The Friday Wrap-up

This Week's Grab-bag:

1)  An overview of the recent JMM meetings in San Antonio from Jordan Ellenberg: 
http://tinyurl.com/oyh9lq4

2)  This is a bit involved, but if set theory, logic, and paradoxes are your things than this post from Matt Baker may keep you occupied for awhile:
http://tinyurl.com/pw24nxg

3)  Another convert/enthusiast to the "flipped classroom":
http://fliplearnshare.blogspot.com/2015/01/in-love-with-flipping-again.html

meanwhile, Robert Talbert shared some of his evolving thoughts about the flipped classroom here:
http://tinyurl.com/nezn3h4

4)  A long statistical read from Deborah Mayo on questionable research practices (using a specific case as an example) and statistical power analysis:
http://tinyurl.com/mav9szg

also this week, Deborah re-ran a 2013 "statistical dirty laundry" post (more on research methodology than technical statistics):
http://errorstatistics.com/2015/01/21/some-statistical-dirty-laundry-2/

5)  Presh Talwalkar shows multiple solutions to a geometric puzzle he had previously posed:
http://tinyurl.com/n8mxdy3

6)  Interesting little discussion of math grading (and a Robert Talbert approach):
https://symmetricblog.wordpress.com/2015/01/21/talbert-was-right-i-was-wrong/

7)  Fun with "Plateau's Laws," surfaces, and bubbles:
http://thatsmaths.com/2015/01/22/plateaus-problem-and-double-bubbles/

8) And having fun with sequences here:
http://tinyurl.com/mf4tvv2

9)   A little overview of the Polymath Project from Peter Cameron:
https://cameroncounts.wordpress.com/2015/01/22/polymath/

10)   Patrick Honner tells how we can (and should) learn from technology failures, in this recently-uploaded YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRT3QIt7w20

11)  MikesMathPage, always worth checking out:  http://mikesmathpage.wordpress.com/


...lastly,  a book-note: usually I just recommend popular math books here, but once-in-awhile come across a book I like so much or believe so useful I want to be sure readers are aware of it. Recently out, "Pogue's Basics," is one such volume. David Pogue has long been a favorite tech writer and this new volume of helpful hints -- what he terms "essential tips and shortcuts that no one bothers to tell you" -- is just a great little compilation of handy computer tips. It covers both Macs and Windows (not other systems directly), and while computer pros may not learn too much from it, I imagine most average computer users, and certainly newbies, will gain plenty of pointers. I turned down page corners, as I quickly read through it, to mark all the tips I wanted to go back and try out, and ended up with around 40 dog-eared corners.