Math for Primates

I had fun listening to a blog called "math for primates" which is a fun series of math podcasts. I found this on a blog called "Great Math Teaching Ideas" that gives a list fo great math blogs. I listened to the one entitled "Infinity and Beyond". It is filled with interesting math philosophical challenges which I am sure would appeal to kids in my class, at least some of them. I would recommend that you preview the podcasts before using them in class.

The first topic deals with infinity and math as a predictive science. The first example is of a person wants to leave his house to go tho the beach. Each time he steps out towards the door he steps half way out. the second time he steps 1/4 of the total way. The next 1/8. Does he ever leave the house?

Another example could be that is that you have a cube shaped container that you pour water into. Each time you fill half the available space. If you continue to do this an infinite amount of times, will the container ever be full?

There are many more interesting podcasts, I can hardly wait to try them on my students. I am also adding this to my feeds and my math wiki. Hope you enjoy it.