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Mom was right

Ah, Mother’s Day. Admittedly, Math isn’t the first thing you think about when scrambling for that 1-800-Flowers phone number (I always forget that one) or that last box of chocolate from the drugstore. However, one of the memories that sticks in my mind most about my Mom is arguing with her about Math during dinner about .9 repeating and 1. Before you think we’re crazy, please keep in mind she’s a Math teacher, and I have some small interest in the subject myself. So here’s to you, Mom. I finally realized you were right some time ago, but don’t think I ever said so.

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Discretely simple

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – I like math. Now, don’t get me wrong; I don’t run around solving Fermat’s Last Theorem for fun on Sunday nights, or anything like that. Perhaps it would be more clear to say I enjoy math, for many reasons, not the least of which is, when you prove something in math, it’s true every time!

Since merely saying, “I can’t find a contradictory example” is never accepted as “it’s always true”, mathematical proofs are often filled with a multitude of complex concepts and references to other also very complex proofs. It’s very refreshing, I think, to find a few that are so simple and elegant, they make you wonder if there aren’t very simple proofs for those other theorems, that we just haven’t discovered yet. Here I present two of my favorite math proofs. I hope you’ll enjoy them as much as I do.
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