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Ben Syversen

My newsletter featuring math history and other odds and ends

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Diophantus's exponent notation
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Invented Languages and Math Notation

I have a reading recommendation for you. It’s not about math, but you'll probably see the implicit analogy. Utopian for Beginners, a 2012 article from The New Yorker, is one of my favorite pieces of long form journalism/narrative nonfiction. It’s been rattling around in the back of my mind ever since I first read it many years ago. The premise is this: A man named John Quijada develops an invented language called Ithkuil during his off hours from his job at the California DMV. The language is...

4 months ago • 4 min read

Here is another solution to the cube doubling problem, which didn't make it into my recent video. It uses origami, which means that six-year-old me would have been thrilled: First, fold a piece of paper into three equal sections (this can be done with a precise algorithm). Unfold, then bring the bottom left corner to the other side, such that the corner lies on the right edge and the left endpoint of the lower fold lies on the upper fold. The corner splits the right edge into two lengths. The...

4 months ago • 4 min read

You're getting this because you either previously joined my mailing list or you entered your email address when you filled out my recent survey from my video about the cube doubling problem. If you're NOT interested in receiving emails from me about 2 - 4 times per month, no worries. There's an unsubscribe link at the bottom. About that survey…. You are a highly educated group! I closed the survey after a week and the trends were clear As somebody who aspires to make videos that can speak to...

4 months ago • 1 min read