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This is a blog where a professor from Northeastern University's Math department posts mathematical comments on the television show "Numb3rs". To comment, write to bridger@neu.edu.
Unique visitors since 6/14/2005:
May 25, 2005
I just got some software that helps create crossword puzzles. Here's one I made with a NUMB3RS theme.
http://http://www.atsweb.neu.edu/math/cp/blog/numb3rs.html
Many of the clues relate to math or the show. Note that you can reveal answers by clicking buttons at the bottom; no cheating!Please let me know if you have trouble reading this crossword... continued »
May 19, 2005
I suggested in a previous blog ("The Monte Hall Problem") that you should try playing the game with the three doors. Well, it turns out that there's an automated website that enables you to do just that, and keep track of the results... continued »
May 18, 2005
A reader of this blog, named Will, writes: "This one may be more philosophy than math, but... Is it true that any occurrence, however unlikely, does have a percent chance of occurrence above zero?" This is a very good question and is closely related to how mathematics reflects the "real" world. In particular, what is the meaning of "probability" or "chance" when there are infinitely many possibilities... continued »
May 16, 2005
Charlie and his physicist friend Larry babble a bit about "Markov processes" and the "Chapman-Kolmogorov Theorem." Well, forget that I said "babble" for a while, and let's see what they are, er, talking about.
Let's take a simplified case: a pickup is driving on a two lane highway. It can be either in the driving lane D or the passing lane P. These are called the two states of this pickup system... continued »
May 15, 2005
Here is the first installment about the show last Friday (May 13). Charlie is giving a lecture in his "Math for Non-Mathematicians" course: a lecture about the (in)famous "Monte Hall Problem."
Monte Hall was the host on a TV game show called "Let's Make a Deal." At one point on the show the contestant is faced with three doors, behind one of which is a new car and behind the other two are goats. The contestant chooses a door -- the "first door" -- which remains shut... continued »
May 8, 2005
In last Friday's (May 6) episode, the main mathematical reference is to "squish-squash" algorithms. This is actually pretty complicated and recent stuff, but I'll try to give it a shot.
The area of mathematical signal-processing has to do with reconstructing certain kinds of data that are transmitted via electromagnetic waves. Some important examples are light images, television signals, X-rays and radar... continued »
May 3, 2005
Since I had mentioned algorithms in the last posting, I was reminded of an interesting "game" (it's not really a game, as you'll see) based on an algorithm whose results are very hard to predict. In fact, these results are so hard to predict that the algorithm has become a source of some mathematical research which is still ongoing... continued »
May 3, 2005
Jenna (and friend) at MIT sent in the idea of a Mobius conveyor belt, that would distribute the wear evenly over "both" of its single side(s) (my fractured paraphrase).
As a more crime-oriented idea, your blogmeister suggests a variation: a telephone answering tape made from a Mobius strip, with twice the capacity that one would expect... continued »
May 2, 2005
There wasn't much math as such in Friday's show, but the end raises some issues about the nature of math research. In fact, these issues have to do with the nature of scientific inquiry in general.
Most mathematicians consider their field as one in which abstract reasoning is used to resolve abstract or applied problems... continued »
May 2, 2005
In my Feb 12 blog I wrote: "I also seem to recall that, a number of years back, a main door of a new building at one of our major universities (I think MIT) often could not be opened. This was because the configuration of the surrounding buildings funneled the wind right against this unfortunate door. I'm not sure what was done."
Jenna at MIT writes:
"I just wanted to let you know that it was indeed MIT... continued »
May 2, 2005
The mathematics on NUMB3RS is getting a bit thin. There's been a bit too much statistics (likelihood of this and that), engineering (remote reading of CRT screens) and physics. Also, while it's true that mathematics and logic are inseparable, I don't think we'd argue that "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" could have the subtitle "Everything is Numbers."
How about some topology? Take Mobius strips, the famous one-sided surfaces... continued »
May 2, 2005
Charlie has been slinging around the word "algorithm" a bit much recently. What is an algorithm?
An algorithm is a mathematical recipe: a set of rules for constructing or computing something... continued »