Nummers
Enthusiasm is so important in teaching. That’s one reason why I really like this explanation of why the square root of two is irrational.
I also like how he explains the proofs. They’re simple, but they’re so simple that I think it’s easy to overlook them and their importance.
Yay irrational numbers!
More
More fun facts for y’all. I’m bored.
- When Greek mathematicians first proved that the square root of two is an irrational number, they celebrated by sacrificing 100 oxen (beware of Greeks bearing math!).
- The notes made by Marie Curie during her research are still highly radioactive.
- The planet Neptune has not made a complete revolution around the sun since it was discovered in 1846. With an orbital period of 155 years, it will have completed an orbit in 2011.
- Pan, one of Saturn’s smallest moons, orbits within Saturn’s A-Ring and helps clear out an area between the rings called the Encke Gap. Scientists believe that if Pan didn’t exist, neither would the Encke Gap.
Eigenblogger 