I just saw it on PBS, and it is fantastic. A child can follow most of the show, but most of all, [...]]]> You are in for a treat. Terry Jones, of Monty Python’s fame, has a made a wonderful “documentary” about the number 1 for the BBC. It is a brilliant history of numbers.

I just saw it on PBS, and it is fantastic. A child can follow most of the show, but most of all, the child will be enchanted by the way things are presented. There is no talking down, and no talking over our heads.

I just got up and out of bed to write about it right away, so I don’t have all the details for you (I only just caught the program near the end.) I will try to write more later.

But a video is worth 1,000 words (in binary), so you can view the show right now, for free at on google video (if you have a fast connection) here.

Besides the gentle yet inspiring presentation by Mr. Jones, the direction, camera, scenery, costumes and presentation by mathematician Marcus du Sautoy are all wonderfully engaging. But by far the “coolest” thing about the production part of the show is the animation. Very understated, and very clever. There are plenty of double entendres in animation, so keep your eyes open. The quirkiness of the title didn’t escape me, either. Does it escape you? This is a perfect program for every family to watch together.

I guarantee that every member of the family from age seven on up will find something valuable.
If you want an excellent introduction to the history and meaning of numbers, this is for you. If you are a teacher, you owe it to your class to show this to them. You can purchase the DVD or video from PBS. Or you can access it for free at the above link.

Thank you, Terry Jones!

I’ve also changed the entire payment method at the Mathmojo.com site. I had previously used Paypal in a very cumbersome way. [...]]]> In the last two weeks, I’ve made new editions of “Numbers Juggling – Basic Multiplication of One-Digit Numbers” (which is now called “Numbers Juggling – Times Without the Tables”) and “Change for the Better.”

I’ve also changed the entire payment method at the Mathmojo.com site. I had previously used Paypal in a very cumbersome way. Now I have a very simple way to accept credit card payments on a secure server. I’ll add Paypal option soon, as soon as I have a simple streamlined one.

The web pages at mathmojo from which you can order materials have also been totally revamped and made
simpler and friendlier to navigate. This whole process was has been keeping Mathmojo for progressing for a very long time. Mathmojo is a one-man operation (that does not include my multiple personalities!) and I am doing the programming, web-design, booklet design and printing by myself. I wasn’t a geek when I got into this, but I am starting to wonder about myself now. (My glasses are even getting thicker.)

The whole idea of selling on the internet was bugging me. It still does, but I guess it has to be done, as there is no
other way to finance Mathmojo. So I finally bit the bullet and made the payment pages. Now that that adventure is more-or-less behind me, I can concentrate on writing more math material, and learning some more math myself.

I have decided to learn algebra from soup-to-nuts, in a very methodical way. I got myself some good books, and some great books. I also got some bad books so I can contrast good and bad teaching methods. I will be chronicling my progress, and teaching using and “insight-based” method. It will take me longer to do it this way, because I have to record my progress and insights,
and write them in a somewhat coherent way. I think it will help me learn and teach in a much more meaningful way. We’ll see.

Check out the progress at the Algebra Mojo Chronicles. No previous knowledge of math besides basic arithmetic (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) is necessary. We are starting from scratch. You don’t even have to know fractions or decimals.

In the next day or so I plan to send out a new edition of the Math Mojo Monthly (”Comes out Yearly, Mostly”). Haven’t put one out in about 2 years, and I really want to get it out at least monthly from now on. If you haven’t subscribed to it yet, go to the homepage at mathmojo.com and sign up for it.

That’s it for now. It’s Easter Sunday and I still have eggs to find.

Spoly-oly,

Foley