Holy Cross Mathematics and Computer Science
MONT 106Q
Mathematical Thinking
Syllabus, day-by-day schedule, and CHQ cluster events
-
Course syllabus (.pdf file)
- Detailed course
schedule, to end of semester, (slightly) revised November 19
- Core Human Questions Cluster Common Events
- Tuesday 9/13 -- Showing of film Cartel Land, 7:00pm in Seelos Theater
- Thursday 10/27 -- Performance of Othello in the Seraglio,
8:00pm in Brooks Concert Hall
- Thursday 11/10 -- Middletown by Will Eno, Fenwick Theater, 8:00pm
- Tuesday 12/6 -- Lecture by Prof. Thomas Banchoff on E.A.Abbott and
Flatland, 7:00pm, Hogan Campus Center
Course materials
- Study/discussion questions on the curious incident of the dog in the
night-time. (.pdf file)
- An interesting sidelight -- the curious incident was adapted into a play,
first produced at the National Theater in London, then on Broadway in New York. Alex Sharp, the
young actor who played the role of Christopher, won a Tony Award in 2015 for his portrayal. Here are some
YouTube videos about the Broadway production:
- Theater Talk video about the Broadway production of the curious incident
- Curious Broadway feature on the Broadway production of the curious incident -- shows several scenes of the innovative stage design
- A longer SAGFoundation conversation
with the cast of the Broadway production of the curious incident
- "Our" page from the Mayan Dresden Codex from Problem Set 1, in color
- The Mayan tzol'kin calendar round (from mayan-calendar.com)
- Study/discussion questions
on Herodotus, The Histories. (.pdf file)
- Study/discussion questions on Othello. (.pdf file)
- Study/discussion questions on
Flatland. (.pdf file)
- Slides on Egyptian history and mathematics,
class 9/19, 21.
- Selected solutions for Problem Set 2, due September 26.
- Review sheet for Midterm Exam, given on Friday, November 4.
- Solutions for Midterm Exam.
- Slides on symmetric strip patterns, class 11/7, 9, 14.
- Online
mancala game
- Decision tree for identifying symmetry groups of strip patterns.
- The final examination for this class will be given 8:00 - 10:30am on Thursday,
December 15. Review sheet, and solutions BTW, there is a typo in the
base-2 sum in question I B -- should be 1001100100 (not enough time
right now to re-typeset the solutions and scan them, sorry!)
Assignments
- Prepare a (roughly) one-page reflection essay to read aloud to the
class -- Topic: Describe a time you have either crossed a definite
border or boundary, or chosen not to do so.
Indicate how you made the choice, and why the experience was meaningful to you and/or others. Note: This could be a political, physical, or metaphorical boundary/border; the choice is up to you. The
main ideas are to share something of meaning to you and to introduce yourself to the other members of the seminar. The plan is to devote the class meeting on Friday, September 2 to these reflections and
the discussion they generate. You will also send these reflections as a Word .doc file (or equivalent)
to me at jlittle@holycross.edu for comments and feedback, due:
no later than 5:00pm on Friday, September 2.
- Essay assignment (.pdf file) on
the curious incident of the dog in the night-time, due: Monday September 12, no later
than 5:00pm.
- Problem Set 1 and photocopy of pages from
the Dresden Codex (.pdf files). You may also want to consult the color image of the relevant page from the Dresden Codex above. due: Monday, September 19, no later than 5:00pm.
- Problem Set 2. due: Monday, September 26, no later than 5:00pm.
- Essay assignment on The Histories of Herodotus, due:
no later than 5:00pm on Friday, October 7.
- Discussion on graphs and Eulerian paths, class on Friday,
October 28, due: Monday, November 7 as Problem Set 3.
- Essay assignment on Othello and
Othello in the Seraglio, due: no later than 5:00pm on Monday, October 31.
- Problem Set 4 on symmetric strip patterns,
due: no later than 5:00pm on Monday, November 14.
- Group project on mancala, class Wednesday, November 16 and Friday, November 18.
- Fourth essay assignment, due: Monday,
December 5, no later than 5:00pm (this is one class day later than originally
stated; the course schedule has been updated to reflect this)
Information and announcements
- Revised office hours for remainder of semester:
- Mondays, 1 - 3pm (open)
- Tuesdays, 8 - 9am (for MATH 135), 9 - 10am (open)
- Wednesdays, 2 - 3pm (open), 3 - 4pm (for MATH 136)
- Thursdays, 8 - 9am (for MATH 135), 9 - 10am (for MATH 136), 10 - 11am (open)
- Fridays, 1 - 3pm (open)
Other Related Items
Downloading Information
The links for assignments and other handouts shown above with the notation
(.pdf file) lead to documents in PDF format. To read and print these, you
will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. This
is available at no cost from Adobe.
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Last modified: December 8, 2016