This is a cool site I found on the web, filled with tons of flash apps done by Andre Michelle. I am particularly interested in the music ones. I love all the new electronic instruments out there being developed on touch-screen mobile platforms.
Here is one of my favorites:
“The particles have their own note value, while the wheels affect their octave. Drag them all to alter the melody.”
tonewheels
Of course we need to include a sorting algorithm in this list, but why Merge Sort? Why not any of the other comparison based sorting algorithms all of which run in O(nlogn)? The reason is that Merge Sort is probably the most simplest implementation of a “divide and conquer” algorithm out there. The Merge Sort recurrence is also very common in other problems, so you can’t really avoid it. The simplicity is very attractive, it is in my opinion far easier to teach a novice Merge Sort rather than Quick Sort or any other contemporaries.
Dijkstra’s Algorithm is used to solve the “shortest path” path problem on a graph without negative weights. The number of applications where such a solution is needed is endless. No matter if your dealing with complex network routing or simply trying to navigate to a desired destination the solution is the same. With the constant evolution of the internet I can only see Dijkstra’s Algorithm becoming more and more important.
Very simple with numberless applications. These two algorithms are used to solve many standard graph related problems very efficiently. Some of the most common uses are:
The FFT is an efficient algorithm for computing a discrete Fourier transformation and its inverse. This is invaluable to data compression, whether through sound(mp3) or image(jpeg) we have all used the benefits of this algorithm. Unfortunately not enough people understand how it works, so study up on your primitive roots of unity, take some time to learn it and you will see the true beauty of this algorithm.
RSA was a great step for public key encryption and been built into many security protocols. RSA is still very secure with sufficiently long keys. With the advent of quantum computers, factoring becomes a polynomial time task so RSA begins to fall apart, but it is still very relevant and a great breakthrough none the less.
fitter, happier, more productive,
comfortable,
not drinking too much,
regular exercise at the gym
(3 days a week),
getting on better with your associate employee contemporaries,
at ease,
eating well
(no more microwave dinners and saturated fats),
a patient better driver,
a safer car
(baby smiling in back seat),
sleeping well
(no bad dreams),
no paranoia,
careful to all animals
(never washing spiders down the plughole),
keep in contact with old friends
(enjoy a drink now and then),
will frequently check credit at (moral) bank (hole in the wall),
favors for favors,
fond but not in love,
charity standing orders,
on Sundays ring road supermarket
(no killing moths or putting boiling water on the ants),
car wash
(also on Sundays),
no longer afraid of the dark or midday shadows
nothing so ridiculously teenage and desperate,
nothing so childish – at a better pace,
slower and more calculated,
no chance of escape,
now self-employed,
concerned (but powerless),
an empowered and informed member of society
(pragmatism not idealism),
will not cry in public,
less chance of illness,
tires that grip in the wet
(shot of baby strapped in back seat),
a good memory,
still cries at a good film,
still kisses with saliva,
no longer empty and frantic like a cat tied to a stick,
that’s driven into frozen winter shit
(the ability to laugh at weakness),
calm,
fitter,
healthier and more productive
a pig in a cage on antibiotics.
off air.
Back in the late 60′s mathematics hooked up with music(who later became a tramp and gave birth to rap, but that’s another story) and 9 months later progressive music came to be. It was a beautiful age when the concept of musicianship was actually relevant, during this time, the greatest minds of our age tried their best to find out the mathematical implications of music. Unfortunately when disco and punk came about in the 80′s all research on progressive rock was canceled.
This post(and my findings) are a tribute to the remaining few who are still passionate about the connection between math and music.
The Progressive Time Signature Theorem
Notes:
1.) p is said to be prime to ensure that the time signature cannot be easily broken into compound time signatures and/or double time. ‘sufficiently’ implies the prime should be in an appropriate neighbourhood of 2^n.
2.) as n grows the time signature becomes more and more virtuosic, eventually becoming impossible to play as the velocity of notes approaches the speed of light.
3.) ‘true progressive form’ is an idealistic time signature for music of the progressive genre
I may post a proof of this theorem in the future, anyone who is up for giving it a try I would recommend studying the works of Rush, Dream Theater, King Crimson, Genesis, Pink Floyd and Fates Warning.
What have we learned from this post?
1.) There are applications of mathematics even in music.
2.) Tim really has too much time on his hands, and…
3.) its pretty obvious why he doesn’t have a girlfriend.
I have written this rant to clear up what I believe to be misconceptions about the actuary profession. This is more of an opinion piece rather than concrete evidence, but my arguments should hold some validity regardless. My points identify why NOT to become an actuary.
1.) People choose to be actuaries because of reputation rather than self interest.
Most teenagers find themselves at a crossroads towards the end of high school when they must ultimately decide what they want to do for the rest of their lives. There are basically two main paths you can take: pick something you truly enjoy and are passionate about, or sell out and go for a career with a high salary and/or job security. Since high school provides little or no insight into the world of actuary science and I have yet met to meet a 17 year old who studies actsci in their spare time, we can assume that any first year undergrad enrolled in actuary science knows little or nothing about their chosen career (so how can you be passionate about it?) and got where they are because they believed the lie that actsci is an exciting, stable career with endless possibilities.
2.) Actuary Science does not exist in a non-professional context.
It is very important for your job to be something you truly love to do. For example I am a computer scientist, and after I punch the clock and head home, there are still outlets to stimulate my cs mind. Computer science is not only a job…. it’s a hobby as well; learning about new technology and developing software extends what I do for a living, into what I do for leisure. On the other hand, actuaries don’t have this benefit and their skills are strictly professional, after all “risk management” is not a hobby and I have yet to meet an actuary who goes home and calculates the life expectancy of his/her friends and family for ‘fun’.
3.) Slogan’s found on actuary websites are lame and make me want to gouge my eyes out.
“risk is opportunity” – www.soa.org
“a career without boundaries” – www.beanactuary.org
Both of these slogans suffer from the same problem, that is, they are completely meaningless and employ more marketing techniques than coca-cola. Anytime someone tries to sell something now-a-days they give you some pathetic, vacant statement to make it seem as though you are buying into some lifestyle. The readers are left in an idealistic euphoric state, completely oblivious to the obvious shortcomings of the product/career choice. But I guess if your into actsci your probably a big fan of capitalism, so whatever.
4.) Being an Actuary is a high stress job. This stress can have drastic effects on your physical and mental health.
This point is best shown through a couple of hypothetical scenarios.
• Ken is a 45 year old actuary. He was at the top of his class all throughout university and was fully certified by the age of 25. Married at 26 and the father of 3 beautiful kids, it would seem that Ken has it all. What Ken does realize is his busy work schedule distanced himself from his wife, who felt neglected and has been having an ongoing affair with a neighbour for the past 15 years. It may also interest you to know that the high stress job made Ken impotent and the children he was raising all this time are not even his.
• Rex is a 28 year old actuary. Rex comes from a very competitive business-oriented family who always had high expectations for him to succeed in the corporate world, just like them. The stress of the job and the fear of letting down his family made Rex develop a psychological disorder. Rex was found dead in his apartment hanging from the ceiling with a table cloth around his neck later that week.
5.) If you are going to sell your soul, why not get something cooler in return.
Here is a list of things you can sell your soul for which are cooler than becoming an actuary.
• mad sick guitar soloing skills
• superhuman strength
• telepathy
• immortality
• ice cream
• the chance to run through the apple store wearing nothing but a batman mask
6.) The Central Limit Theorem applies to probability not life.
From Wikipedia:
In probability theory, the central limit theorem (CLT) states conditions under which the sum of a sufficiently large number of independent random variables, each with finite mean and variance, will be approximately normally distributed.
No matter how hard you try to bend and manipulate it, the life of an actuary is not “normally distributed”. You can try your best to juggle work, leisure, and family life but you will fail.
~~~
I originally had a couple more points to make but this is already as long as an essay, if you like then maybe I can make a pt 2. in the future.
Amazing song. Amazing Video. When I first heard the song and saw the promo videos I didn’t expect anything like this but I am very impressed. I think this video is proof that Lasse Hoile is the perfect person for the art direction of SW/Porcupine Tree.
