FE. Burn The Rope
Edmund Harriss, sometime contributor to the Math Factor, makes his first appearance in this early segment, from February 29, 2004.
Archive for 2009
FD. Space Walkers
How many ways can the astronauts link up to the space station?
FC. Cool Clear Water
In the fourth Math Factor segment, airing February 15, 2004, we posed a question much like the later Bananas and Rockets puzzle. How do we cross the infernal desert with limited supplies of water, but unlimited porters?
(We open with the theme to Bonanza and go out with a rendition of Cool Clear Water by the immortal Marty Robbins)
FB. The Legendary Monte Hall Problem
We never did pose the famous Monte Hall problem on the podcast, but we discussed it early on when we were just on the radio. Here is our third segment, from February 8, 2004.
We did discuss the difference between Let’s Make a Deal and Deal or No Deal in an earlier post…
(The opening tune is from Juan Garcia Esquivel’s brilliant Space Age Bachelor Pad Music )
FA. The Johnsons
We ask an old chestnut on the second Math Factor segment ever aired, from February 1, 2004: The Johnsons have two children; we’re told one is a boy. What is the probability they have two boys?
(Incidentally, the music is R. Crumb’s band, Les Primitifs Du Futur)
EZ. Google, Flutes and Monopoly
We ask: What do Google, flutes and monopoly have in common? In fact, important principles behind this question apply to an astounding array of phenomena!
(Since we’ve been offline for a week or so, due to a tremendous ice storm that has paralyzed the town, we add a special bonus: the very first Math Factor episode ever aired, from January 25, 2004.)
Morris: How to Win Your Bonus
Sometimes rules set up to achieve one result can have exactly the opposite result.
You are a financial trader.
EY. Our Vth Anniversary Special!
We celebrate five years of the math factor in todays segment!!
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Follow Up: Sequences of Averages
In response to the post “Stacking Cannonballs” Trevor H. writes:
I was very intrigued by the recursive sequence you mentioned in the past two episodes–the sequence that begins with 1 and each successive term is the average of all the previous terms times some constant. I have always been fascinated by Pascal’s triangle and all of its surprise appearances in mathematics. Also, my fist encounter with doing mathematics for fun out of my own curiosity was to find a formula for triangle numbers. Like Kyle, I was inspired by bowling pin arrangements. The experience was very rewarding and I have been in love with mathematics ever since.
Morris: Inside Every Hexagram …
Inside every hexagram there is a cube trying to get out but, just like the thin woman hiding inside Eddie, it isn’t that easy to spot.
New Scientist magazine has a regular math puzzle called Enigma. A few years ago they posed this intriguing problem.
‘Assign the numbers 1 to 12 to the twelve vertices of a hexagram so that the sum along each line is the same.’
At first sight this is the worst possible kind of puzzle. You have to try lots of ways of assigning numbers until you stumble across the right answer. Very boring!
The best kind of puzzle is when you spot a neat insight that makes everything easy.
Guess what, that is exactly what we are going to do here!
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