Life
Sorry, but we’re just not going to be able to get rid of the Electoral College.
Finally the American people have woken up and understand the Electoral College (EC), or at least its importance. Well, at least somewhat. My Quantitative Reasoning (QR) students at the Crimson Summer Academy (CSA) certainly understand it: how many electors each… Read More ›
My ethnicity puzzle. Any ideas?
Can you help me solve my ethnicity puzzle? You might have some ideas, especially if you yourself have Ashkenazi heritage. Ancestry sent me this information about my paternal grandfather (from the 1910 Federal census). Does everything look right to you?… Read More ›
Is this the life of a typical college freshman during the pandemic?
Even without actually doing anything, I’m exhausted just from watching this four-minute video! This is definitely not the life of a typical college freshman as portrayed in the media. So the question remains: how many freshmen — excuse me, “first-years” — are… Read More ›
Grey elections
Who cares about the mathematics of elections? We all should, of course — especially now. An informative, even entertaining way to learn about this topic is to watch the videos of CGP Grey. For a scary example, take a look… Read More ›
A Broken Hallelujah: Rock and Roll, Redemption, and the Life of Leonard Cohen
What did Alex Trebek and Leonard Cohen have in common? “Both were Canadians,” you reply. “Both were beloved by huge audiences,” you add. Yes, of course. And both get the title of Rabbi, according to Mark Oppenheimer, cohost of the… Read More ›
Who remembers diagramming sentences? And what does it have to do with Facebook? And the Supreme Court?
Who remembers diagramming sentences? I do, I do! If you’re my age, you never forget the experience of diagramming sentences. Love it or hate it (I was one of the few who loved it), you don’t forget it. Maybe you forget… Read More ›
Will he go?
Will he go? Of course he will! We hope. He says he’s “not sure” that he will accept the results. I have just finished reading the short but vital book by Lawrence Douglas with the full title of Will He Go?… Read More ›
Does he fit?
William thinks he fits in this box. William is wrong.
Who invented the newspaper?
It’s all blurred these days: news, fake news, opinion, print, Internet, newspapers, magazines… Do we even know what’s a newspaper and what isn’t? As newspapers keep dying, do people care who invented them in the first place? I do. Or… Read More ›
