First Blog

Scott Walker.  Another order of toast has been served in the form of Scott Walker, who suspended his campaign yesterday. Both Perry and Walker, successful governors of their respective states, are now gone.   If we are following governors we would expect to see Huckabee, Jindal, and Pataki  withdraw in the near term.  Governors have the tremendous advantages of needing to work within a state system, and without the option of deficit spending.  Governors usually have the record of working successfully with the opposition, a skill diminished and even deprecated  in recent years. This would be a shame for the alternatives will become outsiders and insiders - plus the remaining governors.   All those still in the game have their own calculus on who they want in and who should go.  The remaining governors no doubt celebrate the Walker exit, though lauding his experiential excellence - whatever that means.  I suggest that for some candidates, the rise of Trump, Fiorina, and Carson will s

Many of our presidents were trained in or used math at some point in their careers. An interesting note is that when someone has a productive disposition toward math, i.e. sees the value of and confidence in using mathematics to resolve problems they will use it to resolve many problems, not apparently related to math. It becomes a way of thinking. In this short note we look at some of the US presidents so disposed. Mathematical training was of course an important part of the curriculum as taught to many of our earlier presidents. They were schooled in algebra and geometry. Calculus is another matter. Let's look at some of them. George Washington George Washington (1732-1799) was early in his career a surveyor. The mathematics of surveying includes foremost the techniques of planar measurement. These include the right triangle, oblique angles and triangles, azimuth, angles, bearing, bearing intersections, distance intersections, coordinate geometry, law of sines

Paths to Greatness Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, two of our greatest politicians and leaders, share many qualities, though were vastly different in personality, temperament, and background. What makes one great seem to have quite a number of osculations, while others aspects seem relatively unimportant. We look at only a few. Touch Points. Both were surveyors in their younger days. This illustrates a considerable facility with basic math. Both were presidents, often ranked #1 and #2 for their impact and excellence. Both prosecuted long and costly wars for the higher social goals of political and social liberation. Both took terrific risks to achieve their goals, Washington as a battlefield commander; Lincoln as a commander in chief. Both wars are landmarks of American history. Both dealt successfully with conspiring subordinates seeking power, militarily and politically. Both understood fully the importance of the political nature of war as the sister of its acknowl