A few days ago I posted on a problem (Problem 4(a) on Page 7) from the very nice The USSR Olympiad Problem Book, by D.O. Shklarsky, N.N. Chentzov, and I.M. Yaglom: We are given 80 coins of the same denomination; we know that one of them is counterfeit and that it is lighter than the … Read more
Diane Ravitch reviews two new books on the current “crisis” in education in the New York Review of Books (hat tip to Susan Ohanian, who has a very interesting site devoted to education here; incidentally, Ms. Ohanian is married to physicist and fine textbook author Hans C. Ohanian). Her review is entitled School ‘Reform’: A … Read more
A review by Jim Powell of two recent books by Wendell Berry can be found here. A quoted fragment of one of his poems will give you a sense for Berry’s worldview: Ceaseless preparation for war is not peace. Health is not procured by sale of medication, or purity by the addition of poison. Science … Read more
I just picked up a copy of The USSR Olympiad Problem Book, by D.O. Shklarsky, N.N. Chentzov, and I.M. Yaglom, and it looks delightful. The book’s foreword states that it is intended for high-school students, although outstanding middle-school students might also give it a go. Complete solutions are given, which are particularly detailed for the … Read more