Math Goes PopRuminations on the Intersection Between Math and Pop Culturehttp://www.mathgoespop.com/2018-06-24T00:00:00ZMatt LaneThe Blog is Dead. Long Live the Blog!http://www.mathgoespop.com/2018/06/the-blog-is-dead-long-live-the-blog.html2018-06-24T00:00:00Z2019-08-31T15:06:48+00:00Matt Lane<p>Hello friends,</p>
<p>As you may have noticed, this little corner of the internet hasn't seen a lot of activity lately. The bad news is that I've decided to wind this blog down. The good news is that I've got a new home on the internet! You can check out my latest writing <a href="https://mattlane.us" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>. I've been writing one story every month or so, and I'd love to know what you think.</p>
<p>Why the change? Here are a few reasons:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I started this project as a graduate student a decade ago. At the time, I wanted an outlet to share...</p></li>
</ol>I Wrote A Book!http://www.mathgoespop.com/2017/05/i-wrote-a-book.html2017-05-29T00:00:00Z2019-08-31T15:06:48+00:00Matt Lane<p>Hello friends! In case you haven't heard the news, I released my first book this month. You can order it on Amazon <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Power-Up-Unlocking-Hidden-Mathematics-Video/dp/0691161518/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>.</p>
<p><img class="img-33" alt="Power-Up Cover" src="/images/2017/05/PowerUp.png"></p>
<p>The book started as basically an extension of this blog, though with a narrower focus. While I've tried to use this space to explore the intersection of math and pop culture in general, the book focuses specifically on the search for interesting mathematics inspired by video games.</p>
<p>It's been a labor of love, and part of the reason why my musings over here have dwindled over...</p>Git-R-Donehttp://www.mathgoespop.com/2016/06/git-r-done.html2016-06-14T00:00:00Z2019-08-31T15:06:48+00:00Matt Lane<p>My good friend and former work-associate <a href="https://twitter.com/lustomatical" target="_blank">Chris Lusto</a> recently set off a flurry of Twitter activity when he shared some of his thoughts on curriculum development in a post titled <a href="http://chrislusto.com/lessons-for-other-people/" target="_blank">Lessons for Other People</a> (he's since written a follow-up, <a href="http://chrislusto.com/git-push/" target="_blank">Git Push</a>). These posts have sparked a lot of interesting conversation, and have inspired me to share some thoughts of my own.</p>
<p>In the interest of self-containment, let me begin by trying to summarize Chris' main argument. First, some background: Chris and I both...</p>Fallout 4 Math, Part 2http://www.mathgoespop.com/2016/04/fallout-4-math-part-2.html2016-04-16T00:00:00Z2019-08-31T15:06:48+00:00Matt Lane<p><em>This post is the second part in a series. If you haven't ready the <a href="/2016/04/fallout-4-math.html" target="_blank">first part</a>, I'd highly encourage you to do so.</em></p>
<p>Last time, we discussed four different strategies for cracking the Fallout 4 hacking mini-game. As you may recall, our four strategies are as follows:</p>
<ol>
<li>Guess randomly. </li>
<li>Guess the word which is closest to the others, according to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamming_distance" target="_blank">Hamming distance</a>.</li>
<li>Guess the word that is farthest from the others. </li>
<li>Guess the word which will result in the highest expected number of word eliminations...</li>
</ol>Fallout 4 Mathhttp://www.mathgoespop.com/2016/04/fallout-4-math.html2016-04-14T00:00:00Z2019-08-31T15:06:48+00:00Matt Lane<p>If ever you've wished to experience a 1950's aesthetic combined with a post-apocalyptic landscape filled with death and decay, then the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallout_(series)" target="_blank">Fallout</a> series may be right up your alley. What began with the well-received release of <em>Fallout</em> in 1997 has since evolved into one of the most popular video game franchises around. The latest entry, <em>Fallout 4</em> was released last year to critical and commercial acclaim. Here's just one sample of the praise lavished on this game (NSFW, unless you're allowed to watch...</p>Why is π Irrational?http://www.mathgoespop.com/2016/03/pi-day-visualization.html2016-03-14T00:00:00Z2019-08-31T15:06:48+00:00Matt Lane<p>I've written about my (not super positive) feelings towards <em>π</em> day in the past. I don't want to rehash those arguments; if you're curious, you can read some of my thoughts <a href="/2009/03/pi-day.html" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="/2011/03/pi-day-post-mortem.html" target="_blank">here</a>, and <a href="/2012/03/pi-day-vs-half-tau-day.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
<p>At the same time, I feel less curmudgeonly these days, and if your idea of a good time is memorizing a sequence of numbers and reciting them or putting them to music, more power to you. </p>
<p>But if we're going to let <em>π</em> steal the limelight from other deserving <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E_(mathematical_constant)" target="_blank">irrational</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euler%E2%80%93Mascheroni_constant" target="_blank">numbers</a>, let's at least explore something...</p>