The Simpsons Invented This Surprisingly Tough Geometry Task

Hidden amid its trademark satire of average American life, The Simpsons is riddled with mathematical Easter eggs. The show’s writing staff has boasted an impressive pedigree of Ivy League mathheads who couldn’t resist infusing America’s longest-running sitcom with inside jokes, scattered about like sprinkles on Homer’s doughnuts. The Hunger Games Director Francis Lawrence on Adapting … Read more

A New Proof Strikes the Needle on a Sticky Geometry Downside

The unique model of this story appeared in Quanta Journal. In 1917, the Japanese mathematician Sōichi Kakeya posed what at first appeared like nothing greater than a enjoyable train in geometry. Lay an infinitely skinny, inch-long needle on a flat floor, then rotate it in order that it factors in each path in flip. What’s … Read more