Follow on twitter: @thatsmaths
As everyone knows, a torus is different from a sphere. Topology is the study of properties that remain unchanged under continuous distortions. A square can be deformed into a circle or a sphere into an ellipsoid, whether flat like an orange or long like a lemon or banana.
Continue reading ‘Doughnuts and Dumplings are Distinct: Homopoty-101’
There are ongoing rapid advances in the power and versatility of AI or artificial intelligence. Computers are now producing results in several fields that are far beyond human capability. The trend is unstoppable, and is having profound effects in many areas of our lives. Will mathematicians be replaced by computers? [TM195 or search for “thatsmaths” at irishtimes.com].
Continue reading ‘Will mathematicians be replaced by computers?’
Donald E Knuth, designer of the \TeX mathematical typesetting system.
Mathematicians owe a great debt of gratitude to Donald Knuth. A renowned American computer scientist and mathematician, Knuth is an emeritus professor at Stanford University. He is author of many books, including the multi-volume work, The Art of Computer Programming.
Knuth is the author of the powerful and versatile mathematical typesetting system called TeX. The original version, designed and written by Knuth, was released in 1978.
TeX is a powerful system for typesetting mathematical formulae. It is ideal both for simple mathematical notes with few formulas and for more complex documents and books involving subtle and sophisticated mathematical typography. TeX is used by almost all research mathematicians. It is also popular in computer science, engineering, physics, statistics, and and many other sciences.
One year ago, there were just two centibillionaires, Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates. Recently, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg has joined the Amazon and Microsoft founders. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, is tipped to be next to join this exclusive club [TM194 or search for “thatsmaths” at irishtimes.com].
ThatsMaths 