(Archive Question of the Week) An interesting question that has been referred to many times since it was written in 1999 deals with averaging angles. At first the question seems trivial; then almost impossible; and then we end up with a rather simple formula that is totally unlike what we started with. And further applications …
(Archive Question of the Week) Having recently discussed a couple different issues that touched on the relationship of math to reality, I was reminded of this old favorite – a question that is not asked often enough, and reveals some of the “dirty little secrets” behind math. Math is not reality; it is often used …
(Archive question of the week) For Wednesdays, I plan to find a single interesting question from the past and discuss it. One of the things I’ve enjoyed about Ask Dr. Math is getting questions I’d never have thought of on my own, but which lead to some fascinating ideas. Here is an old favorite from …