Welcome MAA Readers

by Brian Hayes

Published 1 May 2007

I am pleased and proud to note that the previous posting in this space (A mathematical fable previsited) is doing double duty as a column for MAA Online, the Web presence of the Mathematical Association of America.

Just so I can’t be accused of favoritism, I’ll also mention the American Mathematical Society, where Tony Phillips’s Math in the Media column discusses another item of mine.

Responses from readers:

  • A comment from Barry Cipra, 1 May 2007 at 5:30 pm

    “Just so I can’t be accused of favoritism…”

    SIAM, the Cinderella of math societies, picks through the ashes while her stepsisters attend the ball….

  • A comment from brian, 1 May 2007 at 6:05 pm

    Oh, you’re breaking my heart. But, try as I might, I just can’t see myself as Prince Charming.

  • A comment from Mike Breen, 11 May 2007 at 8:39 am

    Prince Brian,

    You must have a very sophisticated readership (except for Barry, of course) to be able to guess the next term in a sequence derived by subtracting adjacent perfect squares.

  • A comment from brian, 11 May 2007 at 9:15 am

    Mike,

    The system is actually designed to gauge the sophistication of the aspiring commenter, and it presents a challenge appropriate to his or her abilities. You, of course, were recognized as top-caliber and given one of the toughest challenges available. Congratulations!

  • A comment from Barry Cipra, 11 May 2007 at 12:14 pm

    The spam filter gauged my level well too. It gave me 1,3,5,7,9,11,…? I hope I gave the right answer!

Please note: The bit-player website is no longer equipped to accept and publish comments from readers, but the author is still eager to hear from you. Send comments, criticism, compliments, or corrections to brian@bit-player.org.

Tags for this article: mathematics.

Publication history

First publication: 1 May 2007

Converted to Eleventy framework: 22 April 2025

More to read...

The Ormat Game

Fun and games with permutation matrices. What a hoot!

Riding the Covid Coaster

Peaks and troughs, lumps and slumps, wave after wave of surge and retreat. I struggle to understand the large-scale undulations of the Covid graph.

Counting Sums and Differences

On a research-level math problem that seems to involve nothing more exotic than counting, adding, and subtracting.

Another Technological Tragedy

The cause of the accident was not a leak or an equipment failure or a design flaw. The pressure didn’t just creep up beyond safe limits while no one was paying attention; the pressure was driven up by the automatic control system meant to keep it in bounds.