one hand, white is in check and cannot escape check with… Continue Reading

## Why is There a Solution?

Here’s a fun problem: If $x+y=4$ and $xy=1$, what is $x^2+y^2$? Problems like this one are ubiquitous on math contests, ostensibly because the ability to answer the question is evidence of mathematical talent. But I think that a related question… Continue Reading

## Biss For Illinois

I started walking the streets of downtown Normal, Illinois as a teenager. Back then, it was a cluster of comic shops, record stores, and dive restaurants catering to Illinois State University, a large university, but on the small side. In… Continue Reading

## Geometry of Linear Equations

One of the most powerful tools in a mathematician’s box is converting between equivalent forms. The fraction $\frac{238}{357}$ is hard to wrap our heads around, but if we notice that both the numerator and the denominator are multiples of 119,… Continue Reading

## Evaluating Equations?

I’ve found myself at the Desmos landing page hundreds of times, but apparently, I’ve never stopped to read it.On this page, Desmos clearly and concisely delineates four tasks its software can do. Graph functions. Once you proceed to the Desmos… Continue Reading

## “Do You Know How To Spell?”

“Do you know how to spell?”, my son asked, as I walked through the door. “… …. Uhh … Yes.” “Oh yeah? What does 10000011010100 spell?” The gauntlet had been thrown down, but I still wasn’t quite sure what was… Continue Reading

## Jovo Toys, Part 2

I woke up to my son building a truncated tetrahedron. It was 5:30 in the morning, and I was reluctantly starting my day. I dragged my feet to the kitchen for some coffee, and I ran into my son, who… Continue Reading

## Jovo Toys, Part 1

When my colleague Vince Matsko left IMSA in 2013, I lost a mentor, a confidante, and a cubicle mate, but I gained something almost as good: his Jovo Toys. Jovo Toys are colorful plastic snap-together pieces in geometric shapes. They are… Continue Reading