Mathematics

What's in a Distance

The distance between two points is a concept that is, in every day use, clear and unambiguous. Mathematically, the normal (every day) distance between two points is called the Euclidean distance, but mathematicians generalize this definition. I show how, and I try to make you think by showing how circles look using some of these alternative definitions…

Submitted on 6 July 2011

Formulas Ahead!

Showing mathematical formulas on the web is not straightforward, as HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) does not contain built-in commands to typeset mathematics. Although MathML (Mathematical Markup Language) was designed to be an extension of the standard markup language for mathematics, it is not yet supported by all browsers, so it’s not quite ready for prime time! So we are stuck with…

Submitted on 6 April 2011