Musings on $\pi$ Day

1. The Ubiquity of $\pi$      or, Life, the Universe, and Everything: A Simple Statement of Fact $\pi$ is everywhere you look. It is even the case that there is $\pi$ in the sky. We need $\pi$ in order to live … Continue reading

Fun with Python

Draw your own conclusions: The red points are data fromĀ a grammar.com analysis of nonnegative Facebook comments on the pages of theseĀ presidential candidates. The black curve is the most-optimal least-squares fit of a polynomial (fourth-order, in this case) that, among the … Continue reading

Why I Use Python (part 1)

PHP needs a semicolon at the end of every statement. So does C. So does C++. So does Java. Why? So far as I can tell, for no other reason than laziness on the part of language designers. (Note: stuffthathappens … Continue reading