Tag Archives: numbers

Combinatorics: Let My People Count – Math for Primates Episode 011


Tom and I have gone all fancy and started working with a producer for our math/comedy program “Math for Primates”.  We enlisted the help of Keith Schreiner of Auditory Sculpture.

The format is more fun, there are musical interludes etc.  Check out the new episode here.

In This Episode:

  • All about Combinatorics – the Mathematicians fancy way of “counting”.
  • The magical musical and production styling’s of Keith Schreiner make Tom and Nick seem “almost” respectable.
  • Tom invents the natural numbers in under 3 minutes.
  • 5 primates are standing in a line … can you come up with a punch line?
  • Is the factorial [5! = 5x4x3x2x1] just a way for mathematicians to justify yelling?
  • How many ways can you cage 2 primates out of 5?  And is this illegal?
  • The importance of watching Stargate SG1.
  • Why is your genome smarter than your computer?
  • If you went far enough on a space ship, would your toothpaste taste like rye bread?
  • Apparently Nick ‘Horton’ has an alter-ego, Nick ‘Lion’.  It does sound more manly.

  The Stargate SG1 picture above will make more sense once you’ve heard the episode.

Aside

Has TV gotten more “Sciency” since ER?  Maybe. But, I still haven’t brought myself to watch Numbers. Not true.  I saw one episode in which the main character said at a crucial point in the show, “All we need now … Continue reading