Articles tagged with “Simkin Tales”

1. How Are Numbers Built?

   Decimals and continued fractions are two different ways to represent numbers succinctly, with complementary strengths.

2. Doron’s Mathematical Amnesia

   Poor Doron has suffered a strange cognitive deficit. His language and speech skills have survived intact, but he has developed ‘selective mathematical amnesia’. He has forgotten much of high school mathematics—which for a person with a Master’s degree in engineering—is a rather tragic state of affairs. In fact, his knowledge of mathematics now resembles Emmental cheese—full of holes.

3. The Most Scary Experience

   My redoubtable friend Solus “Sol” Simkin wandered into my office late one afternoon and asked me, “What is the most scary experience for a human being? I thought but for an instant as I replied, almost reflexively,”Death. What else? Or a close shave with death.”

4. Mastering Time

   As Sol wound up his enriching tale, I resolved not to fall into the trap of procrastination ever again. First, I should prime my mind to enjoy the task. Then, I should shed the need for approval from others. Next, I would allocate adequate time to prepare for it, well ahead of the deadline. Then I would do it once, and do it well. And finally when it was done and dusted, I would dismiss it from my mind. ‘Whew! What a teaching!’ I said solemnly to Sol. He smiled the beaming smile of the cognoscenti.

5. The Making of a Logo

   My friend Solus “Sol” Simkin has a well-earned reputation as a Renaissance man. Among other things, he is a virtuoso of design. He endows his creations with an ethereal air of perfection—where mathematics meets aesthetics—to transmogrify the mundane or banal into unforgettable works of art.