{"id":4316,"date":"2010-03-30T20:46:25","date_gmt":"2010-03-30T12:46:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/?p=4316"},"modified":"2018-01-29T18:42:22","modified_gmt":"2018-01-29T10:42:22","slug":"intmath-newsletter-cookies-heartbeats-and-fourier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/letters\/intmath-newsletter-cookies-heartbeats-and-fourier-4316","title":{"rendered":"IntMath Newsletter - cookies, heartbeats and Fourier"},"content":{"rendered":"

30 March 2010<\/p>\n

In this Newsletter:<\/p>\n

1. Cookie jars and tessellations
\n2. Your heartbeat and Fourier Series
\n3. IntMath Poll - Math and Real-world Problems
\n4. Latest IntMath Poll - Who are you?
\n5. Math Awareness Month April 2010
\n6. Latest from the Math Blog
\n7. Final thought – Commitment to excellence <\/p>\n

Welcome to all the new subscribers! The IntMath Newsletter goes out to over 7,500 people in 165 countries.<\/p>\n

1. Cookie jars and tessellations<\/h2>\n\n\n
\"kuih<\/td>\n\n

How can we neatly stack cookies into a circular jar? This topic is related to \"tessellations\". Math is not only about algebra - visual design and packaging also use mathematical techniques.<\/p>\n

See more in: Cookie jar math<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

2. Your heartbeat and Fourier Series<\/h2>\n\n\n
\"ECG\"<\/a><\/td>\n\n

I recently had an ECG done and found it very interesting.<\/p>\n

This article explains how we can model the human heartbeat with a mathematical expression, using Fourier Series.<\/p>\n

Math of ECGs: Fourier Series<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

3. IntMath Poll - Math and Real-world Problems<\/h2>\n

The Feb-Mar 2010 IntMath Poll revealed around 70% of students get little idea why<\/strong> they need to study math during their lessons. The question and responses were:<\/p>\n

I get a good understanding of how math is applied to real world problems...<\/strong> <\/p>\n

In most lessons: 31%<\/p>\n

In some lessons: 29%<\/p>\n

Rarely: 24%<\/p>\n

Never: 17%<\/p>\n

Total votes: 2200<\/strong><\/p>\n

Students need to see how to use math, otherwise it can become a painful academic exercise!<\/p>\n

Of course, many of us like math for its own sake, but that's not the feeling of many students.<\/p>\n

4. Latest IntMath Poll - Who are you?<\/h2>\n

A new poll is up and asks readers whether they are students or instructors, or maybe retired people wanting to learn.<\/p>\n

You can respond on any page in IntMath.com<\/a> (look in the right margin when you get there). <\/p>\n

5. Math Awareness Month - April 2010<\/h2>\n

April is Math Awareness Month. This year, the theme is "Mathematics and Sport".<\/p>\n

\"math<\/p>\n

You may also be interested in my article on: Baseball bat math<\/a> <\/p>\n

6. Latest from the Math Blog<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n
\"Pivot\"<\/a><\/td>\n\n

\nDrowning in data? Need a great way to view and interpret statistics? Check out Microsoft's Pivot<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Friday math movie: Pivot, by Gary Flake<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\n

Prime numbers seem to be randomly distributed \u2014 but perhaps there are patterns after all.<\/p>\n

Lines of primes<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\"credit<\/a><\/td>\n\n

Credit card debt needs to be paid sometime. See how people get into hot water with fees and outrageous interest rates.<\/p>\n

Financial math - how Citibank overcharges<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

7. Final thought \u2013 Commitment to excellence <\/h2>\n

Since this Newsletter has a sports theme, we'll finish with a gem from a famous football coach: <\/p>\n

\n

The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor. [Vince Lombardi]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Until next time, enjoy whatever you learn. <\/p>\n

See the 4 Comments<\/a> below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In this Newsletter:<\/p>\n

1. Cookie jars and tessellations
\n 2. Your heartbeat and Fourier Series
\n 3. IntMath Poll - Math and Real-world Problems
\n4. Latest IntMath Poll - Who are you?
\n5. Math Awareness Month April 2010
\n 6. Latest from the Math Blog
\n 7. Final thought – Commitment to excellence <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4316"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4316"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4316\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11402,"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4316\/revisions\/11402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intmath.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}