Mathematical Notation Gets an Upgrade

Really cool article from Wired: Byron Cook, a Microsoft researcher who is famous for his work on the Halting Problem, is trying to invent new notation for describing it. (The Halting problem asks if it is possible to predict when/if a certain program will stop, or “halt.” )

From the article:

“For 70 years, mathematicians have been stuck on the Halting Problem: Computers occasionally hang on one line of code and fail to move on to the next, and no one can reliably predict when that will happen. (The result is the unending hourglass or pinwheel of death.) But a few years ago, Microsoft researcher Byron Cook and his colleagues did the unthinkable — they hacked a fix. When Cook tried to describe the workaround, however, he found it impossible to explain with existing mathematical symbols.”

Does anybody have the link to an actual paper on this?

Full article here: Mathematical Notation Gets an Upgrade

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Educate to Innovate – finally!!

For all the talk there’s been about American k-12 students falling behind in Math and Science, finally we’re seeing some action from the top to do something about it. This New York Times Article breaks the news about the the White Houses’s new Educate to Innovate initiative.

From the official website:

“President Obama has launched an “Educate to Innovate” campaign to improve the participation and performance of America’s students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This campaign will include efforts not only from the Federal Government but also from leading companies, foundations, non-profits, and science and engineering societies to work with young people across America to excel in science and math.