The geometrical beauty of Doha

As we passed through Doha on the way to Gaborone, I was amazed by the architectural beauty of so many Islamic inspired structures. It was truly a feast for the eyes and mind. Though we did not have time to visit many of the older architectural treasures, I discovered that a lot of the buildings […]

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The fractal beauty of Maun

We visited Maun with our family in December. Located near the eastern edge of the Okavango delta, it possesses a still, quiet beauty. We took a short plane ride over the delta. As I look again at the images taken that day, I  am struck by the fractal quality of the images. How do you […]

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Mathematicians, rock the vote!

Can the resistance inspire a new generation of mathematicians? Samuel Hansen thinks so. In his recent post on The Aperiodical, he describes how the recent avalanche of math-informed court decisions on gerrymandering in Pennsylvania and elsewhere are putting mathematics in the spotlight. It is really heartening that discrete geometry and other branches of advanced mathematics can be use […]

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Black history month is Black mathematicians month — in the UK

In the US, the African American scholar (and February 1st Google doodle subject) Carter G Woodson began working in 1926 to establish “Negro History Week“, for in Woodson’s day the contributions of Black people were  “overlooked, ignored, and even suppressed by the writers of history textbooks and the teachers who use them.” Woodson’s Negro History week evolved into today’s […]

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The Census and the Super Bowl

Seems like a strange combination! But the US Census Bureau has been posting a series of infographics called Stats for Stories that are meant to inspire data driven journalism and blogging. For Super Bowl 52, they produced the following infographic comparing the Philadelphia and the Boston metro areas in terms of snack food manufacturers, breweries, […]

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Poetic A.I.

My colleague Carly Stambaugh has created an amazingly poetic neural network. Here’s your chance to check out the latest in post-modernist poetry and learn some more about LSTMs.

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AI and the War on Poverty

A.I. and Big Data Could Power a New War on Poverty is the title of on op-ed in today’s New York Times by Elisabeth Mason. I fear that AI and Big Data is more likely to fuel a new War on the Poor unless a radical rethinking occurs. In fact this algorithmic War on the Poor […]

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