You might have noticed Mr. Bezaire’s tattoo on his right forearm. It’s mathematical! (Shocker, I know). In Spring of 2023, mathematicians discovered a “new” shape. Not that the shape was necessarily new, but something new was proven about this particular shape. Read more about this shape in this article from the Guardian. BADGING: Read the article linked above and answer the following questions in your Badges’ Google Doc: Define the following two words: aperiodic and monotile (<– some links to help you there, since the article doesn’t do a great job defining each word). How does the combi ..read more

Quanta Magazine has an interesting article about how an ancient Chinese warfare technique is used in mathematics today, including making predictions for…comets? Check out the article here. BADGING: Read the article linked above. Then, answer the following questions. One of the first scenarios in the article states: “In a morning drill you ask your soldiers to line up in rows of five. You note that you end up with three soldiers in the last row.” Make a list of the first 10 possible number of soldiers that could fit this arrangement. One of the next scenarios in the article states: “...then y ..read more

If you’ve ever filled out a March Madness bracket for the NCAA tournament, you probably realize that you aren’t super likely to pick all of the games perfectly. See how bad your chances are here. BADGING: Read the article linked above. Answer the following questions in a couple of sentences each. How do we arrive at the odds of 1-in -9.2 quintillion? Explain the mathematics that gives that large of an answer. One mathematician actually estimates that your odds are between 1-in-10 billion and 1-in-40 billion. Explain why he feels that you have these slightly better odds than the original 1-in ..read more

There’s been a lot of attention paid to the amount of time it takes to vote in this 2020 Election recently. Turns out the main reasons are math and racism. WIRED can explain more. BADGING: Read the WIRED article linked above. Answer the following questions in a few sentences each. There are a number of variables (reasons) that can explain why some polling places have a long wait time. List some of them here, and give an explanation for one of them. There are a few variables (reasons) that researchers surprisingly discovered did NOT have any effect on the wait time or not. List them here, and ..read more

How thin can ice be before it breaks beneath you? Would you believe that mathematics can explain the answer? Watch the video above to learn more! BADGING Watch the video above and answer the following questions in a couple of sentences each. How is the thickness of the ice related to the sound that the ice makes? What “pitch” indicates that the ice is ready to break? List the three things that the mathematician observed about thin ice. Explain how each one is related to mathematics. What’s the name of the formula that relates the sound the ice makes to its thickness? What is his motivation f ..read more

Interested in architecture? See some of the math behind the iconic Sydney Opera House in the video above. BADGING: Watch the video above. Answer the following questions in a couple of sentences each. Explain the difference between a catenary dome and a parabolic shell. Explain why a catenary dome was not useable for construction of the Sydney Opera House. Explain why a parabolic shell was not useable for construction of the Sydney Opera House. Explain why a sphere was acceptable for the construction of the Sydney Opera House. How is it possible for a sphere to produce different size domes if ..read more

Alex Stern was a High School student volunteering at a nursing home when he heard about data analytics for the first time. Now, a few years later, he’s finishing college and presenting for NFL teams at the Big Data Bowl. Read about his story here. BADGING: Read the article linked above. Answer the following questions in a couple of sentences each. What was the context of the first model that Alex heard about when volunteering at the assisted living facility? What was the firm measuring about the assisted living facility? What was Alex’s undergraduate degree at the University of Virginia ..read more

What would it take to own the copyright on every possible melody that could reasonably be created by humans? Watch the video above and find out! BADGING: Watch the above video and answer the following questions: The first computation they wanted to attempt was 8810. In a couple of sentences, explain where those values came from (what does each number represent) and why they ended up abandoning that plan. What mathematical calculation did they compute where the answer was 68.7 billion melodies? What did those values represent that led them to that answer? The computer programmers created thes ..read more

View this post on Instagram @dinarakasko Geometrical kinetic tarts. This work is the result of collaboration with José Margulis @j.margulis Great talented artist from Venezuela who works with Geometric abstractionism and Kinetic art. I tried to transform his creations, made of plastic, aluminum and acrylic, into something edible, using basic techniques and ingredients. All decor was made from white chocolate using milling machine. Read more about these works on my website dinarakasko.com The track: DJ LK – Garden Of Sadness ..read more

Did you know that the ancient Japanese art of paper folding (origami) is mathematical in nature?  Did you know that NASA actually uses origami when designing spacecrafts?  Watch the video above to learn more! BADGING: Watch the video above.  In a short paragraph, summarize how NASA uses origami when designing spacecrafts.  Then, visit THIS PAGE of origami instructions to create any flower of your choice (if you don’t have suitable origami paper, Mr. Bezaire has some you can borrow).  Include a picture of this origami creation in your Badge Google Doc.  Then ..read more