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Mathematical Objects: An area the size of Wales

Mathematical Objects

A conversation about mathematics inspired by an area the size of Wales. Presented by Katie Steckles and Peter Rowlett.

Aerial image of Wales
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One Response to “Mathematical Objects: An area the size of Wales”

  1. Avatar Dave LeCompte

    A favorite “contextual unit” that I’ve seen used is for bandwidth – normally in megabits per second – I’ve seen this contextualized as a semi-trailer of CD-ROMs driving from Las Vegas, Nevada to Los Angeles, California.

    An interesting variation on contextualizing units is somebody measuring their fuel economy of their car (normally miles per gallon in the US) as inverse acres – which is a simple refactoring of the units – but then, if you think about a big hose of fuel keeping your car going, it totally makes sense to measure the cross section of that hose in square centimeters, or square feet – no need to invert it.

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