[DMMGFK #56] 4 Million Cryptarithms Online Now

This is a back-issue of this site’s newsletter

 

Have you heard of cryptarithm puzzles? They’re a great pre-algebra puzzle, and some can be quite mind-bending. They’re also called called Crypt-Arithmetic puzzles, Letter Arithmetic puzzles or other names. A cryptarithm is a mathematical sum where each digit has been replaced with a letter. The puzzle is to restore the original sum.  Continue reading [DMMGFK #56] 4 Million Cryptarithms Online Now

Relativistic Share Trading

Once upon a time, if you wanted to buy or sell shares in a company, your wishes would be conveyed by word of mouth to a broker on the trading floor of a stock exchange. Then, he’d have to find another broker on the same floor willing to match your offer. This would, of course, take some time.

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Barack Obama’s Education Policy

A while ago, I sent an email to all the people who might be president in 2013. In it, I asked :

  • What is the most important thing you would do, as president, to ensure America’s future prosperity?
  • Relative to this, how important to America’s future prosperity is the goal of ensuring all children have access to affordable education?
  • What plans, if any, do you have to ensure that all Americans have affordable access to high-quality education?

Today, the first reply came in – from Barack Obama. No reply yet from any of the Republican candidates, though I suppose there’s only one that matters now.

I’ve reproduced Barack Obama’s letter below. I’ll comment further when I get a reply from Mitt Romney, or when I’m convinced I’m not going to get one.

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Getting Your Kid Into a UK University

The Financial Times has a rather technical piece on the effect of some changes in how British Universities will be funded. Basically, the universities have been told

  • top students won’t count against your quota.
  • quotas will be cut in proportion.
  • non-university institutes of higher learning have successfully obtained 10000 quota places that were previously held by universities.

Continue reading Getting Your Kid Into a UK University