Last time, we looked at the Pigeonhole Principle, applying it to geometrical problems, largely about distances, gradually working from almost literal “balls and boxes” (“pigeons and pigeonholes”) to more abstract applications that are harder to see. Here, we will go beyond that, proving facts about sets. Integers in a set Moving further toward the abstract, …Pigeonhole Principle II: Sets, Subsets, and Sums Read More »| The Math Doctors
The Thirtieth Year after Lucille Clifton I had expected to be an ordinary woman. Dreamed of daughters, beauty, life made whole by them. Then the year of losing came, the … Read the rest| West Branch
Dear Time, how many knees wasted at the wrong pulpit? thought i worshipped the future, but it was pleasure all along. thought my prayer aimed for peace, but it was … Read the rest| West Branch
What Is Past George Washington Carver was fascinated by the yucca, and why shouldn’t he have been? It sends up narrow, sharp-tipped leaves like a ring of swords around stalks … Read the rest| West Branch
Creative Nonfiction Selections In January of this year, America watched fires rip through LA, forcing 150,000 people to evacuate, incinerating homes, killing thirty people, torching hiking paths and ridgelines, and … Read the rest| West Branch
By Sarah D’Stair| westbranch.blogs.bucknell.edu
A recent question involved the Pigeonhole Principle; we’ll start with an older question to introduce the idea, then the new question and a few old ones. Rest areas on a path We’ll start with this, from September 2020: I am required to solve the following problem by use of the Pigeon-hole Principle: A bicycle path …Pigeonhole Principle I: Paths, Penguins, and Points Read More »| The Math Doctors
Nefarious bots are at the crux of fake news. Sybil attacks frustrate pseudonymous democratic participation. Can we create proofs of humanness and uniqueness while preserving privacy and personal security?| Generative Identity