Mailman 3 February 2009 - Edu-sig

xturtle online via processing.js !?
by Jurgis Pralgauskis 27 Sep '12

27 Sep '12

Hi, I am struggling around with interactive online py tutorials with https://launchpad.net/projects/intro-to-code (ith might become securely sandboxed soon, as pypy made it possible http://blog.sandbox.lt/en/WSGI%20and%20PyPy%20sandbox :) but one more thing is I'd like to let access xturtle functionality online - one possible way could be triggering tkinter to save its canvas to ps, and then convert them with imagemagic and show via web (animated gif or static) - but if pyjamas can render GUI for js (http://www.google.lt/search?&q=pyjamas+python ), mayby there is a way to **translate turtle commands to processing.js analogues** http://ejohn.org/blog/processingjs/ would it be difficult -- how do you think? -- Jurgis Pralgauskis tel: 8-616 77613; jabber: jurgis(a)akl.lt; skype: dz0rdzas; Don't worry, be happy and make things better ;) http://sagemath.visiems.lt

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Python for Teachers (last call)
by kirby urner 28 Feb '09

28 Feb '09

Last chance to sign up for 'Python for Teachers', one of a few still below 10 and therefore eligible for cancellation in the next couple of days. If you were thinking to join us, just haven't gotten around to registering, today would be a good time. About 'Python for Teachers': Developed from my earlier 'Python Briefing', 'Python for Teachers' has been presented in abbreviated form to our local PPUG (Portland Python Users Group) [0], and to a gathering at Linus Pauling House, Dr. Mario Livio joining us, author of the recently published 'Is God a Mathematician?' [1] After PPUG, Chris F. wrote: "Thanks for the VPython talk at PDX Python. I realize you had to skim, but the content was really interesting. I wish I'd had teachers like you. Good luck at PyCon." Dr. Livio liked my use of Akbar font and had no problems re 4D vs. 4D vs. 4D (one of the slides, very technical). I'm doing another presentation of 'Python for Teachers' on March 17, and will be submitting it to OS Bridge before deadline (what Portland is doing instead of OSCON this year). Then of course I'm on tap to actually teach the stuff (pythonic math) in April, through Saturday Academy. "Pythonic math" as I teach it comes equipped with a new kind of spatial geometry -- with some connections to Wolfram's stuff (i.e. cellular automata studies), even more to Bucky Fuller's (where my '4D' comes from in 4Dsolutions.net -- the meme I was talking about with Dr. Livio, and also the 'rbf' in rbf.py).[2] A lot of the content is quite familiar however, just recast for 21st century tools (beyond calculators, per last year's Chicago talk).[3] A lot of the same content will be useful to adults, so one of the questions we explore is how to adapt technical content for different age groups and walks of life -- using audience-appropriate stories of high mnemonic value is key. Our problem though (and marketing challenge), is Pycon attracts programmers, not math teachers. I'm saying there's not a huge difference, once you consider "computer language = machine logic" (per Iverson), and factor in XP (pair programming etc.) i.e. everyone is a math teacher, especially in open source communities that encourage sharing among peers. The content is semi-numerical and algorithmic (per Knuth) and legitimate fodder for K-12 mathematics curricula. Why I target K-12, and *don't* call it "computer science", is spelled out in detail on math-thinking-l this month.[4] It's where most analysts consider the pipeline to be broken, i.e. students turn away from STEM subjects even before getting to college. CS is an obscure elective if offered at all, whereas math (what's broken) is considered mandatory. High school is the big turn off. What shall we do about it? In Portland, we're coming up with some answers: http://mathforum.org/kb/message.jspa?messageID=6626933&tstart=0 (SQL with VPython etc.) Most "schoolish math" teachers have either never heard of FOSS or simply don't use it, and the stuff that they teach is controlled by those with little to no computer skills, even in math and science. "Bridging the Digital Divide" has become a battle cry to address this situation, but just dumping affordable commodity hardware into the schools doesn't address questions about curriculum. What shall we do with this embarrassment of riches? Anyway I knew from the top this wouldn't be an easy niche to fill (no budget for a Flying Circus blimp), what with the Spanish Inquisition and all that rot, what? <--- Monty Python voice. Kirby 4D [0] http://coffeeshopsnet.blogspot.com/2009/02/glass-bead-game.html (write up of meetup with Livio) [1] http://mail.python.org/pipermail/portland/2009-February/000625.html (Michelle's write up of PPUG) [2] http://coffeeshopsnet.blogspot.com/2009/02/more-inside-story.html (more re our battle for hearts and minds) [3] http://showmedo.com/videos/?author=1851 [4] http://mail.geneseo.edu/pipermail/math-thinking-l/2009-February/001293.html ============ Me urging Dr. Chuck to sign up, a CS prof at U Mich I've been working with for his O'Reilly book on the Google App Engine, which I'm also promoting (consider this free advertising): ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: kirby urner <kirby.urner(a)gmail.com> Date: Sat, Feb 28, 2009 at 6:28 AM Subject: Re: Updated Version of the Documents To: Dr. Chuck Greetings sir, Welcome back from South Africa, where I too have had many adventures. You should register for the workshop if you haven't yet, March 26 afternoon. We only have 7 signed up (not the only small group) and there's talk of cutting those that don't reach 10 in the next couple days. Kirby Cc: edu-sig (last chance to boost enrollment folks -- might have to admit Pycon isn't the right venue for 'Python for Teachers'). I'll put something else out on Chipy as well. If you have a blog, and want to promote, this is your chance. On Sat, Feb 28, 2009 at 5:02 AM, csev <csev(a)umich.edu> wrote: > Kirby, > > I am finally back from South Africa with a decent network connection. > Thanks for all of your help and comments. > > I will make sure that you get your book and compensation. I don't know the > mechanics or when it happens - but I will follow through to make sure it all > happens. > > I will be seeing you at PyCon - what day is your workshop? > > /Chuck > > On Feb 23, 2009, at 5:30 PM, kirby urner wrote: > >> Thank you Dr. Chuck, it has been a pleasure working with you and I >> enjoyed our correspondence. >> >> Please note the name credit in the source (home.py) in this Google App >> Engine: osgarden.appspot.com >> >> I was pleased to use PyFontify, un-Tk'd by Just van Rossum with a >> repurposed py2html to get the colorized source on the fly, for >> historic reasons if not because there aren't other more elegant >> solutions (we've seen some at PPUG -- Portland's very active and >> talented Python user group). >> >> As the token high school teacher looking for something to use in K-12, >> I have to say you opened my eyes to a lot of esoteric history and >> background I might not otherwise know, plus your making everything be >> in terms of an httpRequest and httpResponse, with Python "between the >> ears" was very compact, helped me in subsequent curriculum writing for >> clients, including Providence (corporate training) and Matsu District >> (Alaska footprints). >> >> Note that I also work with adult aged learners and I didn't see >> anything that'd be a turn off for them, though in person I use more >> colorful language than O'Reilly books do (per slides), and for the >> same "Head First series" motives (i.e. mnemonics matter). Probably >> it's the same in your classes. >> >> For purposes of reimbursement my mailing address for O'Reilly Media is: >> >> 4D Solutions >> 3745 SE Harrison St. >> Portland, OR 97214 >> >> I perhaps will run into you at Pycon? My 'Python for Teachers' >> (workshop) promises to be rather intimate. We'll have the >> internationally recognized Tizard professor from Kingston (I think it >> is -- my colleague from last year), Steve Holden, chair of PSF (we >> hung out last OSCON), and a few others. We'd love to have the benefit >> of your wisdom and insights. >> >> Thanks again for including me (with a name credit). I take great >> professional pleasure in getting to work with O'Reilly, one of the >> most reputable publishers in the business. >> >> Sincerely, >> >> Kirby Urner >> 4D >> >> "everyone is a car in 'Cars', even the bug on the windshield" -- KU to >> Kathy Hyzy >> >> "everything is a python in Python" -- 4D mnemonic >> >> "__missing__ rib" -- Jason Kirtland ( >> http://discorporate.us/jek/talks/defaultdict/ )

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more "Kirby's Classroom"...
by kirby urner 23 Feb '09

23 Feb '09

"More from Kirby's Classroom... (as seen on TV)" by K. Urner, Feb 23, 2009 Greetings math teachers, teachers of machine logic, or whatever this is (Python etc.). I'm continuing to apply spit and polish to various aspects of P4E here in Portland, more meetings with geometry buffs especially. Just got a new client today, HarrisonStreet Studios (JimmyLott.com) -- he does my soundtrack for a CSN pilot. Don't remember if I linked it, tangentially related in that I use Python to brew some of those graphics.&& == New E-toys like "game": first person car view, like typical race game, except freeway "dotted" line represents equator, left and right margins the respective tropics of Capricorn and Cancer. Lots of lighting applies, in getting the sun disk to oscillate per seasons, shadows to move, i.e. as we speed around the planet, steering between margins, we have access to astronomical data, with toggle inset frame showing inertial solar view, car a blip. 23 degree tilt, slight precession (~25K cycle, pole star not always pole star). Here's the ballpark we're talking: http://www.astro.lsa.umich.edu/undergrad/Labs/precession/index.html == Glenn (CSO) reminds me of lore associated with "beyond flatland" (the freeway) i.e. middle earth, i.e. what's beyond the margins? Of course we might talk in terms of constellations, but also geography e.g. Alaska, Greenland, Siberia (north) Antarctica (south). He studies the many sagas. In buckaneer lore (the Bucky stuff) we see the south as "where to go to get around" i.e. the fast moving current connects the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans with a "hop on, hop off" turntable, used by world class pirates of old (before jets). Roz Savage connects here as "action figure" (inspiring to XX engineers, a target demographic), more in my blogs. These kinds of high powered arcade games don't run on tiny laptops so easily, more for "education mall" setting (coffee shops, supervisory staff, some classrooms -- a lot like a university but with more private sector supervision, when it comes to curriculum). However this isn't to discourage any open source versions on whatever platforms (e.g. Pygame, Pyglet). In general, I'm encouraging a Wild West "skin" for some of these, i.e. flat board store fronts with shacks in back, always fun to have an imposing "bank with columns" with like a mom 'n pop parked out pack, very "ToonTown" and historically an inspiration for the USA "mall" idea (similar to "bazaar"): http://www.flickr.com/photos/17157315@N00/3304392700/ http://www.disneyorama.com/2008/11/14-original-disneyland-attractions-that-… http://picasaweb.google.com/DanDiLuzio/200806WildWestCity#52204208186914620… http://www.flickr.com/photos/17157315@N00/3303583889/ Random beefs (aka "dead beefs" -- esoteric allusion **): Sometimes gmail CSS seems weird, like right now I'm stuffed in a small Mozilla widget in FireFox, lots of screen real estate to my right, but no way to grow the widget. Anyone else notice that? If there's a ragged right indent, it might be because I'm messing up word wrap. And on the topic of glitches, I'll search engine my own blogspot, not get results (timeout with no error? then search again and bingo! the 2/3 posts I was expecting to get). I'm thinking "low batteries" sometimes. Pycon: might stay with Deb's cousin a night or two, still sorting it out, couldn't see blocking in Hyatt, given my "born in Chicago should see more of it" agenda. Or just Crowne Plaza like last year? Got used to the place, fond memories. I was thinking Dr. Chuck this morning (Umich), for letting me play in his sandbox with O'Reilly. I'm not saying we saw eye to eye on everything, each author entitled to a style, plus this was more an anthology in some ways (contributed chapters -- hence the 'et al' in my home.py citation). So, to edu-sig business, here's more of my usual.... ======================= from recent outbox, excerpts from some average correspondence: << SNIP >> I've got this sort of trademarked way of teaching Python, insofar was we trademark pedagogy (we don't, not if we want it to spread, though we appreciate citations), where we say "everything is a python in Python" (kind of like everything is a car in 'Cars'), and I can back that up with these little diagrams or "cave paintings". Turns out Pierce, the American Pragmatist, was getting to diagrams, per Dr. Susan Haack, dunno if you saw my fourth blog already, Coffee Shops Network. Haack and I were both Rorty students, she playing opposition, me a huge fan (he was my thesis advisor at Princeton). << SNIP >> A python in Python looks like this: class Python: def __init__(self): # I am born <-- comment self.stomach = [] def eat(self, food): self.stomach.append(food) def __repr___(self): return 'Hello, I'm a python at ", id(self) Would this make sense to an 8th grader? It did, but on the computer you get to "run the blueprint" i.e. this is just a template for a Python. You trigger a birth event, assign the resulting object a name, like this: >>> cute_kathy = Python() >>> cute_kathy.eat("something that kathy's like") and so on. Kids like it. Then they make multiple pythons, have them eat each other. Then they make dogs and monkeys, have them inherit from Mammal -- and they're hooked. From then on, eating out of my hand, per Saturday Academy. The twisted part, but fun, is that __repr__ and __init__, very much a part of the language, look like __ribs__, and snakes have a lot of ribs. I shared this in Vilnius and places. There's even a new rib, part of , called __missing__. http://discorporate.us/jek/talks/defaultdict/ === Kirby ** http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/0xDEADBEEF#Magic_debug_values && http://mathforum.org/kb/thread.jspa?threadID=1905517&tstart=0 (a bit of a treasure hunt, but worth it if you want to see a cool video)

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more promo
by kirby urner 21 Feb '09

21 Feb '09

I've done a good job of explaining my program (P4E) on math-thinking-l recently, underused bandwidth, a convenient nexus, lots of good feedback. I'm reminding college minded professors that we don't have "computer science" in most schools, yet there's a hunger to learn skills. What I gathered from our meeting in London that time is students just boycott if it's not about learning computer skills i.e. you can't do "math for math's sake" (whatever that means). So that's why I'm calling it math. That's my only toe hold, in today's stripped down scene. Naturally, there's tremendous inertia, so it's falling to charters and various elite academies (like Saturday Academy), to serve as early adopters. Home schooling, or "self schooling" often plays a role. Kids learn after hours. My intent is to meet the early bird deadline for Pycon, like 48 hours or less, no secret this'll be a stretch given I'm splitting reimbursement, won't cover me, but that's my problem. Mom in hospital down in LA, with my sis (better by the day) etc. If there's any real opposition to the futurism I peddle, I haven't met it yet. There's inertia, doing the same things today we did yesterday, but that's different from "opposition". So from a marketing point of view, I'm feeling upbeat. Thinking people tip their hats. I'm a highly respected geek in this town. But does anyone get it about FOSS? This OS Bridge thing needs to be big, but a lot of Portlanders don't remember being called "an open source capital" by Christian Science Monitor in 1985. Understanding about FOSS takes a fairly high level of literacy (ongoing). Is that torch getting passed? In my view, coming from OSCON, the FOSS revolution has succeeded, but now there's this "so now what?" and it seems like there's a lot of waiting for answers. Students are anxious for stories, understandably. But our media (a primary source) is rather short on technical content, unless it's about money (economics). Everything else is fiction (cops, lawyers, doctors... all invented for TV). Even when I had ChoicePlus (no longer), there was precious little "geek TV" e.g. nothing about Python. Of course I know what you're thinking: YouTube, Vimeo, ShowMeDo. Yeah, very true. But that still leaves us locked out of the schools, in some "underground university" (like the sound of that -- reminds of Morlocks, very H.G. Wells). I've been explaining to my engineer friends how SQL isn't just about theory, Venn diagrams etc., it's about telling technical stories about how the world works, what's behind Fandango (ticket sales), the ATM machine on the corner. School has traditionally had this storytelling function where you give some insights into infrastructure. Then there's the amazing history: Hollerith, "keeping tabs", punch cards, IBM... it goes on. One of our number is Allen Taylor, author of 'SQL for Dummies', so safe to say I have a sympathetic audience. He was in my Python for Wanderers also. What's missing, when you drop out the technical stuff, is a coherent story about how stuff works, including some of the most awesome stories of humans working together, collaborating, working in teams (GNU, Linux...). As geeks, we have the same needs and rights as any subculture to tell our stories, share our lore. Ada, Hopper... and let's not forget The Turk. :) More recently: GNU, Linux, Mozilla, XO... (or meme pool, needs protecting through retelling). Anyway, these are the kinds of thoughts, beyond trying to sell my biggest client on moving beyond MUMPS (or at least doing something on the side). DemocracyLab is out with a new app engine, haven't had time to work with it yet. Speaking of app engines, I guess I already mentioned doing technical review for Dr. Chuck, working for O'Reilly. I get a name credit, plus I mentioned his title in my source code: osgarden.appspot.com More soon, Kirby

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happy new python interactive tutorial :)
by Jurgis Pralgauskis 17 Feb '09

17 Feb '09

my weekend project in the mood of tryruby https://launchpad.net/intro-to-code what I liked most, that it nicely plays with IDLE but I still don't know, how to handle multiline inputs?? and how to start IDLE on windows... -- Jurgis Pralgauskis tel: 8-616 77613; jabber: jurgis(a)akl.lt; skype: dz0rdzas; Don't worry, be happy and make things better ;)

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Re: [Edu-sig] project Euler
by kirby urner 16 Feb '09

16 Feb '09

On Thu, Feb 12, 2009 at 11:53 PM, Edward Cherlin <echerlin(a)gmail.com> wrote: << SNIP >> >> So you're doing that in your head? > > Not at all. I can do this example with paper and pencil, and I would > want a calculator or a log table for larger examples. Let's see... And I would want my Python shell. I don't own a calculator, have no need for one. > > 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 233 377 610 987 1597 2584 > 2 8 34 144 610 2584 > 2 10 44 188 798 3382, ok, 4 more terms...Third grade paper and pencil > arithmetic for the rest. > >> I think the word "programming" is misleading in some contexts. > > I don't use the word for anything that can easily be done on a > non-programmable calculator, an abacus, or a half sheet of paper by > one with the skills commonly taught (though not very often learned in > full) for each. I'm not that impressed by "commonly taught skills" i.e. if a kid knows how to use a TI, but not Python, I'm inclined to move on to the next candidate. > >> Using Python as a calculator is what Guido mentions in his tutorial. >> >> Python or TI? >> >> XO or TI? > > Similarly for APL and J. > Yes, as I've mentioned, APL was my first language and I've worked with Iverson himself on a paper about J. I heard from Roger Hui just the other day. Part of why I fell in love with Python is because of its orthogonal primitives, feels like APL in some ways. Plus the whole OO thing is way cool, highly accessible. My oft stated preference is to NOT ever (ever) get stuck in teaching just one language, even if one emphasizes just one in this or that classroom or on-line session. Per some brain science I've been studying, we really do *not* multitask, even though we appear to, any more than an Intel chip really does (OK, some do, but at one time it was all round robin). Kirby

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Re: [Edu-sig] project Euler
by David MacQuigg 14 Feb '09

14 Feb '09

At 05:37 PM 2/11/2009 -0800, michel paul wrote: >This is a pretty cool site: <http://projecteuler.net/>Project Euler. > >... > >It reminds me somewhat of <http://javabat.com>JavaBat. There was some discussion earlier about doing something similar in Python? I'm still working on "PyBat", in my spare time :>). Interest at the University seems to have died out. I'll have something to post in the next few days, I hope. This will be a package of little programs to run on your own computer, rather than through a website - not as pretty, but it actually has some advantages in getting students to work with real programs and tools, with unit tests as part of the program, not tucked away in the internals of the website. Project Euler is very cool!! JavaBat has a different focus. I think of it as "batting practice" rather than intellectual challenge. I like the collaborative effort on Project Euler. We could do something similar with PyBat, increasing the number of topics and the number of problems on each topic, until we have covered all of Python. -- Dave ************************************************************ * * David MacQuigg, PhD email: macquigg at ece.arizona.edu * * * Research Associate phone: USA 520-721-4583 * * * * ECE Department, University of Arizona * * * * 9320 East Mikelyn Lane * * * * http://purl.net/macquigg Tucson, Arizona 85710 * ************************************************************ *

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Moving ahead in Alaska (long)
by kirby urner 14 Feb '09

14 Feb '09

Did anyone else notice the Google valentines day graphic could be construed as XO promotion? I'm going to do something fun in my blog about that. Here's something long, but maybe useful if you're a math teacher using Python for some reason (still an elite and rare breed -- looks good on your resume): On Fri, Feb 13, 2009 at 12:02 PM, kirby urner <kirby.urner(a)gmail.com> wrote: << SNIP >> > Recent meeting with Anna Roys, TECC/Alaska (tecc-alaska.org): > > Lesson plan: On-line Dictionary of Integer Sequences, enter 1, 12, 42, 92... > > Follow some links, to my page included, even if just for the pictures > (good Virus from Life -- made out of metal nuts it looks like). > Treasure hunt? ==== < INTERJECTION > ===== Here's something I just uploaded to Math Forum on this lovely Valentine's Day, giving more context and background re my curriculum work with Alaska, the Matsu District in particular. It doesn't mention Python per se, but does talk about computer programming. Scroll to the very bottom for the rest of the edu-sig context, as Python generators of the "must have" variety are part of the mix... > Kirby > > [ in a meeting with Anna Roys of TECC/Alaska, Kennedy > School (McMenamins network), usa.pdx.or ] > > ------- End of Forwarded Message Happy V-day ya'll! Regarding the above meeting, I'm still putting puzzle pieces together, will be for awhile, but I wanted to go over a "signature lesson plan" that we use when suggesting a charter distinguish itself from the pack. Of course "distinguishing oneself from the pack" is not always what a school wants to do, at least not on the basis of curriculum. In sports it's OK (e.g. "best football team") but in academics you're looking for uniformity at the district level a lot of the time, so that parents don't get all bent out of shape about one school being oh so much better than another. A traditional district may well aim for homogeneity, as may a traditional state or even nation. Actually, the more accurate description is that the standards-based teaching methods now widely adopted aim to put a "floor" under a given school, such that content above and beyond what's in the standards is not actively discouraged so much as put on a back burner next to what's widely agreed as important. To use the football analogy: get as good as you like, but at least make sure your team plays by the rules, knows what these are. So, back to the lesson plan, which we're able to hook to standards here and there... Consider the figurate numbers, such as the triangular and square numbers. Review some example (previous lessons). Use ping pong balls or other balls (clay OK), to model the figures. Dots on paper also work for one layer, i.e. for arrays in a plane. Today we're ready to tackle some "polyhedral numbers" meaning we come off the plane, start stacking layers. Two easy examples, based on our work with the square and triangular numbers: the half-octahedral and tetrahedral numbers. Just stack consecutive layers from the previous review starting with 1. This is where having actual balls, not just dots on paper, might be advantageous. Square: 1, 4, 9, 16... Triangular: 1, 3, 6, 10... Half-octahedral: 1, 1+4 = 5, 1+4+9 = 14, 1+4+9+16 = 30 Tetrahedral: 1, 1+3=4, 1+3+6 = 10, 1+3+6+10 = 20 A next step requires the Internet, although pre-printed handouts would be another possibility. Visit the On-Line Encyclopedia of Interger Sequences and enter the above sequences, just to confirm they're in there and to take a gander at some of the literature. A purpose here is to connect with the larger culture and get a sense of the knowledge base, its "humongousness" if you will. The "half-octahedral" sequence is actually called the "square pyramidal" sequence (same thing): http://www.research.att.com/~njas/sequences/A000330 And here are the tetrahedral numbers: http://www.research.att.com/~njas/sequences/A000292 Lots of literature, plenty of branch points to other topics. What we're looking for here is a bridge to the sciences. We'll find many of course, as both the square pyramidal and tetrahedral ball packings define the all important FCC lattice (also known as the CCP -- or even IVM in more esoteric writings). Alexander Graham Bell's engineering around towers and kits forms an architectural connection. Other examples of this space frame or truss are not difficult to find (here in Portland we have some great examples).[1] However, there's another way of getting to the FCC that starts with a single nuclear ball with 12 packed around it, all intertangent to one another. 12 equi-diameter balls will squeeze around a nuclear one in more than one way, but if you insist on maximizing points of intertangency, then you're basically looking at two ways, defined as the CCP and HCP respectively. So how much of the above crystallographic background goes into the lesson, and how much is for teacher notes? In this overview of the plan, I don't make those decisions. A lot depends on grade level and which standards we're meeting. In taking the CCP route, starting with 12-around-1, we're able to expand outward with successive layers. The shape is cuboctahedral, meaning we'll have probably needed some background in the various polyhedra, at least the most commonly encountered simple ones, such as the Platonic Five and a smattering of others. Since we're doing sphere packing, the rhombic dodecahedron (a zonohedron) is going to be quite important (links to Kepler). So yes, other lesson plans are implied here. To make a long story short, the number of balls in the successive layers of our growing cuboctahedron (1, 12, 42, 92...) is also the number of balls in successive icosahedral arrangements. A great way to get this across is to show how a cuboctahedron may transform into an icosahedron and vice versa. Animations enter the picture at this point, or many math classrooms will be equipped with a sticks-and-rubber-joins affair such as we see in this YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HefLC3PW8XQ Back to the Encyclopedia: http://www.research.att.com/~njas/sequences/A005901 You'll see in the header that "cuboctahedral" and "icosahedral" are both mentioned. The interesting fact about the icosahedral numbers is they lay the groundwork for talking about (a) geodesic spheres, wherein the vertices (balls) are perhaps equidistant from some center and (b) the structure of the virus, consisting of proteins called capsomeres that follow the above sequence.[2] So this is a bridge from mathematics to both architecture and naturally occurring micro-architecture. The virus is our bridge to talking about RNA-DNA in other lessons, when we've turned to other subjects in biology etc. For those charters working a computer language into their curriculum (a growing number in some districts), these are typically some of the shortest "programs" one might wish for. However, jumping ahead to the closed form algebraic expressions which generate the above will often be done in conjunction with specific proofs. Mathematical induction is one option, though in the case of the cuboctahedral numbers in particular, I favor a different approach, likewise algebraic.[3] I'm expecting you'll discover these interconnected topics making a lot of headway in some of the charters, as we have corporate sponsors lining up to develop their market potential and lots of green lights from university departments. Alaska Pacific University and the State University of Alaska work with the State of Alaska on the development of standards (the former in particular) and so are aware of where the connect points might be. TECC itself is looking at the computer language piece, an anticipation of standing out as a flagship in the Matsu District. Advertising oneself as "early college" (in the sense of encouraging cross-enrollment) and STEM (into science and math) somewhat requires backing that up with at least some computer programming activities. The days when just calculators were sufficient appear to be behind us where "technology in the classroom" is concerned. Both the UK and US are moving to embrace low cost open source tools (hence the coin "gnu math"). What I'm suggesting to subscribers to math-teach is they mine this same network of interconnected topics if wanting to differentiate above the "floor level" (bare minimum). The STEM aspects are obvious, connections to contemporary engineering and science manifest, opportunities for computer use clear. Yes, Alaska may be ahead of the pack at this point, but the lower 48 have opportunities to borrow, especially if not in lockstep based on some text book series that excludes all of the above. Those would be the "non-competitive" schools, many of them mired in outmoded curricula. If you're a parent, you now know what to put on your radar, if looking for signs of innovation and a commitment to STEM. Kirby [1] http://www.portlandbridges.com/00,D300CRW05758,24,0,1,0-portland-oregon.html [2] http://books.google.com/books?id=7rfpzW7eMW4C&pg=PA181&lpg=PA181&dq=capsome… [3] http://mybizmo.blogspot.com/2007/01/gnu-math-memo.html ==== < /INTERJECTION > ===== So the functions below need to be rewritten as generators, mixed in with our Fibonacci generator, Pascal's triangle generator, plus the prime and chaotic sequence generators we've been discussing (acknowledging that the "generator" may not always be the most computationally efficient method -- sometimes efficiency takes a back seat for pedagogical purposes). > > We're focused on linking algebraic sequences, generator type stuff, to > visual imagery, imaginary content, like we do later with coordinate > systems (XYZ, spherical...), but "figurate numbers" ("polyhedral > numbers") are a first bridge between algebra and geometry, coordinates > be damned (until later). > > Glue four ping pong balls together: voila, a tetrahedron (your unit > of volume in some curriculum segments, unless your school is some kind > of joke -- Alaska leading the pack here in some ways). > << SNIP >> > A quick challenge: > > Spheres packing around a nuclear sphere go 1, 12, 42, 92... 10*L*L + > 2, where L is the layer number, except where L = 1 we have just the > one ball (the shape is a cuboctahedron). So how many balls total? > Add up all the layers. Yes, very easy to do in APL. > > In Python: > > def cubocta( layer ): > if layer == 1: return 1 > return 10 * layer ** 2 + 2 > > def total_balls( layer ): > total = 0 > for i in range(1, layer + 1): > total = total + cubocta( i ) > return total > > But isn't there a closed form algebraic expression for total_balls > that doesn't require cumulative adding? Damn straight. We'll get to > it. > > Don't forget to watch the cartoons! This isn't Bourbaki. > Visualizations encouraged! This is MVC.

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project Euler
by michel paul 13 Feb '09

13 Feb '09

This is a pretty cool site: Project Euler <http://projecteuler.net/>. It's a list of problems that can't be solved using mathematical cleverness alone - they require programming. After you solve a problem, you then get access to the list of previous solutions. The first one - "Add all the natural numbers below one thousand that are multiples of 3 or 5." - is just a Python one-liner. The second - "Find the sum of all the even-valued terms in the Fibonacci sequence which do not exceed four million." It's fun looking at the previous solutions in all kinds of other languages. Really shows the elegance of Python. It reminds me somewhat of JavaBat <http://javabat.com>. There was some discussion earlier about doing something similar in Python? - Michel

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More yakking from Portland (usa.or.pdx)
by kirby urner 10 Feb '09

10 Feb '09

So I've started a whole new blog, cram packed w/ dah math stuff: http://coffeeshopsnet.blogspot.com/ ( it's actually subtitled "philosophy talk" but there's lots of math-related content ) Please feel free to click on the Google ads at the bottom to make me rich. I'm still blue with the news from Reed College that my PHP is too weak, or why else wouldn't I get that Open Source Developer position (scan of the ad buried in my Photostream someplace). Hint: they wanted a maintenance technician not a visionary professor who mentions R. Buckminster Fuller on his resume (I was the Fuller Institute's first web wrangler, long ago -- bfi.org -- other responsibilities). It woulda been a big leap after 15 years in the private sector as a client-based business, but you have to understand, Reed is a great school (applied there as a high schooler, got accepted, but went to Princeton instead, so poetic justice I guess). David Koski was right: you *can* export those "xtranormal movies" to YouTube (icon based scripting language -- not talking about Icon the computer language, but little symbols, sequenced) so my Objectifying in Python prototype is now much more accessible. I'll be projecting it tonight at CubeSpace at our Portland Python User Group meeting, lugging speakers (gotta have good sound), as a part of my Pycon Preview. I'm gonna race through my slides just like I did with the engineering group and Mario Livio, visiting MVP (see CSN blog: http://coffeeshopsnet.blogspot.com/2009/02/glass-bead-game.html ) Here's the xtranormal movie (again) http://worldgame.blogspot.com/2009/02/regarding-objectifying.html (blog embedded) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p698mXuHmTs Anyway, the UK needs ed reform just as surely as the USA and I'm sensing a kind of division of labor emerging, with the UK handling the early algebra piece, very friendly to programming, and our open source capital (Portland) leading the nation in some of the more GIS/GPS type pieces, like with those dodecacams, Google Streets, Python appengine and like that. You all saw my clever advertising for OS Bridge right? http://osgarden.appspot.com/ . I have source code and credits in the About section. Managed to modify py2html, need to add a link, to PyFontify as well (they'll both autocolorize on the fly, thanks to themselves, very cool). So yeah, the entry I just posted to my CSN blog is about Constructivism. I don't mention the XO per se, but I do go over some of the history. http://coffeeshopsnet.blogspot.com/2009/02/about-constructivism.html My next plan is to see if Saturday Academy wants to serve as a training hub for adult teachers with day jobs in public schools, most of which already have some budget for in-service but don't use it on anything FOSS-related, even though that's a big part of our economy and what we're training up for around here, people moving here to do development and design work. Every kid should feel empowered to write server-side scripts in the cloud, is sort of my attitude. That's a way to get your identity out there, without the constraints of Facebook, Myspace... like it's not either/or. Being able to script from scratch, in PHP even if that's your bag (Reed's ad put PHP at the forefront), is a reward for having learned programming in math class, which in turn is a way of learning math skills (and geography) that'd be useful later in life, interpreting "math skills" to include file management in general, including bill paying and home economics. Of course the XOs fit right in to this vision, as portals to said cloud. I'll be posting more frequently in the countdown to Pycon. Tizard @ Stanford is doing a fine job of promoting our little Python for Teachers, although unless you're into education arcana and esoterica that's not going to mean much, this is not Britney Spears. Here's the other YouTube I'm going to project (with audio) and PPUG tonight, which is supposed to focus on VPython (and it will, just want to give context, show how I use it in Saturday Academy classes. Yeah, kinda random, just archiving some of my activities and thoughts. The blogs are more formal, upgraded the templates, installed Google Analytics on all of them, not just Grain of Sand. Averaging like 800 unique visitors each 30 day period, something like that. They like my movie reviews sometimes. Off to see Gordon next, good friend, interesting geek. Ah, the cleaning team has just arrived, gotta make this home office ship shape for tomorrow as MVP Anna Roys is swinging through from TECC/Alaska. tecc-alaska.org There's still interest in ramping up on the Python but I'm just a local yokel in Portland, don't get to fly around (or drive (bizmo scenario)) showing how that's done -- except that's the idea in Chicago, provided there's some interest. Kirby

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