Updated: 2023-04-25 18:27:27
Sometimes I mess with my students. Recently, I gave them the following problem for homework. Puzzle. Don’t read this sentence. This problem is a paradox: students can’t know not to read it unless they read it! I expected my students to explain the paradox, and a couple of them did. But, most of them provided […]
Updated: 2023-04-20 15:03:31
Puzzle. Alice and Bob play the following game on a regular chessboard, where all the pieces move according to the standard rules of chess. Alice has a king, and Bob has a knight. They would place their pieces on the chessboard without attacking each other. Alice starts, and they alternate moves. Alice loses if the […]
Updated: 2023-04-19 16:10:54
Once, I was in Princeton and attended a lecture by Persi Diaconis. John Conway was also there. During his presentation, Persi mentioned John by referring to him as Wonderful John Conway. John couldn’t resist and said, “Thank you, you are one of not many people who remember my real first name.” Share:
Updated: 2023-04-07 15:51:02
Every summer when I was little, my mom would take us on vacation to a rusty village far away from Moscow. I do not remember much, mostly just cows grazing on the grassy fields. However, one particular memory is really special and vivid. I was five years old, tired of another day in the fields, […]
Updated: 2023-04-06 15:20:25
I use Escher’s tessellations to teach wallpaper groups. Escher is the best painter among mathematicians and the best mathematician among painters. His fame helps energize my class. Plus, he has so many beautiful drawings to choose from. However, there is another layer to his tessellations. Many paintings are not just a study in wallpaper groups […]
Updated: 2023-04-02 22:27:45
My PRIMES project last year, done with Rich Wang, was about violinists living in a hotel and being annoyed with each other. The project was suggested by Darij Grinberg and based on the following puzzle. Puzzle. Consider a hotel with an infinite number of rooms arranged sequentially on the ground floor. The rooms are labeled […]
