What Is Math Spring 2008

Math and Education

2008-03-25T14:40:00.001-07:00

Math, puzzles and kids.

Math and Art

2008-03-25T14:38:00.000-07:00

The beauty of Math through the expression of art.

Math Art Physics

2008-03-25T14:37:00.000-07:00

Studying astronomy and other really cool things.

Math and Communication

2008-03-25T05:11:00.000-07:00

This is blog is for the communication group (movies, timing, Fibonacci...)
I am eager to learn about your ideas.

Math, Music and Poetry

2008-03-25T05:10:00.001-07:00

Use this blog to share ideas about Math, Music and Poetry and connect to other blogs as well (math and sacred geometry, Fibonacci and others)

Practical Math Posts

2008-03-25T05:09:00.001-07:00

Use this post to share ideas related to:
Math and budgeting,
Math and Travel
Statistical reasoning.

Math and Numbers, Sacred Geometry, Fibonacci

2008-03-25T05:06:00.000-07:00

Use this Post to share and discuss ideas related to your projects:

Sacred Geometry
Numbers (108, 3)
Fibonacci

Mid term project summary

2008-03-07T07:55:00.000-08:00

Use this Post to write a summary of the project that you want to do as a final presentation to the class at the end of the semester. You can relate it to your passions and dreams or create a new dream that you want to pursue. I want you to include some details and not just a general description. Maybe 500 words all together but really do not be strict about it. The number is just a very rough guideline. Include specific details. Once you invoke your imagination and thoughts you will be positively surprised as to the rich math/reasoing content. Think and feel in broad terms and outside the box. If you are confused do not worry, this is part of the process.

HW for Week 5, What Is Math. Sharing your dreams

2008-02-19T05:35:00.000-08:00

This week HW is to write a blog entry about your dreams. We are dream weavers and one way to see life is as a battle field or just a field where you grow veggies (pick the metaphor that speaks to you, or make your own). In any case it is a field where you are sawing your dreams or winning the battles and manifesting them in the physical world which is not as dense as it may seems. Let us then share our dreams in this blog. It will help all of us. You can also add collective dreams for humanity and the universe as well.

Spiral of Life

2008-02-07T06:43:00.002-08:00

Let's share out spiral of life's here for week 3 :)

Spiral of Life

2008-02-07T06:43:00.001-08:00

Let's share out spiral of life's here for week 3 :)

Rainbow method

2008-02-03T14:45:00.000-08:00

Here is an explanation of the rainbow method.

The idea is as follows:

You can add a series of consecutive numbers (means the difference is the same:
like 2+4+6+...100 (difference 3) or
5+ 10 + 15 +....+1000 (difference 5) etc. by making bows where each bow consists of two numbers: first + last, then second + one before the last etc.

Thus all you need to do is to multiply that sum (first+last) times the numbers of bows which is half of the number of numbers.

Example:
3+6+9+12+15 has 2.5 bows and each bow equals 18 so the answer is 45 (you can verify)

or another example:
15+25+35+....1005 has 100 bows and each bow has the same sum of 1020 so the answer is 102,000

Remark. It is good if you play with small lists to practice the method. Like 2+4+6+8+10 or 5+10+15+20+25+30 to get the "feel"

Week 3 Reading Blog

2008-02-02T13:52:00.000-08:00

Here you can post comments about this weeks reading. Please remember to still report on webct about this assignment. It is best to copy and paste you response into your word document.

Spiral of Life

2008-02-02T09:15:00.000-08:00

Paste at your comment the beautiful spiral of life you created and we will share it in class and note different characteristics

Crazy Awesome Class Activity #1

2008-01-29T15:20:00.001-08:00

Post names and numbers here to present during class.

Week 2 Math in nature

2008-01-20T14:48:00.000-08:00

Go for a walk in nature and record things that reminds you of Math. Write your comments for this post

Week 1 Reading

2008-01-14T07:47:00.000-08:00

Please comment on week 1 reading here, Julia's nightmare

Fibonacci Experiment

2008-01-14T07:45:00.000-08:00

Please comment on what you learned from the Fibonacci Experiment.

Read what other wrote also.

Introduction

2008-01-13T12:22:00.000-08:00

We will use this Post to introduce ourselves to each other. Please share a bit about yourself. Our intent is to build a community of learners in the class that will help us feel comfortable and hence learn in a meaningful way: Here are a few words about me the teacher: I am 59 years old and have been teaching at IC for 26 years. My wife and I came from Israel 30 years ago. My two girls are 33 and 27 and I have a 2.5 years old grandson. I love nature and my buddy dog Max walks with me every day. Look forward to share the beauty of Math with you.

Summary papers from students

2007-12-25T04:26:00.001-08:00

These are some of the papers that students wrote at the end of the semester.

Final Semester Reminders

2007-12-12T11:59:00.000-08:00

- The papers are due during the final time. The journals are suppose to help you write your final paper.

- Remember to get together with your groups to work on your project.

- Final Friday 21st @ 10:30am

Nothing more than a subjective conclusion

2007-12-10T06:34:00.000-08:00

1. Humans have been making art since long before we had written language, complex agricultural systems, money, gunpowder, armadas, trains and any of the various technologies of the last few centuries. Why? On his latest album, For Whom the Beat Tolls, Canibus spits "I Don't care if I make history, I wanna be a part of INFINITY". This comes from a song called "Poet Laureate Infinity", "the third installment in Canibus' "Poet Laureate" series, "Poet Laureate Infinity". has 1,000 bars, in the form of five 200 bar verses, and is layered in such a way that "when you mix it and spread it throughout five channels, [you have the ability] to mix the track differently every time." ^[1] On April 8, 2007, the track was uploaded, by Canibus himself, to a website where the listener could mix the track differently on a digital mixing board. The website is now down, but the fansite Canibus-Central.com provided a backup." - Wikipedia.

Listen carefully to this selection from Poet Laureate II, which some of you have already heard, and read along with the lyrics. As you are listening, write down your answer the question (why do humans make art) on a piece of paper, we will use this later. These prompts may help you analyze the lyrics:

Listen (and look) for extremes: what ideas are extremely exaggerated? Where does Canibus use extreme contrast?

Who is the character in the first verse (before the beat changes) and what is the general theme of this verse? In the second verse, who is speaking and what is the relationship between this verse and the last one?

Do the verses have a straightforward message? Is there a message in the subtext? I have bolded lines that I feel are more open for interpretation or may lend themselves to multiple interpretations. In your own words try to write what you think these lines mean.

[James Dicky]
Uhh I dont understand how a writer could ever get writer's block, so called
My problem is having too much.. and being unable to get it down...

[Canibus] - Verse I
Yo, why is the ripper so ill?
That would be an unpardonable breach of confidence for me to reveal!
He said one day all eyes would be on me
when they look up in the sky and see the neon 'C'
Rhymes inscribed on a nickel disk encased
in glass with an ion beam for longevity
For more then 10 centuries, impressions and memories
the first time-machine inventor will mention me
Canibus was a visionary indeed
he believed light could travel in multiples of C
The organic supercomputer that solved the mysteries
of Klein-Kaluza with 2 blue metric rulers
Liked Cool J, but thought Stephen Jay Gould was cooler
and he never liked to propagate rumors
Smoked Canary Island cigars
liked American luxury cars and beautiful Asian broads
He had a strong mind, he used to philosophize
about rhymes while he was pruning his Bonsai
He claimed that he had written the greatest rhyme of all time
but he would never take it out his archives
He wrote 2 songs per day
and was constantly was 'experimenting' with his wordplay
In his youth he did a report on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey he got an F but he deserved an A
I followed his career from the first day
it seemed the lack of support contributed to his inert ways
I seen him put in 24 hour workdays
with deferred pay, undeterred by the word "shame"
Public humiliation was the worst pain
he was spinnin out of control like a class 5 hurricane
He said he wouldn't want another emcee to suffer the same
especially when there's NOTHIN' TO GAIN
He was the illest alive but nobody would face it
he spit till his tongue was too torched to taste, it
privately funded corporations carbon-dated his latest creations
to extract the information
They found it utterly amazing
they claimed the body of his work was the same thing as a priceless painting
Never mattered to him the art galleries hated him
cause Thomas Kinkade called, said he would take 10
Complete enigmas wrapped in puzzles encrypted in language with sound but without shape or signature
Kept files in his garage, on MS-DOS
in a fire-proof pod, we thought it was odd
Outside there was a shed with an Oppenheimer lock
he apparently kept more wax then Madame Tussaud's
We were in total awe, cause it blew our minds
so many rhymes that were intricately designed
He WAS Poet Laureate of his time
and if you don't mind, I'd like to share some of his rhymes

[Canibus] - Verse II
Alone in my room, looking thru the 32X telescope zoom
adjusting the focus of the moon
One should not assume the philosophy of David Hume
is nothing more then a subjective conclusion
What is the maximum field rate application?
the run away glaciation surrounding the ocean basin
affects the population fluctuation
on a continuous basis but that's just the basics
The juxtaposition of Canibus' position
the precision of something no other has written
Way above and beyond what was intended
the unparalleled malleable enunciation of a sentence
You didn't go to college obviously
I can tell by your ungodly unintelligible terminology
A remarkable odyssey, the rhymes of modern speeds
when the brain orders the body not to breathe
Your competency is not up to speed, you not in my league
you couldn't possibly be hotter than me
Or oppositely at minus 25 degrees, you'd squeeze
but the condensation makes rifle barrels freeze
Allow me to speak figuratively, nigga please
my intellectual property's about the size of Greece
Your counselor advised you not to speak
my counselor advised me to keep rhymin "til they stopped the beat"
In the words of Joseph Heller, "I learned how to write better"
even though it sort of irked me
He said he didn't understand the process of the imagination
but he felt he was at its mercy
Which explains my point perfectly and certainly reinforces
the reason why nobody's probably ever heard of me
Couldn't understand what I mean by ill unless you try to translate what I print to film This is the line of will, the circle of time the cycle of eternity, the emergence of 1 mind
Academic phonetics render critics tongue-tied
Ive personified dry humor of cum-laude alumni
A wise man sees failure as progress
a fool divorces his knowledge and misses the logic
And loses his soul in the process
I obsess (or obsessed?) with nonsense with a caricature that has no content
My style is masterful, multi-lateral
I could battle a fool and be naturally cruel
Words of scorn are a disastrous tool
from an existentialist view, I'm a better rapper then you
Grab the mic and rip your physical fabric in 2
my attitude is fucked up but admirable Different methods interpreted into different forms from entirely different perceptions and seen from different norms
Not just spittin a poem there's much more involved
there's much more pieces of the puzzle for you to solve
48 orders of mechanical laws
and rays of creational cause, enhance the cadence of my bars
Maybe I am self-absorbed
but thats the effect, to find the cause you should ask my A&R
Today is what it is, but only because yesterday was what it was
permitting you heard of Beelzebub
A tale of demons and drugs, pissy drunk in the club
with the DJ doing the needle rub
Chances are you'll never see me son
yeah I know my names Canibus but I cant help you if you need a dub

2. What connection do you infer between the two quotes and his song? "Uhh I dont understand how a writer could ever get writer's block, so called
My problem is having too much.. and being unable to get it down..." and "Generally I take.. I go with the given..ya know with what comes to me .. over the celestial wireless ..whenever it comes, you're lucky when you get it.."

3. What does this passage mean to you? You may use these concepts to understand: the 4th dimension, Hue-Saturation-Brightness, non linear thinking, wave/particle continuum.

"color is vibration, vibration is sound
sound resonates through the mouth check it out
What I say vibrates no less than 9 ways
South, South East, West, South West, East
North, North East, North West
And the black and white images fade
to grey sound waves"

4. What ties this passage together? What themes run through it? You may find the information on the side helpful.

"My circularised 3rd Eye, sees all
Atlantis was surrounded by 4 sea walls
I read one-fourth of the Library of Alexandria
before it was burnt to the floor
I wish I could've learned more
about the shapes of the sacred geometry they used to draw
They were new millennium but Euclidean in form
ancient in many ways but not nearly as old
Carved from Egyptian gold molded in Assyria
with processed Beryllium by the quintillion

They cooked on symmetrical stoves
with my logo etched above the hole where they inserted the coal
And they barbecued birds to the bone
An' They burned incense in a Buckminster Fuller type dome
I talked to Mr. Fuller over the phone
and he said he had a contract to rebuild Rome
said he didn't want to do it alone
I told him I was busy writing poems
but I'd think about going
The process was slow, and the dough was low
but I took it as the perfect opportunity to grow
plus I never traveled that far from home
but I heard about the beauty of Cydonian snow
neon green grass, statues made from translucent glass
I'll be crazy to pass

4. In Magnum Inomminandum Canibus says "Suivre moi" which means follow me. Then he says "The mixtape comes out today, announce the date
The potato gets off his couch to wait
'Cause he knows something wicked his way comes
They can hear the sound of the war drum,
Canibus save them!
I can't save you, but you can save yourself
We can save each other, I just came to help"

How do these ideas relate?

5. What is the connection here " Spit the truth; tell the leadership to listen to the troops
The leadership bleeds blue, we bleed red
In the end the only thing we can agree on is death"

" The event you cant prevent no matter how much you spend
Your catalogue remains thin no matter how much you pen
I stand with my men, lookin' at the flag draped coffins again
Cryin', justifyin' what I did
There's no excuse cause nobody will ever know the truth
I will never get over the abuse - fuck you!..."

Why do you think Canibus arranged the song the way he did?

6. In Poet Laureate II Canibus says - "no one goes to the bookstore ever since the confluence or Mmoore's law" - (see the board) what is your reaction? How does this idea (and all of these ideas) relate to this class, and college in general?

Final Date Reminders

2007-12-07T12:53:00.002-08:00

December 7th - Journals
December 10th - Talk About Journals & Bailey's Discuss
December 21st - Paper & Presentation

Good Luck with the final week!

Mike Unis

From Bailey

2007-12-03T06:13:00.000-08:00

Dear WhIM Class,

I have had this message in my drafts folder for about two weeks because I was going to write more about the secret but since there are only two weeks left I'm just going to send it and leave that for later. I attached what I wrote about the secret because it is pretty long, but you can read it if you'd like. Also I am writing about some options for a final project or a group project that you might be interested in.

Dream project - We talked about this at the class before Thanksgiving break but we haven't started yet. Basically this would be for people who want to write down their dreams and then meet before class for a half hour or so and share. Some other topics to explore might be: a history of dreams and famous dreams (in religion, movies, songs etc), lucid dreaming (being conscious in your dream and controlling it), meaning of dreams, math in dreams, spirituality in dreams or anything else dream-related. Since there are only two weeks left of class, there wouldn't be enough time to do a whole group project based on our own personal dreams but if we did the group and also did some research we could present to the class and share. If there are enough people that want to work on this but have a class scheduled before WhIM we can figure out another time but the people who initially wanted to do this could all meet then. Email me if you would like to start this by this week.

Lyrics. Some people really enjoyed analyzing the Canibus lyrics together as a class and discussing them. Since so many of you put time into doing the listening exercise I think we should do this one more time. I will find out how many people are interested in class or email me, and we will meet once this week if you are able to (maybe after or before class Friday?). Also I know that some people liked having that general conversation but didn't really care about Canibus as a topic. Maybe students could suggest other songs that they are interested in discussing as a class. I remember Andrea suggesting "Story of an Artist". We could also analyze poems together if anyone likes reading poetry. So I'm going to definitely offer an opportunity to talk more about Canibus and I will prepare questions and resources but if anyone else has something else that they would like us to listen to/read let me know so we can coordinate and try to come up with projects that compliment each other.

The one other thing is that Casey and I want to write a song together as a final project. Would anyone be interested in helping with the writing, playing an instrument singing or contributing ideas? The song will basically be about the class, but I don't know what specifically.

I don't know how exactly these things fit into the group project/final paper but let's talk about it in class tomorrow.

--
Bailey Solomon Johnson
Children's School of Rochester Graduate
Rochester School of the Arts Graduate
Ithaca College Expatriate
Currently studying: The Art of Change at Empire State College through the State University of New York

Discussion Board about the Secret Movie

2007-11-30T08:40:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

It is good to be in a class where the students and the teacher feel so passionate about their views. Why don't we write our thoughts about the movie. I really appreciate your honest writings and expressing your feelings and thoughts.

Here are some of mine.

I do not claim I am right but I want to be honest about what I think at this point in my life.

1. I do like the movie but I think that it has problems because it emphasizes the physical dimension and I believe that we are spiritual being with a physical body.

2. I do not have a problem with someone having a 4.5 million $ house. Who am I to judge him?

3. The main message of the movie is that "Thoughts Are Things" and I believe in it from my own experience (my hidden thoughts caused me severe depressions and I was barely living for years). When I changed my thoughts I became happy and there is nothing else now in my life but sharing this happiness with others. I hope you will get infected.

4. My dear friends... All this is not so important as we make it. Let us all do our duties.

By the way, I have a wonderful idea to solve the problem with students who missed classes this week and I want to share it with you today in class.

I cannot wait to see you this afternoon.

:)

Please write.

Pattens review

2007-11-14T10:32:00.000-08:00

This is a review.

For each sequence of picture gave rise to a pattern which gave further rise to a formula. As practice find the formula for each example and you may express the answer in the blog.

Exercises to practice Fibonacci in n dimensions part 1

2007-11-13T05:44:00.000-08:00

Exercises to help get a feel for the N-dimensional Fibonacci numbers:

Please write your answers here.

1. Pick a number from 2 to 6 (it actually can be bigger also, but for practical purposes we want to stop here) Call the number n
2. Define a new number m=2*n + 1
3. write the numbers 1 n times in a raw. For example if n=3 write (1,1,1) if n=4 write (1,1,1,1) etc. Pick up an English letter that defines this list with an index=1. For example I picked the letter W and for me W1=(1,1,1,1)
4. Keep creating W2,W3,W4,W5,W6 (you can continue but it is good to stop at 6 or some other point) based on the following rule: This is just an example:
If W3 is something like (a,b,c,d) then W4 will be (d,d+c,d+c+b,d+c+b+a) Do you understand the rule? Ask.
5. Create a new sequence from the Pick another letter of the alphabet and create another sequence made out of the ratios of the one you picked before where you always divide by the first member. For example I picked the letter V and got:
For example if W3=(a,b,c,d) then V3=(1,b/a,c/a,d/a) Express your answer as a decimal in three cases and the rest leave as fraction

Grading and attendance clarification

2007-11-12T06:04:00.000-08:00

Here are some guidelines about grading.

First of all there are different kinds of situations in the class.

Some of you are processing emotional stuff and growing and this is very important and certainly part of your overall education. If someone the situation is really difficult and you cannot come to class, keep an email touch with me and so your connection will not be broken. My letter was not aimed towards these students but if you are in the catogory I recommend that you od not skip class or if you do come and see me individually

There are other very rare situation were students could not come to class for unusual reasons and I am dealing with each students on a 1-1 individual basis. My letter was not aimed towards them either.

Also my letter was not aimed towards students who for rare occasions did not come to class for various reasons.

My letter was aimed towards students who
1. Either think that this class in bullshit and a waste of their time and this is why they do not come to class. If you are in the category I suggest you withdraw now before you get an F or
2. Students who think this is a wonderful class but think that the instructor is such a good guy that he will give them a good grade any way. For these students, I suggest that they do not skip a single class and start adding to the class themselves even more then they have been doing until now.

Now about final requirements.

I decided to give a final in the class. I looked at the math content of the course and it was very beautiful and not too difficult. Here are some dates where the content of the final was discussed and we will enrich it and deepen our understanding for the rest of the semester in addition of presentations. To present to the class is a privilege and if you don't want to do it I will not force you but the grade is going to include everything you learned and did in the course. The dates are 9/30 10/1,29,31 11/7,9 In addition we devoted several class times to the seelogo movie presentation that expresses Fibonacci numbers in a higher dimension and I will put it in the final for sure and we will review. Look at the blogs.

This being said I want to add two things:

1. That I do not want you to feel that something changed in my intent and style. Most of you are doing just fine and I know that you are learning a lot all the time. We had many magical moments in the class and this is not going to go away. It is all part of the experience. We are just adding a twist, a little whirl, a dragon that is going to turn into a crysal.

2. I was listening to some music a few minutes ago. Strings. It was amazing patterns and enery in them. I realized that this is all about. patterns. Our class, the test, all the math that we did and will do this semester is about patterns and energy. I invite you to see it that way including this seemingly new twist...

Sincerely,

--Dani

Volume patterns HW for the weekend

2007-11-09T10:42:00.000-08:00

This activity connects between patterns and ideas of calculus and can give deep insight and be fun also.

Take a peace of paper (8,5''X11'') and cut the four equal squares from the 4 corners. Fold it to make it into a box w/o top. Keep doing this 4 times and each time cut a square of a different size. Put the boxes side by side and look at the pattern of the volume of the boxes.

Each time you get a different volume isn't it? When the small squares are very tiny the base of the box is big but the hight is small. The volume will then be small, isn't it? On the other side of the spectrum, if the square that you cut is large the height of the box is large but the area of the base becomes quite tiny so again the volume is small. Do you remember by the way the formula of area and volume?

Area= Length times Width and
Volume = Area times Height which is the same as
Volume= Length Times Width Times Height.

So here we are with patterns again, for each square we cut we get a different volume. Draw this pattern on paper, write about it, find a formula...play with it. Now you are hired by a company to make the box with a largest volume. What size square would you cut?

Patterns and Inverse patterns

2007-11-07T10:59:00.001-08:00

Last time we had fun with pattern.

Many patterns do have an inverse pattern.

For example the pattern (1,4) (2,6) (3,8), (4,10).... We found last class the crystallization of the pattern that was the formula (x,2*x+2)
The inverse pattern has some pairs like (4,1), (6,2) (8,3) (10,4) but this is not a complete picture. How do we complete? Why?
(1,__), (2,__),(3,__) (4,1),(5,___), (6,2).... How do we find that pattern?

Would you be interested to explore it further? We created from shapes last time 3 patterns where the above one was the first. How about finding inverse patterns for the other two patterns: I think the second one is very difficult yet not beyond your mind and if you want I can explain to those who are interested. The third one is medium difficulty. How about using the patterns from last time also?

Canibus Songs

2007-11-07T08:56:00.000-08:00

Master Thesis - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1jCkXck_lU

download

Poet Laureate II - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I80ZVcYPuek

download

Magnum Innominandum - no youtube video

download

Canibus Post 1 - For Everyone - Before the Discussion

2007-11-04T15:44:00.000-08:00

Hello WhIM Class!

I hope you are having a good weekend. I am at Power Shift 2007 and it is very exciting to be here. I wanted to give you all a little bit more to think about before we talk about my project this Friday and then after Friday I think I will put up another blog if people want to share their thoughts again. I am going to give you some more Canibus lyrics and ask some specific questions. This post asks general questions about the songs and gives general information. I will make other posts that will give specific information on the specific songs.

*******IMPORTANT*******

I ask you to please listen to your song once before reading this post, then resopond to the questions and read the post. Do this before Friday. After Friday I will ask you to listen to the song again, to write your response this time around, and put them in the post specifically about your song.

*******QUESTIONS*******

Please refer to the song that you listened to.

1. Do you normally listen to hip-hop music? Specifically underground hip-hop?

2. Would you listen to this song again/not for the assignment?

3. When you were listening to the song, describe what you imagined? Did you visually see the thing that Canibus was talking about - give a specific example? Did you think about the things he was talking about and try to connect them and unpack them, or just keep up with the song - give an example?

4. When you were listening to the song, how did you relate to it? Did you empathize with Canibus, i.e. try to imagine things from his perspective? Did you listen to the song from the perspective of the "you" that Canibus speaks to, whether this is an enemy emcee, or fans of hip-hop, or just people in general? Can you think of a specific time that Canibus was speaking to "you" in the song and if you felt like he was really speaking to you or to someone else?

5. Did you notice any mathematical elements in the songs? Were you impressed by Canibus's knowledge of places, people, theories etc.? Did this make you think differently about the potential of hip-hop music? Did these various references mean anything to you? Pick a specific one that did and explain how you reacted when hearing it or perhaps when finding out later what it meant. Do you think that the complexity of Canibus's lyrics helped get his message across?

6. What part of Canibus's song did you really dislike? Describe why and how it made you feel to hear him saying something that you thought was wrong.

7. From my first presentation, your first reactions, and your answers to these questions describe Canibus as an emcee to someone who has never listened to him. Do you think Canibus has a stronger sense of Ego or Self? How does he express elements of each in his lyrics (give an example). What do you think the relationship is between reality and fantasy in the songs? Do you think Canibus could be a leader, a teacher or a hero in the hip-hop world, in real life? Describe what kind of person you think Canibus is.

Thank you! Please read the background info, there are a few more questions in the last part of this post.

*******Background Info*******

The Law of Three - States that everything consists of three basic parts. For instance mind/body/soul or mind/body/emotion. The Holy Trinity or the executive/judiciary/legislative branches.Canibus assumes three main personas in his songs.

I. 'Bis - Bis is short for Cannabis, which is the origin of Canibus's name. Bis was the name Canibus used before the fallout with LL Cool J.

II. Rip the Jacker - Rip the Jacker became another one of aliases during his battle with LL. Jack the Ripper (the infamous serial killer who murdered prostitutes) was the title of a song on one of LL's previous albums. Rip the Jacker was Canibus's idea of a clever play on that name. It first appeared on Canibus's song "Rip the Jacker" the song starts out - Calling all dogs, calling all dogs, be on the lookout for a big homo nigga with dimples and I'ma let ya'll know something, it ain't just start here we've been playing on that ass since Jack The Ripper and now it's time to Rip the Jacker. This is saying that 'Bis had been better than LL since he was making his earlier, more simplistic music, like the album on which Jack the Ripper appears, but now he's going to take LL to war.

III. Germaine Williams - Canibus's real name. The importance of this name to him is that once he joined the military he was no longer 'Bis or Rip the Jacker or Canibus. He was referred to by his government name, as Private Williams, just like all of the other soldiers. Canibus has always prided himself on being more connected to his fans than other rappers and he talked about this being part of the reason he joined the military. He also sometimes calls himself St. Germain - see this article http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/iam.html.

The Law of Seven - http://www.rahul.net/raithel/otfw/93article.html From what I've read the law of seven states that things do not happen in a strictly linear progressive manner as we assume they do, when dealing with chronological history, for example. I haven't delved very deep into this subject, however. Seven has always been a sacred number for humanity - as with the seven day week, in Jewish mysticism etc.

Canibus's writing style may seem abstract, and without any traditional form. He talks about this in a few songs, for instance in the outro of Poet Laureate II James Dickey says "Usually I go with the given, with what comes to you over the celestial wireless, you're lucky when you get it" and in that song he says "In the words of Joseph Heller, I learned how to write better/ Even though it sorta irked me, he said he didn't understand the process / of the imagination but he felt he was at its mercy".

8. How do you think that this writing process effects the finished product? What do you like about this style and what do you think it lacks?

I was reading a book about superheroes and philosophy and it talks about how as a young boy Clark Kent (secret identity of Superman) feels that he lacks a sense of community and that this is why he becomes Superman. I will share a few quotes that outline this idea.

"It is fair to presume that despite his extraterrestrial origins, Superman feels the same basic need for community that is shared by all the human beings around him; it not, he most likely wouldn't bother being Clark Kent at all and would just as soon soar off to explore the greater solar system and galaxies beyond than work a nine-to-five in metropolis"

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure."

"How does Superman connect with the world around him? Not by turning his back on his alien heritage, though that was certainly his instinct while he was growing up in a small town. NO, he ultimately connects by embracing that heritage-by creating as an adult a new identity for himself that is as Kryptonian as Clark Kent is human. Superman knowns instinctively that it is only when he puts his gifts to use that he truly feels alive and engaged."

"Only by being openly Kryptonian can he also be an Earthman with exuberance and excellence. When he lives as who he really is, in full authenticity to his nature and gifts, and then brings his distinctive strengths into the service of others, he takes his rightful place in the larger community, in which he now genuinely belongs to and can feel fulfilled."

"Superman has...been a shining example...of the virtue of selfless heroism-but he has accomplished this by acting in his own self interest."

9. What connections do you see between the Sueprman paradox described in these quotes and Canibus? Does this change the way you would answer question 7?

Finding the magic formula of the universe.

2007-10-31T13:42:00.000-07:00

Look at this picture and make your own:
M= # of marshmallows
T= # of toothpicks
F= # of faces (including the outside)

Find a formula that has only + = M T and F together that connects them all for any shape!!! Test it for other shapes

Reaction to Bailey assignment

2007-10-31T07:05:00.003-07:00

Use this post to write about Bailey assignment and share your thoughts.

Enrichment fun for What Is Math class

2007-10-31T06:51:00.001-07:00

I am using post for enrichment and fun learning for our class.

If you have time and want to use your creativity and develop it jump write in and you will be rewarded with newness and joy.

Here is what Baily wrote to me which prompted me to write this:

I was talking with some of the students and asking them if they understood the framework of my project and they said that because they hadn't read a web in the sea or a beginner's guide they didn't really understand the idea of the ego and the self, would you talk about this idea or see if anyone else wants to share their thoughts? It kind of goes along with the last email you sent

Let me share my thoughts about the Ego and the Self:

I define Ego as the sense of separation from the whole. I reality we are all one but because of our ego we do not experience it. The Ego is associated with the 5 enemies of man (there are different ways to express it): Anger,Pride,Greed,Lust and Hatred...In a sense as long as we are in the body most of us will still have an Ego (I know I have a huge one... :) (: )
Only when there is no ego or at least less Ego can Peace, Happiness and cooperation and Love flourish. By helping others wa can tame the Ego and also there is a process of purification. I can share with you many stories about how my ego has been humbled over the years, especially through severe depressions...and now I know it was all for the good.

What do you think is Ego? How does it apply to your life? Can you share some stories?

Now the other side of the equation is Self? Can you shed light on that? What does it mean for you?

Feel free to write and share in:

http://whatismath.blogspot.com/

Write here URL's for fun math games

2007-10-29T12:23:00.000-07:00

http://www.planarity.net/

Week 8: Comment Due Sunday 10/29 5:00

2007-10-20T19:20:00.001-07:00

We will use the seelogo program and class presentation to experience Fibonacci sequence in a higher dimension and feel intuitively. Students will give presentations on it just like they do in Theatre or Music classes and we will all benefit. I will be the first actor/director/teacher and you will follow. I am looking forward to see how you perform. You can use the 303 lab in williams if you did not download seelogo.

Structure for the second Block

2007-10-20T18:23:00.000-07:00

The second block will have more structure than the first one:

There are 4 major events coming up:

Sunday 1:00 - 3:00 workshops with kids (Williams 303: 10/21, 11/18, 12/16)
Math Day Saturday 11/3 parents weekend (10:00 - 1:00)

There will also be a special guest speaker on the Joy of Statistics on Friday 11/2

It is recommended that you show up for at least one of these events.

Fridays will be reserved mostly for student presentations and Mathematical performances.

There will not be a final in the class but instead there will be final presentation during final time. http://www.ithaca.edu/registrar/f07fex.htm

Our meeting will be on: Friday 12/21 at 10:30 and there will be no exceptions unless everyone agrees on another date and time.

Comments about the Dalai Lama visit

2007-10-11T05:46:00.000-07:00

Please add comments and thoughts about what you learned from the Dalai Lama visit.

The Transformation of Matter

2007-10-08T12:51:00.000-07:00

Life is full of choices. We choose to get up in the morning, to walk or to drive, to eat and when to sleep. Sometimes our choices may seem to involve just ourselves, but this is not always the case.

Modeling is one of the strongest forms of teaching. Children, peers, and family are always learning from “your” actions.

Please comment in this blog about how you transformed your matter into a positive energy. INjoy the experience and let your words and actions become what they were intended to be!

Tick-Tac-Ouch!

2007-10-01T12:53:00.000-07:00

Write an analysis of the game from what we learned in class on Monday.

This is for the weekend (but I posted it early for anyone who wants to get a jump start).

A Whole New Mind Fishbowl #2

2007-10-01T12:52:00.002-07:00

You voice here!

The Web In The Sea Fishbowl #2

2007-10-01T12:52:00.001-07:00

Your voice here!

Math For Smartty Pants Foshbowl #2

2007-10-01T12:51:00.000-07:00

Your voice here!

sharing information

2007-09-28T12:29:00.000-07:00

Planarity game
http://www.planarity.net/
-------------
http://www.oilpulling.com/

The Web In The Sea Fishbowl #1

2007-09-26T12:18:00.001-07:00

Your ideas here!

Math For Smarty Pants Fishbowl #1

2007-09-26T12:15:00.000-07:00

If you are reading Math For Smarty Pants, you can comment in this post :)

A Whole New Mind Fishbowl #1

2007-09-26T12:14:00.001-07:00

A fishbowl is a place to share ideas and opinions. Comment about A Whole New Mind in this post.

Due Sunday 9/30 5:00

2007-09-26T10:56:00.000-07:00

Have fun with the following:

You can read and comment on what others write but at the end write your own answer.

1. Read the first chapter of Daniel Pinks book and write in the new post that will be created

2. Start SeeLogo Type in command line: NEW A
the copy and paste into the editor:
SIZE 3 [STARSK 1 5 STARSK 2 5]
Describe the picture you see.

3. In the picture that you created are many triangles. How many can you find? How can you be sure you are right and that are no more?

4. If you change the number 3 to 2 in the command above (and click Redraw) in what way does the picture change? Give a logical explanation

5. type NEW B
Then Paste into the editor and Redraw (Wait 2 means to wait 2 seconds)
STARSK 1 7
WAIT 2
STARSK 2 7
WAIT 2
STARSK 3 7

click redraw several times until you get a feeling of understanding or until you are tired and write down an explanation to what happened

6. What are the values of X and Y that make this picture in STARSK X Y

A movie about fractals

2007-09-25T17:43:00.001-07:00

One aspect of the class is to learn about Fractals and Ed emailed me an article about a movie that that Cornell students Created. I am posting the article as the first response to this and the link to the movie is:

http://animationhistory.blogspot.com/

A Journey Towards Infinity. First Step 9/19/07

2007-09-19T06:57:00.000-07:00

I am asking that you respond to this blog before Sunday at 5:00

A journey towards Infinity.

Discovering the connection between two magic numbers: Pi and Phi

The numbers Pi and Phi captured the imagination of humanity for thousands of years and it still does. The wikepedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi has some fascinating information about the history of Pi and various approximations to it.

So why is Pi so captivating so many people? Every one can answer this question in his own way. As for me, Mathematics is an art form like music and one cannot explain logically why we enjoy a certain piece of music so much. Still, just like one can approximate Pi and come closer and closer to it, one can approximate the answer and it will be interesting to read your answer to this question:

Another number that captivated the imagination of humans for centuries is the number Phi (Pi with h in the middle). This number is also called the golden mean or the golden Ratio and the Wikipedia has a full explanation for it.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio

What I want to share with you here is something most beautiful that most people in the world do not know yet and this a sacred connection between these two numbers.

In order to understand this I want you to be able to go through a series of seemingly technical steps but gradually create meaning out of them. This process could be slow and a little frustrating and the one thing that can help you keep going is the knowledge that at the end of this journey you will see and feel something most beautiful, divine and sacred. I hope you want to join me in this adventure.

Here are some technical preliminary exercises:

1. What is Pi? and What is Phi (you can read in Wikipedia but write your own understanding)
2. Why are Pi and Phi so captivating?
3. Down Load SeeLogo and paste the following program and play with it by changing the value of x from 6 to 7,8,9,10,11... and also the value of y to different numbers. We will explain the program in class but I want you understand it and to explain it in your own words. It may be very frustrating at the beginning but if this happens it is a good sign and not a bad one.

LOCAL X Y
X=8 Y=3
REPEAT X [FD 40 RT 360/X]
RT 90 FD 40*X/Y

Ultimate Truth and the World Map

2007-09-16T20:25:00.001-07:00

On Thursday we took a look at how we perceive the world, through our eyes, our comprehension, and our "facts".

Is math culturally bound? Can Math truly serve as a universal language? Is there even such a thing as a "universal language"?

Please think about these questions and comment

Reactions to Silent Learning

2007-09-13T18:46:00.000-07:00

Please respond to the statement below:

All research shows that we learn by doing. That is, by applying what we have learned, in order to answer questions for example. This makes learners process the information and make their own sense of it. This is called ‘constructivism’.

Here are a few questions to consider:

Do you agree or disagree? What are the pros and cons? Can this be related to teaching math?

Interesting events

2007-09-11T18:29:00.000-07:00

Johnson Museum of Art
Cornell University

Explore the role of creativity, cognition, and embodiment in contemporary sciences and Tibetan Buddhist tantric practice with presenters Vesna Wallace (Religious Studies, UC Santa Barbara), William Bushell (Surgery, Columbia), Neil Theise (Pathology & Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine), Ted Arnold (Namgyal Monastery), and Kavita Bala (Computer
Science, Cornell).

Free and Open
Organized by the Namgyal Monastery

These sessions will focus on the divergent understanding of the body in contemporary biology and medicine and in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism. Wallace will present an amazing analysis of esoteric Buddhist theory and practice in which the body and mind are considered innately capable of radical transformation at their most subtle level. Bushell and Theise, collaborators on groundbreaking studies of the relationship between yoga and meditation and bodily self-regeneration, will present evidence from contemporary medicine that the body is capable of just such radical transformation through an array of psychophysical interventions. As Buddhist esoteric practice is also a highly creative, embodied process based on fundamental cognitive restructuring, Arnold will introduce these three speakers with an overview of these relationships and a focus on Indo-Tibetan cognitive theory. Bala will present the results of a unique collaboration between her and the Namgyal monks: a computer-generated, three-dimensional mandala of the Kalachakra (Wheel of Time) system. Since Buddhist esoteric practice aims at restructuring cognitive processes (seeing) whereby one finally transforms completely, mentally and physically (being), into a fully enlightened deity such as Kalachakra, this is the perfect symbol of the panel.

--
Cathy Rosa Klimaszewski
Associate Director/Ames Curator of Education
Johnson Museum of Art
607 254-4627
-------------------

Another try to reach your Math Heart

2007-09-10T07:23:00.000-07:00

Dear What Is Math Class?
Did I scare you or confuse you with the weekend assignment that was to spend 2 hours and create/write something beautiful that has to do with Math? I did not see any one actually do it even though a few people responded in a beautiful way on the blog.

My style of teaching is so different than what you are used to that probably you do not understand yet my intent but I am not going to give up on you since I believe that each and every one of us has a unique gidt, a flower of creativity that is waiting to be opened and Mathematics (the queen) is part of it. So here I am offering you more structure but am asking that you will be honest and devote 2 hours for every class time we have from now till then end of the semester and if you do it you will learn a tremendous amount. Part of that time should be used to write your thoughts/projects/creation etc. in the blog to share with me and others. I also remind you to look again at .

Pick one or more of the following topics (you can use google and other web tools)

1. Study what the concept Dimension mean? What does it mean for you personally and what does it mean in principle.

2. Download SeeLogo from http://www.ithaca.edu/dani/SeeLogo/index.htm and create the spiral of life art design and master how to do it. (after you download click lessons what is Math and Spiral of Life Introduction

3. Go for a trip downtown with some friends and visit some churches (start with the chapel at IC and sketch some of the divine art take pictures and share with class)

4. Study what the divine proportion means and describe it in your own words after you get the feeling. (google)

5. Do several activities from the book "Math for Smarty Pants" and write about them.

6. Pick a beautiful Math Thought and write about it (from the following link:)

Math Thoughts

http://www.ithaca.edu/dani/classes/Wim/Math_Thought_of_The_Day/Math_Thoughts.html

Plan for September 7th

2007-09-07T07:44:00.000-07:00

Today is a free exploration day. I will share the details in class. The HW besides commenting about the lessons and what your learned and commenting on other people (this happens every week) is going to be given in class. Stay tuned....

Plan for September 5, 2007

2007-09-04T12:19:00.000-07:00

Hi folks,

I read what you wrote so far and I want to encourage you to write. This is one of the things that I do require for this class. I am asking that you respond to every class and am requesting your utmost attention so you can write beautiful summaries which others will read and enjoy.

Last time we focus on the number zero, the empty set and the beautiful idea of magic squares.

This lesson we will focus on:

1. Activities with Mike (Birthday)
2. Finding What Day of the week you were born?
------------------------------------------------

Take the last two digit of the year you were born, call it A
Divide A by 4 and discard the remainder, call it B
Pick the day of the month you were born, call it C
Find the month key value using the code, but subtract 1 for January or February of a leap year, call it D

(For our purposes a leap year is a year that is evenly divisible by 4, 1984 for example but not 1983)

J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
1	4	4	0	2	5	0	3	6	1	4	6

6. Find A+B+C+D
7. Divide by 7 and take the remainder. The answer gives you the day you were born:
(0 Saturday, 1 Sunday, 2 Monday etc..)

-------------------------------

The idea of Fibonacci Sequence, The idea of Dimension and the idea of Fibonacci sequence in higher dimension

August 31, 2007

2007-08-31T11:49:00.001-07:00

Plan for August 31, 2007

Step I. (5 minutes) I heard a wonderful math equation related to the word FEAR.
FEAR=FALSE EVIDENCE APPEARING REAL
Also humanity recently discovered that what FDR (Franklin Roosevelt) said in his first inaugural address WAS NOT TRUE. Do you know why?
(see http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5057/)

Step II:
We divide into two groups (20 minutes) Mike explores Magic squares See for example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_square

Dani explores about the meaning of the number 0.
Nothing means actually something but really it is No-Thing.

Step III: Conversation with the whole class.

Step IV: Assignment for next Wednesday is to write a response to this using this Blog. What did you learn from the lesson today. If you are so inspired you can also use one of the journal topics that ed suggested in. Converse about another meaningful assignment that you will choose.

Write here some meaninful things that happened in your life lately

2007-08-31T11:49:00.000-07:00