Nov

27

Rejecta Mathematica

Filed Under Math News, Math Websites | 6 Comments

Tired of getting shot down when submitting mathematical articles to peer reviewed journals? Rejecta Mathematica comes to the rescue. This new site, which currently has a call for papers, is self-described as follows:

Rejecta Mathematica is a new, open access, online journal that publishes only papers that have been rejected from peer-reviewed journals (or conferences with comparable review standards) in the mathematical sciences. We are currently seeking submissions for our inaugural issue.

Considering that there will be very little editorial control (no peer reviews) of the published articles, it will be interesting to see how it’ll evolve. Will it be full of under-appreciated pearls of genius or will it become the domain of math cranks? I can’t help but hope that it will be a mix of both, if nothing else, for the entertainment value. We’ll see where it goes… and let us know if you intend to submit any papers to them. By the way, if you are shot down by Rejecta Mathematica too, chances are that your paper sucks. But if you really believe that there is merit to it, consider Math-Blog as your Rejecta Rejecta Mathematica. ;-)

Oct

18

I’m reading a fantastic mathematical novel

Filed Under Suggested reading | 2 Comments


While I’m very busy at work and in my daily life, I’ve managed to start reading a new mathematical novel. It’s called A Certain Ambiguity: A Mathematical Novel and is published by the Princeton University Press. I’ve read only a few chapters but I must say that I’m really intrigued by this unusual and very interesting book. Besides being an easy read and an enjoyable page turner, this work of fiction manages to spark both interest in the illustration of thought-provoking mathematical concepts and at the same time, a genuine curiosity and interest towards the protagonist’s character.

It’s the kind of book that a mathematically inclined person would absolutely love, and in fact I’m having a hard time putting it down myself. On the other hand, anyone interested in an all around intelligent book, will be fascinated by its compelling narrative and the rather accessible mathematical insights, no matter what background they’re coming from.

A Certain Ambiguity is definitely a mathematical novel, but it’s not limited to that, because it’s a good philosophical novel to start with, so it can be appreciated when approached from different angles and mathematical skill levels. I plan to provide an in depth review as soon as I finish the book. Meanwhile it gets my positive recommendation; pick up a copy of this book to keep you company as “sweater weather” and a return to more time spent pursuing actives indoors arrives. The official page describes the book in the following terms:

“While taking a class on infinity at Stanford in the late 1980s, Ravi Kapoor discovers that he is confronting the same mathematical and philosophical dilemmas that his mathematician grandfather had faced many decades earlier–and that had landed him in jail. Charged under an obscure blasphemy law in a small New Jersey town in 1919, Vijay Sahni is challenged by a skeptical judge to defend his belief that the certainty of mathematics can be extended to all human knowledge–including religion. Together, the two men discover the power–and the fallibility–of what has long been considered the pinnacle of human certainty, Euclidean geometry.

As grandfather and grandson struggle with the question of whether there can ever be absolute certainty in mathematics or life, they are forced to reconsider their fundamental beliefs and choices. Their stories hinge on their explorations of parallel developments in the study of geometry and infinity–and the mathematics throughout is as rigorous and fascinating as the narrative and characters are compelling and complex. Moving and enlightening, A Certain Ambiguity is a story about what it means to face the extent–and the limits–of human knowledge.”

You can also download the first chapter here to whet your appetite.

Sep

9

Thought-provoking Mathematical Videos

Filed Under Essential Math, Math Education, Suggested reading | 14 Comments

1. The Tenth Dimension



2. Outside in (Turning a sphere inside out)



3. Flatland the film (Trailer)



The full movie is available on DVD, and of course, you can also get “Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions”, dirt cheap (a classic geek novel for less than 4 bucks). If you prefer, you could pick up the annotated hardcover version: “The Annotated Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions”. Highly recommended.

4. Math Education: An Inconvenient Truth



This short video shows what’s wrong with the current widely adopted methods of teaching mathematics (fortunately though, such practices have not caught on everywhere).

5. Math Education: A University View



You can consider this video a follow-up to the previous one. Clearly this education reform affects elementary school aged children, but the effects that it has on curricula at an early level also profoundly goes on to influences the education which is received by students at high school and even college levels.

Please note that we are now accepting authors and submissions for this website.

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