Posted on

The Map Of Mathematics

The Map Of Mathematics


Unless you were a total pro at mathematics in high school, you probably only have a vague recollection of things like geometry, algebra, and some guy called Isosceles

And that sucks, because mathematics is one of the most fascinating languages humanity has ever devised, but without university-level expertise, you’re going to have a very bad time trying to figure out how things like chaos theoryand fractal geometry tie in with machine learning and all those crazy prime numbers we keep finding.
Enter YouTuber Dominic Walliman, who last December delivered this incredible Map of Physics, and is now back to help us find – or reclaim – a passion for all things numbers. 
“The mathematics we learn in school doesn’t quite do the field of mathematics justice – we only get a glimpse of one corner of it, but mathematics as a whole is a huge, and wonderfully diverse subject,” Walliman says in the video below.
To navigate this complex and busting Map of Mathematics, the best place to start is in the middle, where the orangey brown circle depicts the origins of human interest into how numbers explain our Universe:
We’ve then got two main sections that represent the two major fields in mathematics today – Pure Mathematics (an appreciation of the language of numbers itself) and Applied Mathematics (how that language can be used to solve real-world problems).
You can mess around with and download a high-res, zoomable version here, and print it on a throw pillow here, because we all need something to look at on the couch when Taboo is getting a little too weird.
To fully appreciate Walliman’s Map of Mathematics, you should definitely watch the video below to get the proper walkthrough.
All those names of things – topology, complex analysis, and differential geometry – might not sound like much to you now, but you’ll soon learn that they’re really just describing the shapes of things in our Universe, and the way those shapes change in time and space are explained by things like calculus and chaos theory.
Now that you’ve made it through the trickiest theoretical stuff, it’s on to applied Mathematics, which applies to the disciplines of physics, chemistry, and biology, where number systems are integral to understanding how the Universe and everything in it behaves. 
You’ve also got engineering, economics, and game theory, and probability, cryptography, and computer science – all of which simply wouldn’t exist had our very cluey ancestors not laid the foundations of number-sleuthing for us centuries ago.
What’s that? Mathematics literally applies to everything in life and the Universe? [Internal cheering by maths teachers intensifies]
If all of this sounds all too basic for you, don’t worry, there’s more to this map than just pure and applied mathematics.
It even covers what could be the biggest mystery of the entire discipline – how researchers examining the foundations of maths have failed to find a complete set of fundamental rules, called axioms, that are provably consistent across every little nook and cranny of the mathematical universe.
Posted on

The Smallest Computer in the World Fits On a Grain of Rice

Image result for world smallest computer hd image
Researchers at the University of Michigan just created the world’s smallest computer (again). Their previous micro-computer, the Michigan Micro Mote, measured 2x2x4mm. It was a complete, functioning system powered by solar cell batteries. But in March this year, IBM announced a new, smaller computer, which measured 1×1 mm, and was smaller than a grain of salt. It “raised a few eyebrows at the University of Michigan.”
After all, it’s unclear if the IBM computer even count as an actual microcomputer. The IBM device lost all its programming and data as soon as it turns off, unlike the Michigan Micro Mote, which retained its programming even when it wasn’t externally powered. “It’s more of a matter of opinion whether they have the minimum functionality required,” said David Blaauw, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at University of Michigan who helped develop the University of Michigan’s newest tiny device. If the IBM machine constituted a computer, then University of Michigan would work to gain back their title: their latest microdevice measures 0.3mm per side (1/10th the size of IBM’s computer), and is smaller than a grain of rice.
The device was designed to be a precision temperature sensor that can report temperatures in clusters of cells with an error of about 0.1 degrees Celsius. “When we first made our millimeter system, we actually didn’t know exactly all the things it would be useful for. But once we published it, we started receiving dozens and dozens and dozens of inquiries,” Blaauw said. It could, for instance, measure the temperature of tumors and conduct other cancer studies, monitor oil reservoirs, conduct audio or visual surveillance, or help in “tiny snail studies.”