Learning Strategies

Recent Posts - page 38

• Why do physicists play dominoes? And what’s the connection between the Aztecs and the Arctic Circle anyway?

  By ljd42 on February 3, 2021

  

  I’m sure you’ve been wondering: what’s a mathologer? Or perhaps you should ask “Who’s The Mathologer?” In that case, the answer is easy: The Mathologer is Burkard Polster. I’m kidding about part of this, of course—not about his name, which… Read More ›

• The Princess Bride revisited

  By ljd42 on February 2, 2021

  

  “Never get involved in a land war in Asia.” That’s the line I’ve remembered for more than three decades. Yes, it has been that long since The Princess Bride was first released! How well has this movie held up? Amazingly well, I… Read More ›

• The new Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction

  By ljd42 on January 31, 2021

  

  Where do you go to find the answer to a question about science fiction? Google? Wikipedia? The New York Times? All of those are plausible answers, but it would sure be convenient to have everything you want to know in… Read More ›

• Gaston is learning Polish—and liking it!

  By ljd42 on January 30, 2021

  

  “Polish is a very difficult language,” says the typical American who doesn’t live in the Dorchester neighborhood known as the Polish Triangle. That’s primarily because they want to buy a vowel when they see so many consonants. They look at… Read More ›

• Twelve Gifts for Writers

  By ljd42 on January 28, 2021

  

  What a refreshing antidote to that horrid book of unscientific advice that I won’t name here. You know which horrid book I’m talking about: that undeservedly famous guide by Strunk and White. The antidote is the little book Twelve Gifts for Writers by… Read More ›

• Nerds, Harry Potter, and Burmese translations: what do these have in common?

  By ljd42 on January 27, 2021

  

  You know those “Common Bonds” puzzles, a.k.a. “What do these three have in common?” Look at the title to this post. The first two items are easy—nerds have a lot in common with Harry Potter—but Burmese translations? Take a look… Read More ›

• Support your local restaurants!

  By ljd42 on January 25, 2021

  

  Barbara and I continue to follow Tara and Michaela’s advice: support your local restaurants! Last night we had fantastic take-out from the Ashmont Grill: bacon-wrapped meatloaf with mashed potatoes, grilled asparagus, and mushroom gravy; wood-grilled 12 oz. ribeye steak with roasted… Read More ›

• Suppose you lived on a dodecahedron. How would you avoid your neighbors?

  By ljd42 on January 24, 2021

  

  “Suppose you lived on a dodecahedron,” I say. “How would you avoid your neighbors?” “But I don’t live on a dodecahedron,” you claim. “Anyway, what if I don’t want to avoid my neighbors?” Stop! This is mathematics. We make abstractions away from the real… Read More ›

• Lost Yiddish words?

  By ljd42 on January 23, 2021

  

  “Every language changes.” This is a standard response when peevers complain about “bad” English. In fact, it’s appropriate response #1. As you know, peevers file regular grievances about singular “they,” about new words, new meanings, the word “irregardless,” slang, the willingness… Read More ›

• The 99% Invisible City

  By ljd42 on January 21, 2021

  

  “Always read the plaque.” This is getting out of control. I now have 13 books on my list of Top Ten Favorite Books! The 99% Invisible City is now the thirteenth. Something has to be done. And why, you ask, are there 13 books… Read More ›

• Gym Jordan, grammar expert

  By ljd42 on January 19, 2021

  

  Leading Republican congressman Jim Jordan is well-known as an expert on “pronouns“:

• A number theory discovery by a 12-year-old Nigerian boy! And one by an 11-year-old Massachusetts girl!

  By ljd42 on January 18, 2021

  

  Everyone knows the stereotype: mathematical discoveries are made by white and Asian males in their 20s and 30s. Right? Well, like all stereotypes, there’s a certain amount of statistical reality that supports this impression and obscures all examples to the… Read More ›

• What’s wrong with being named Quartus anyway?

  By ljd42 on January 16, 2021

  

  So you’ve never heard of the name Quartus? I’m not surprised. Almost no one, after all, is named Quartus. But why not? Peter Gainsford answers the question—and other questions as well, most of which you didn’t even know you had…. Read More ›

• The road to hell

  By ljd42 on January 15, 2021

  

  Suppose you did something wrong—unintentionally. Does your lack of ill intent mitigate the offense? The issue arose recently in a slightly heated conversation with a good friend of mine. I was upset with her because she had inadvertently done something… Read More ›

• Tavolo

  By ljd42 on January 13, 2021

  

  Barbara and I had a yummy take-out dinner last night from Tavolo via curbside pickup: meatballs, polenta with mushroom, shrimp scampi with fettuccine, chitara amatriciana, and flourless chocolate cake. Plenty of leftovers! I am pretending that it was all low-calorie… Read More ›

• Another sign in Dot

  By ljd42 on January 12, 2021

  

  Spotted on today’s walk in Dorchester, at the corner of Neponset Ave and South Monroe Terrace:    

• Dorchester loves Georgia.

  By ljd42 on January 11, 2021

  

  Spotted on Carruth Street during yesterday’s walk:  

• That’s Life. “Uncertainty is the only certainty.”

  By ljd42 on January 10, 2021

  

  This is life: In a world where truth seems to be at a premium and the future unsure, it’s comforting to know precisely when the sun is going to come up and that when it does, it will do so… Read More ›

• The (apparently) oxymoronic Anthology of Cozy-Noir

  By ljd42 on January 8, 2021

  

  Cozy-noir? Cozy and noir? Hmmm… certainly sounds like an oxymoronic pair of mystery sub-genres! But maybe editor Andrew MacRae has something up his sleeve. Has he managed to combine the two into a seamless whole? It was an intriguing enough… Read More ›

• “Why haven’t I ever been to Petra?”

  By ljd42 on January 6, 2021

  

  That’s what I kept asking myself as I was watching the PBS Nova episode Petra, Lost City of Stone, which I somehow missed when it first aired six years ago. This amazing archaeological site in Jordan competes in quality with… Read More ›

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