Math Modeling

The best way to describe my math class this year is as a "math modeling" class. We model numbers... The class is conducted in a more or less socratic method. The teacher is one Mr. James Barys. Mr. Barys has us utilise our existing knowledge and a high-powered program called Mathematica.

Mr. Barys assigns weekly problems to do in addition to the actual curriculum. Here are some of the assignments I have done so far:

This POW made Barys happy, and the grade made me happy. The POW was a creative writing assignment about the properties of cuboid planets. A copy of this POW is hanging on Barys' fridge door in the math room.

This POF (problem of a fortnight) was assigned over thanksgiving break, but I did all of it the two nights before it was due. I learned two things from the assigment that weren't necessarily the target of the assigment. First, I learned that Barys knows how long a problem will probably take. Second, I learned that hot glue from a rambo-sized hot glue gun has the potential to burn, really really hard.

This POW was pretty fun, mainly because it only required thinking. I really put it up so I could tell the story of some guy that talked to us on the plane to San Jose for robotics. He heard that we were pretty good at math, so he gave us thinking problems that he asks for job interviews. We got them right, so he told Steve to shave and even offered to buy him the electric razor...

This POW is an extension to the game that I play at camp with shower mats and sometimes blindfolds. This was able to get me to think even more about the game than had been required to solve the game with the campers. Math can be fun!