The Adder

Author: The Adder

  • That's Life 2: The Glider

    That's Life 2: The Glider

    If you'll recall, we left off from part one with John Conway sitting amazed at the "glider" that moves across the Life universe. Here it is again: Isn't that cool? It's cool. Want to know why? Because life is cool. Also, because Life is cool. I should note that the "R-pentomino" from the last post…

  • That's Life

    That's Life

    This is Conway's Game of Life. What is this? It's a cellular automaton: an infinite grid of squares, called "cells", hence the name. The cells change color based on their neighbors' colors. This is one of those math things that seem useless at first, but become intruiging, until after a decade of looking at it…

  • The Math of Manholes, Part Two

    (Continued from part one) Before we start, I want to clear up a small point: Reuleaux is pronounced RUH low. Moving on. The answer to the question posed at the end of the post ("Why can we turn some shapes into Reuleaux polygons but can’t for others?") is: if the polygon has an even number…

  • The Math of Manholes, Part One

    The Math of Manholes, Part One

    This is a manhole. You've no doubt seen them many times. But have you ever really thought about them? Welcome to another post on the Adder! Today we delve into yet another topic that manages to squeeze math out of itself: First, the basics. Manholes are holes in the ground. Men can go inside them,…

  • Computational Complexity, Explained Through Songs

    Computational Complexity, Explained Through Songs

    If you're reading this, you've probably heard of "computational complexity", but you might not know what it is. Never fear! The Adder is here to help! I'll walk you through what it is, and some common types, all through the lens of "how much memory power would it take to memorize the lyrics to this…

  • The Life and Times of Gottfried Leibniz

    The Life and Times of Gottfried Leibniz

    The field of mathematics is a wonderful and diverse place. If you have explored it, you will probably have noticed that people who practice mathematics are known as "mathematicians" or "math people". Now, it may help if I clarify that there are two types of mathematicians. There are the first type, mathematicians who work in…

  • The Cantor Ternary Set

    The Cantor Ternary Set

    This is the Cantor ternary set. As you can see, it is formed from a line segment. (It is slightly thickened here so you can see it better.) It has no length. But it has infinitely many points. Let me explain. This is how you make the picture above: Take a line segment. Remove the…

  • A Man, a Mystery, and a Million Dollars: A Brief History of the Riemann Hypothesis (part 2)

    A Man, a Mystery, and a Million Dollars: A Brief History of the Riemann Hypothesis (part 2)

    (part one can be found here; it is highly recommended that you read it before coming here) Now: a history of this hypothesis. Introducing: Bernhard Riemann! Riemann is the guy behind the Riemann hypothesis. He did some other things in math too apart from that (the phrase Riemann integral may leap to mind for calculus…

  • A Man, a Mystery, and a Million Dollars: A Brief History of the Riemann Hypothesis (Part 1)

    A Man, a Mystery, and a Million Dollars: A Brief History of the Riemann Hypothesis (Part 1)

    If you’ve ever heard of the phrase “Riemann hypothesis” and wondered what it meant, then worry no more! This series of posts shall explain all. And if you haven’t heard of the phrase “Riemann hypothesis”, then worry no more! Now you have. To understand the Riemann hypothesis, first you must understand the Riemann zeta function.…

  • Everything You Need to Know to Know About Quaternions

    Everything You Need to Know to Know About Quaternions

                  You’ve heard of the complex numbers, which act as extensions of the real numbers that let us take square roots of negative numbers.              But have you heard of quaternions?             Quaternions are an extension of the complex numbers. It creates three units: , , and . These basic quaternions have…