RENE DESCARTES

(March 31, 1596-February 11, 1650)

Descartes is credited with providing the groundwork for whatSir Isaac Newton used to help create modern day
calculus.  In addition, he is also credited with the creation of analytical geometry - a field of mathematics that
combines both algebra and geometry.  Most notably, thecoordinate plane is commonly referred to as the
Cartesian Coordinate because Descartes was so instrumental in developing it.

ALBERT EINSTEIN

(March 14, 1879-April 18, 1955)

Albert Einstein is perhaps the most recognizable name of all scientists and mathematicians.  He is widely
considered to be one of the most intelligent people in the worlds history, and the name "Einstein" is even
routinely used in place of the word "genius."  Einstein was born into a Jewish family in Germany, but he spent
time in Italy, Switzerland, and eventually the United States.  When he passed away, he was residing in
Princeton, New Jersey.Einstein's contributions to math and science are immense, physics in particular. 
Arguably, his best known achievement is his theory of relativity, and the famous equation E = mc2.

LEONHARD EULER

(April 15, 1707-September 18, 1783 )

Euler's name surfaces in regard to many mathematical fields ranging from algebra all the way up through
calculus.  Euler was extremely influential in developing much of the vocabulary and notation that is now
routinely used in the classroom.  For example, Euler was the first to use function notation. 

Function notation:  f(x) = x + 3  was used instead of y = x + 3.

He was also considered to be the first to use the Greek letterpi to represent the number 3.141592... like it is used
today.

FIBONACCI

(1170 -1250)

Fibonacci has become such a famous mathematician that he is routinely referred to only by that one name,
much in the way Madonna is today.  He was born as Leonardo of Pisa, and his mathematical brilliance would
soon be discovered.

Today, many students probably recognize the name from the famous sequence now know as the Fibonacci
numbers - a number sequence that is generated by adding the previous two terms to create the current term.

Sequence:  1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610, ...

"Leonardo" is not credited with discovering this sequence, but it was named after him because he shared it with
the Western world in his famous book on mathematics the Liber Abaci. 
The ratio of the successive, especially high terms, approximates the golden ration.  The golden ratio is
approximately 1:1.618.  The golden ratio has countless connections to the natural world, including the human
body.

JOHANN CARL FRIEDRICH GAUSS

(April 30, 1777-February 23,1855)

Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss is famously known in the world of mathematics as a child prodigy.  A famous
story of Gauss comes from his days in elementary school.  As the story goes...

The teacher gave the students a list of numbers to add together as a means of "busy work."  For example, the
teacher asked the students to add all of the numbers from 1 to 100 together and get a final answer (how long
would that take you?).  To the amazement of his teacher and his classmates, Gauss was able to perform this in
seconds by using the "trick" below.

1 + 100 = 101, 2 + 99 = 101, 3 + 98 = 101, and so on... Because there are 50 "pairs" that add to 101, the final
sum should be 50 x 101 = 5050.

Today, many historians question the validity of this "folk tale."  Regardless, Gauss's brilliance is undeniable. 
His largest contributions came in the fields of statistics, analysis, and number theory.

SIR ISAAC NEWTON

(January 4, 1643-March 31, 1727)

Sir Isaac Newton is considered by some to be the most influential man in the history of science, more so than
even Albert Einstein.   He was born in England, spent much of his time and eventually died there.  Newton,
along with Gottfried Leibniz, is credited with the development of Calculus.  There remains much controversy
over the true discoverer of calculus.  Newton accused Leibniz of plagiarism, but no proof was ever found. 
Today, most historians accept that the two men discovered calculus independently. 

BLAISE PASCAL

6/19/1623 Date of Death:  8/19/1662

Pascal is famous for his contributions to probability.  In fact, he is considered to have been at the forefront of
field.  He took a strong interest in gambling, and is credited with the development of expected value, a
fundamental theory used by professional poker players today.  Without Pascal, perhaps Texas hold 'em never
would have gained the popularity it has today.  In addition to professional gamblers, many economists gained
valuable information from Pascal, particularly acturarial scientists.

If you have heard of Pascal it is probably because of Pascal's Triangle.  Pascal's triangle has many interesting
mathematical connections, but Pascal discovered its connection to the binomial coefficients.  Each number is
generated by adding the two numbers above it... Look below.

PYTHAGORAS
(580 - 572 BC -500 - 490 BC)

He is considered by many to be the "father of numbers" because of his belief that everything, even the "gods
and demons", could be explained through numbers.  However, he was considered to be a much more influential
philosophy.  He even led a religious movement in which his followers were called Pythagoreans. 

You might recognize the word Pythagorean from the Pythagorean Theorem.  One of the most well known
geometric formulas, a2 + b2 = c2, bears his name.  The theorem relates the sides of a right triangle. 

Slope Formula
Point Slope Formula
A straight line is a one which joins two distinct points. For instance, take the example of the staircase of your home. It is
the simplest and best example of Math in everyday life. It is a slope and if you view it geometrically or on graph, you can
make out the axes clearly. The line along the x axis of your graph is a horizontal line and the line which is aligned along
the y axis, is a vertical line. So work on a similar but small version of this image on the graph paper. Select two points on
the axes and join them by a straight line. Now you have the x and the y coordinate values. Measure the y coordinate
axes which would be say, y2 - y1. Similarly the x coordinate axes value would be x2 - x1.
So the formula of slope between two points can be calculated as:
m = (y2 - y1) / (x2 - x1)
where m is the gradient of the image.
Just imagine, if you were required to calculate the slope of a huge landscape and you are not sure how, this method
would make your problems a lot more simpler. A point slope method helps in graphing a linear equation on a graph and
when having graphed it, all you have to do is make pairs of the x and y coordinates and plot them. The name itself point
slope implies that the slope is being calculated by using a single point on the graph.
The above formula of slope between two points can be further modified as:
m = (y2 - y1) / (x2 - x1) = ∆y/∆x (rise/run),
where ∆ is the change indicated in the altitude and the horizontal distance.
So, the standard point slope equation is:
(y2 - y1) = m (x2 - x1)
If one goes by the Trigonometry/Calculus methods, it becomes all the more interesting to calculate the slope formula.
Here the slope is associated with the angle formed by the slope. The angle is known as θ which can be expressed as:
m = tan θ = Sin θ/Cos θ,
where Sin θ is the length of the line joining two points, exactly opposite to the angle θ formed (y axis),
and Cos θ is the length of the line joining two points, exactly aligned along the angle θ (x axis).
Let me share some examples here:
Example 1:
A slope of 2 is given and the point for slope is (4,3) (x,y format). Calculate the equation in point slope form using the
slope formula.
Solution:
We know, the slope m = (y2 - y1) / (x2 - x1) = ∆y/∆x
=> (y2 - 3) = 2 (x2 - 4)
=> y - 3 = 2 (x - 4)
Example 2:
A slope is formed by an angle of 30º. What is the gradient?
Solution:
m = tan θ = tan 30º = -6.40

Properties of Exponents
Math has always been a mind boggling yet interesting subject! It becomes your favorite when you get things right, and
the most annoying when no matter how carefully you have solved a problem, the end answer is always different from
the answers given. In mathematics, the most important part is clearing the base concept in mind. Especially when it
comes to algebra, logarithms, etc., understanding the properties of exponents plays a vital part in problem solving!
What are Exponents?
Exponents can be defined as the digits which indicates the number of times the base value needs to be repeated. An
exponent is the power written at the top right hand side of a number (base value). An example would be 2 5, where 2 is
the base value and 5 is the exponent value. The value of 2 5 = 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 = 32. Therefore an exponent, which is also
known as an index or power, is the number which represents that how many times the base value needs to be
multiplied with itself.
Various Properties of Exponents
Now that we have understood the meaning of an exponent, let us now discuss the properties of exponents that will help
you in your problem solving. These properties will also reduce your time in performing certain steps while seeking a
solution to a problem. Below mentioned are the various properties of exponents.
Multiplication Properties of Exponents
The multiplication property states that, if the same base value with different exponents are multiplied with each other,
then the exponent value can be added together. To make this statement more clear, let's take an example, 52 x 53 = (5 x
5) x (5 x 5 x 5) = 55. In this example, if we omit the parentheses, we will have the product of five 5s, which is written as 5 5,
which is the same as the added value of both the exponents 2 and 3. Therefore, the multiplication property of
exponents is, a2 x a3 = a2+3 = a5.
Division Properties of Exponents
When you divide two different exponents having the same base, the exponents value of the exponents should be
subtracted to get the correct answer. For example, 53 / 52 = 53-2 = 51. The answer will be same if you do the long method
of dividing each and every base and exponent. Therefore, remember this property of exponents and save your time.
Remember, this is valid only when the base value is the same.
Power of Quotient Properties of Exponents
The power of a quotient property states that when a and b are base values wherein b is not equal to 0, and c is the
exponent value provided both a and c are not 0, then, a c/bc = (a/b)c. In short, if the exponent value of both the
numerator and the denominator is the same, and the values mentioned above are not zero, then the exponent value for
the whole fraction becomes the same.
Properties of Zero Exponents
It's true that anything multiplied by 0 is 0. But when it comes to exponential properties, anything raised to the power
value 0 is '1'. Lets take an example, 50 x 51 = 5(0+1) = 51. Now, we know that 51 = 5, therefore, 50 x 5 = 5, meaning the value
of 50 being 1. (PS: The value of 00 is undefined)
Properties of Negative Exponents
This property comes into picture when dealing with negative exponents. The property of negative exponent is explained
with the help of this example, 5-2 = 1/52. You can have a look at the solved example that follows which will make this
property clear to you. 5-2 x 52 = 5(-2+2) = 50, 52 = 25 and 50 = 1. Therefore, 5-2 = 1/25.
So these were some of the main properties of exponents. You can also scroll through the method of adding exponents
which again is different from the general method. We never add the exponents together if there is a common base.
Taking common factors aside, we need to solve the exponents and their base step by step. As mentioned earlier, once
you have built your concept strong and clear, solving mathematics would be something that you'll look forward too.

Slope Formula (row row row your boat)

"m" equals "y" sub 2
minus "y" sub 1,
all over "x" sub 2
minus "x" sub 1.

Math Exams (santa claus is coming to town)

Oh, you'd better take care completing the square;
you better not try dividing by y
Math exams are coming to town.
We're making a list, don't shake in your boots
Just watch out for extraneous roots
Math exams are coming to town.
You know you'll have quadratics
and exponentials too
You rationalize the denominators like the root of two.
So you'd better be bright and calculate right
You'd better check roots for the one that suits;
Math exams are coming to town.

Complex Numbers (old mcdonald)

Complex numbers are lotsa fun. i-i-i-i-i
'Cause i's the square toot of negative 1. i-i-i-i-i
With an (a + bi) here and an (a + bi) there.
Here an (a + bi) , there an (a + bi)
Everywhere an (a+ bi).
Complex numbers are lotsa fun. i-i-i-i-i
i squared is just negative one, i-i-i-i-i
So powers of i are easily done. i-i-i-i-i
With an i squared here and an i squared there.
Here an i squared, there an i squared,
Everywhere an i squared.
i squared is just negative one. i-i-i-i-i
Adding is just like a game. i-i-i-i-i
Just com-bine terms that are the same. i-i-i-i-i
With a like term here and a like term there.
Here a like term, there a like term,
Everywhere a like term.
Adding is just like a game. i-i-i-i-i
Mul-ti-pli-ca-tion is not toil. i-i-i-i-i
Just ex-pand it by using FOIL. i-i-i-i-i
With a product here and a product there.
Here a product, there a product,
Everywhere a product, product.
Mul-ti-pli-ca-tion is not toil. i-i-i-i-i
Di-vi-sion is really great. i-i-i-i-i
Multiply both by the con-ju-gate. i-i-i-i-i
With a conjugate here and a conjugate there,
Here a conjugate, there a conjugate,
everywhere a con-ju-gate.
Di-vi-sion is really great. i-i-i-i-i

Happy Pi Day (happy birthday)

Happy Pi day to you,

Happy Pi day to you,
Happy Pi day everybody,
Happy Pi day to you.

Money Song (eency,weency spiders)

1 cent is a penny,
10 cents is a dime,
5 cents is a nickel,
Now you know that I'm...
Learning about the money,
And which coin is which.
Don't forget the quarter-
It's worth 25 cents!

"Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted." — Albert Einstein
"Numbers rule the universe."  Pythagoras   c.550 B.C.

"The people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge."    Hosea 4:6

"A teacher's day is half bureaucracy, half crisis, half monotony and one-eighth epiphany. Never mind the arithmetic."
Susan Ohanian 

"Mathematics is the language with which God wrote the universe."     Galileo

"The different branches of mathematics: ambition, distraction, uglification, and derision."

Lewis Carroll

"Just as music comes alive in the performance of it, the same is true of mathematics. The symbols on the page have no more to do
with mathematics than the notes on a page of music. They simply represent the experience. "
Mathematics: The Science of Patterns by Keith Devlin. 

"Mathematics possesses not only truth, but supreme beauty. " 

    Bertrand Russell

"Wherever there is number, there is beauty." -Proclus (410-485 A.D.)

"In a completely rational society, the best of us would aspire to be teachers and the rest of us would have to settle for something less,
because passing civilization along from one generation to the next ought to be the highest honor and highest responsibility anyone
could have."             ~ Lee Iacocca ~

"I think there's no way they should have to teach [math] now.  We have computers.  We no longer need to know why 3x =
2y/4."             ~Rosie O'Donnell~

"What is best in mathematics deserves not merely to be learned as a task but to be assimilated as a part of daily thought, and brought
again and again before the mind with ever-renewed encouragement."              ~Bertrand Russell~

"Do what you love, love what you do, and deliver more than you promise."             ~Harvey McKay~

"It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer."        ~Albert Einstein

"The good Christian should beware of mathematicians and all those who make empty prophesies.  The danger already exists that
mathematicians have made a covenant with the devil to darken the spirit and confine men in the bonds of Hell."       ~St. Augustine

"The true spirit of delight, the exaltation...which is the touchstone of the highest excellence, is to be found in mathematics as surely as
in poetry."    ~Bertrand Russell, Mysticism and Logic, 1917

"Geometry enlightens the mind and sets one's mind straight...The mind that turns regularly to geometry is unlikely to fall into error."   
~The Muqaddimah of Ibn Khaldun, 14th Century Islamic historical work

"Mathematics, rightly viewed, possesses not only truth, but supreme beauty."    ~Bertrand Russell

"Mathematics is the queen of science."    ~Carl Friedrich Gauss

"...it is written in the language of mathematics, and its characters are triangles, circles, and other geometrical figures..."    ~Galileo,
speaking of understanding the universe

"Wherever there is a number, there is beauty."     ~Proclus

"Mathematics is the gate and key to science."    ~Roger Bacon

"The science of pure mathematics, in its modern developments, may claim to be the most original creation of the human spirit."    
~Alfred North Whitehead
"When we cannot use the compass of mathematics or the torch of experience...it is certain we cannot take a single step forward."   
~Voltaire

Polygons (did you ever see a lassie)

Did you ever see a circle(3x)…it looks like a ___
Did you ever see a rectangle(3x)…it looks like a ___
Did you ever see a triangle(3x)…it looks like a ___
Did you ever see a square(3x)…it looks like a ___
Did you ever see an oval(3x)…it looks like a ___
Did you ever see an octagon(3x)…it looks like a ___
Did you ever see a diamond(3x)…it looks like a ___
Did you ever see a star(3x)…it looks like a ___

The Centipede

A centipede will certainly need

One hundred stripy socks
But what'll he do when he wears them out
By climbing trees and rocks?
What'll he do when his socks wear through,
When all of his socks wear out?
He'll sit in a heap and start to weep
As his mother begins to shout.
Here's what his mother will shout,
Whenever his socks wear out.
"I bought you ten, bought you twenty,
Bought you thirty, forty, fifty,
Bought you sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety,
Bought you one hundred socks!
So off to bed now, sonny.
Do you think I'm made of money?
Until I can afford to buy you more,
You can keep your feet right off the floor!"

As I was going to the fair, I saw a man with golden hair. He had 3 sons each with another one. How many people were
going to the fair?

Answer: (only 1,me)

There is a pink house made of bricks, a blue house made of bricks, an orange house made of bricks. What color bricks is
a greenhouse made of?

Answer: (A greenhouse is made of glass or plastic, not bricks)

If a rooster laid 11 eggs and the farmer took 5 of them and another rooster laid 14 eggs and 5 of them were rotten, how
many eggs were left?

Answer: (Roosters don't lay eggs.)

i'm tired of being a zero vector

i'm tired of being a zero vector

with no direction
no dimension
and no magnitude;
what i need is another element
- but that would be
a contradiction
of my definition

soulmates

we are all of us
nonsingular creatures
whose identities
must be affirmed
before our inverses
can be found

conformity

why must life

be a diagonal matrix?
where every other path
that deviates from the main
is an unacceptable
- zero

[ ]

we are born
as identity matrices
[nonzero]
[nonempty]
a subset
of the complexity
that is the universe
until fate hands us a scalar
from the twin ends of infinity
and we grow in magnitude
to become universes
- ourselves