PHILIPPE BOULANGER
26 articles published in Tangente
Math for everyoneN°177Jul 17, 2017The mysteries of the Ishango bone
The mysterious Ishango bone has not yet given up all its secrets
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History and CultureN°176May 22, 2017The circles of Apollonius of Perga
The set of points whose ratio of distances to two fixed points A and B is constant is called the Circle of Apollonius. Three ways to approach it: classical geometry, analytic geometry, and electricity
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Math for everyoneN°175Mar 26, 2017Bets settled by geometry
Some winning probabilities can be determined through geometric considerations, thus avoiding lengthy calculations.
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Math for everyoneN°175Mar 26, 2017Some famous paradoxes…
Let's rediscover the famous Pascal's wager, a line of reasoning as questionable mathematically as it is theologically!
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Math for everyoneN°61Oct 07, 2016Those darn paradoxes! (4)
Every claim must be proved properly.
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Math for everyoneN°61Oct 07, 2016Those pesky paradoxes! (3)
Logic may sometimes try to deceive us—beware!
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Math for everyoneN°61Oct 07, 2016Those darn paradoxes! (2)
God exists because mathematics is consistent, and the devil exists because we cannot prove it...
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Math for everyoneN°61Oct 07, 2016Holy paradoxes! (1)
Paradox is to logic what experiment is to the physicist: it allows us to adjust theory in response to the question posed by an alarming result. It is a springboard for the mind.
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Math for everyoneN°171Jul 29, 2016The stability of the Solar System
Jürgen Moser belongs to the long line of mathematicians who have tackled the problem of the Solar System's stability. He is the "M" in the KAM theorem's trinity—Kolmogorov, Arnold and Moser—which links number theory and celestial mechanics.
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History and CultureN°170May 17, 2016Rademacher's interesting mistake
The German-born mathematician Hans Adolph Rademacher (1892-1969), a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, was a giant of number theory.
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History and CultureN°169Mar 14, 2016Roots according to Christophe and Cosinus
Or how Zéphyrin Brioché performs extractions painlessly...
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History and CultureN°167Jan 27, 2016Elitism and the recognition of academic achievement
A democracy's vitality depends on selecting its elites according to ambitious cultural standards. Yet many politicians seem to deny both the beneficial social role of excellence and its importance to a country's future.
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