Math You Don't Know, and Math You Didn't Know You Didn't Know.

September 14, 2005 10:39 AM

Jim Loy's Mathematics Pageis (among other things) a collection of interesting theorems (like Napoleon's Triangle theorem), thoughtful discussions of both simple and complex math, and geometric constructions (my personal favorite); the latter of which contains surprisingly-complex discussions on the trisection of angles, or the drawing of regular pentagons.

Similarly enthralling are the pages on Billiards (and the physics of), Astronomy (and the savants of), and Physics (and the Phlogiston Theory of), all of which are rife with illustrations and diagrams. See the homepage for much more.

If you like your geometric constructions big, try Zef Damen's Crop Circle Reconstructions.
posted by odinsdream (8 comments total)

... from the "I can't believe it's not a double post" department. Apologies if my search skillz are just... not good.
posted by odinsdream at 10:39 AM on September 14, 2005

Really cool odinsdream, this is just the kind of thing I've been looking for; now to get to work...
posted by OmieWise at 11:50 AM on September 14, 2005

Crop circle art!
The physics of curling!
Origami math! (including cube doubling and angle trisection)
posted by Wolfdog at 3:14 PM on September 14, 2005

Pages like this make homeschooling so much easier. Thanks!
posted by mischief at 3:44 PM on September 14, 2005

Graphics and animation are so incredibly useful in teaching mathematics that I wonder why they are not more pervasive in classrooms. I remember being enthralled by a show on public television which featured simple animated proofs of classical geometric theorems. Also, seeing animated equation manipulation can be really helpful for teaching algebra.
posted by Astragalus at 4:08 PM on September 14, 2005

An old tagline....WWJLD? (What would Jim Loy do?)
posted by codeofconduct at 9:30 PM on September 14, 2005

i picked the golden rectangle in both cases and i have no idea why. it just looks better.
posted by muppetboy at 9:40 PM on September 14, 2005

"and the geek shall rule the earth"

For comparitively dry subject matter, it's explained in a clear, concise and actually interesting way - mad props to Jim Loy!
posted by crocos at 2:11 AM on September 15, 2005