Matt Enlow

a man with a mustache and glasses is wearing a white polo shirt and glasses . ALT: a man with a mustache and glasses is wearing a white polo shirt and glasses .

My second OEIS sequence has been approved!

oeis.org/A390274

Y'all, I made an example problem in Geometry class this morning that had a 67° angle in it, and the most I got was smirks.

I think we're finally on the other side of it.

TFW you search for an answer to a very niche technical question and your primary result is someone else asking the same question on some message board, ten years ago, with zero responses

It certainly pulls your attention away from the center, where it's normally naturally drawn!

The latest iteration of this Fibonacci spiral #mathgif uses closed BSplineCurves instead of polygons.

There is this odd behavior I'm observing away from the center that reminds me of soap bubbles combining. I can't decide how I feel about it.
#Mathematica #mathart

A Voronoi variation on Saturday's #mathgif
#mathart
#Mathematica

“It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.” — Pablo Picasso

I've seen this quote before, but it's hitting me particularly hard today.

There's something here relevant to math education (and I bet @mathgarden.bsky.social has already written about it 😉).

Just a little coding diversion before doing some schoolwork
#mathart
#Mathematica

After getting the mail, my wife calls to me from another room, “Your Victoria’s Secret catalog came.”

“Huh?!?” Baffled, I go and find her.

At which point she hands me the L. L. Bean Holiday Catalog.

It’s good to be gotten.

Not today, Satan

Wondering: Is there value in using the word "always" in the statements themselves? Or might that confuse students unnecessarily?

Every time I reflexively hit ⌘S to save my work in a Google Doc or Google Sheet, I picture the Google gods somewhere chuckling to themselves and enjoying my preciousness

It was in thinking about the area of the region defined by

{(x,y):⌊x²⌋+⌊y²⌋=n}

for various values of n 😁

$$\lim_{n \to \infty}\sum_{k=1}^{n}(\sqrt{k}-\sqrt{k-1})(\sqrt{n+1-k}-\sqrt{n-k})=\frac{\pi}{4}$$

I have a conjecture!

*starts writing a Trimester-I comment for an Advanced Topics student*
*talks about the great work this student did on an open problem*
*starts wondering things about the problem*
*sparks up #Mathematica*
*an hour passes with no writing taking place*
😑😑😑
#iTeachMath #ADHD #MathSky

The older I get, the less interested I am in contrived "contest problems," and the more interested I am in
- focusing on deep, enduring truths
- dwelling in mystery, contradiction, enigma
- finding beauty in simplicity
#Math #MathSky #iTeachMath

If g(x) = 4⌊x⌋-2x, write a definition for g⁻¹(x).
(⌊x⌋ is the "floor" or "greatest-integer" function.)
#iTeachMath #MathSky

Suppose f(x)=3x+|x|. Then its inverse, f^{-1}(x), can also be written in the form ax+b|x|. Find a and b.

Not particularly difficult, just... makes you think.
#iTeachMath #MathSky

YouTube video by The Math Forum at NCTM Why 2 is Greater than 4: A Proof by Induction: Max Ray-Riek

This is a classic example of what Max Ray-Riek was talking about in this all-time banger of an Ignite talk (2011!). Listening "2" students' ideas is better than listening "4" a particular answer. www.youtube.com/watch?v=h00U...

I think I've put my finger on something that really bothers me about CPM Geometry.

The questions they ask SOUND like they are soliciting student ideas ("What do you think..."), but they are expecting a very specific answer.

DON'T SOLICIT STUDENT IDEAS IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO VALUE THEM. #iTeachMath

One-to-one functions in Alg II Honors today. That means it's time to share one of my favorite little aphorisms:

If a function's one-to-one,
Then what it does can be undone.

#iTeachMath #MathSky

If one wanted to, one could probably write a question about pursuit curves set in the "Weapons" universe

If you see this and think “augmented Tricsuit,” #YouMightBeAMathematician

So I first asked M to just talk me through her reasoning. We then took some time to translate that reasoning into proof steps, complete with all of the nitpicky details. It probably took 9 or 10 steps.

And to the follow-up questions, she simply answered: "No."

👑

[4/4]

The message sent here is, "The way you thought about this isn't good enough." 😡😡😡

Sure, there's a time and place to talk about streamlining. But that time and place is NOT when they are first learning to write proofs! [3/4]

My daughter (M) took that to mean that she needed to come up with a four-step proof. She hadn't even done a longer one, because she'd read ahead. That's where she was stuck. She couldn't figure out how to prove it in four steps.

And honestly, I didn't see how to do it in four steps either. [2/4]

It's worth a little more detail: Her teacher had them write a proof, then the next question said something like, "If you used more than 4 steps in the previous proof, could you write a proof using fewer steps than you did?" 😒 [1/4]

a baby with a fist in the air on a purple background ALT: a baby with a fist in the air on a purple background

After receiving little more than groans and eye rolls when helping my 14yo daughter with her math homework over the years, I finally got it last night after talking her through a Geometry proof: "Why couldn't YOU be my math teacher?"

On of my geometry students just talked about the Angle Addition Prostitute and I think my day is over.