A Blast from the Past: The Language of Mathematics on Google Maps Street View

Winter is nearly at an end, spring is in the air, and it’s almost time to do some math. I’ve been gearing up to start producing another full season of math videos for The Language of Mathematics and Math in Real Life. There is a lot planned for 2014 so it should be a nice full year of some math goodness.

Once the weather warms up and the consecutive days of rain cease, we’ll be heading out with the camcorder and the tripod to find some nice walls where we can continue working on Series IV as well as producing some videos on a few random and not-so-random topics. A lot more on that later. For now, I’d like to share a little blast from the past.

A few weeks ago, while a friend was surfing Street View of Vancouver on Google Maps she came across one of my favorite walls in the city, and it so happens to have captured one of my handiworks from the math videos.

The site has some sentimental value for me. It’s the first wall I used when I began this project back in 2007, and shows the location of the first math video I loaded on YouTube. For those that have been around long enough, if you recall, it was the wall that I used to create the videos where we discussed the Real Number Set (Part 1 and Part 2) in Series I.

The image that my friend found shows my handiwork from Series IVa on the wall. It’s from the video where we discussed systems, SI units, and where we created a conversion table for colored squares and triangles. You’ll find the video we created below, and if you are so inclined, you can use Google’s Street View to check out the area further if you want to have a feel for why this wall is the only location that I have come back to for every series since starting this project - a wall that we will most likely visit for many years to come.


View Larger Map

2011: Series IV - Systems, SI Units, and a Conversion Table for Colored Squares and Triangles (Math Series IVa #146)

As for the rest of the videos that were produced in this area, you will find them below. For multi-part sets, the links are provided below the videos that have been embedded. I hope you enjoy watching them as much as I enjoyed creating them. Peace.

2007: Series I - The Language of Mathematics (3): The Real Number Set - Part 1 Part 2: The Language of Mathematics (4)

2008: Series II - Language of Mathematics II (42): Exponents and Radicals (1 of 3) Part 2 and Part 3. I also put together a set of these videos linking the concept of exponents and radicals with the real number set: Part 1 and Part 2

2009: Series IIIa - Language of Mathematics III (63): Black holes and elementary particles (Part 2) Part 1: The Language of Mathematics III (62)

2010: Series IIIb - Why Do We Factor? Introduction to Factoring Polynomials: The Language of Mathematics IIIb (105)

Excellent Lecture and Panel Discussion on the Madness of Prohibition

The following lecture by Sanho Tree and panel discussion with Dr. Dominic Corva and Dr. Sunil Aggarwal predates the legalization of cannabis in Washington State and Colorado and Uruguay becoming the first country in the world to legalize the production and sale of cannabis, but it is well worth the watch and covers many of the devastating aspects of America’s War on Drugs. It includes an excellent summary of Plan Colombia, Mexico’s militarization of the war on drugs, benefits of certain ‘drugs’, and much more. The lecture ends at about the 40-minute mark with 20 minutes dedicated to comments by the other Panelists.

Pirate Television: Sanho Tree - Addicted to Failure

An Exercise for the Mind: a 10 by 10 Math Puzzle: a Pattern Recognition Game: Meditation on an Open Maze

A few years ago one of my students introduced me to a simple and intriguing game. He didn’t know where the game originated from but said that it was popular in Turkey, and that he and his friends loved playing it.

It is probably best categorised as a mathematical puzzle that requires no arithmetic calculations, just placements of numbers based on two rules; hence I prefer to refer to this puzzle as a pattern recognition game, or simply, an exercise for the mind using an open maze – a meditation of sorts.

The Purpose of the Game

To take a 10 by 10 grid, equaling 100 squares, and completely filling in every square based on two types of movements.

The Rules are Simple

1) Create a 10 by 10 grid (graph paper or a spread sheet will come in very handy).

2) Fill one of the squares with the number 1, then, based on the following two movement types, use consecutive numbers to fill in the rest of the grid:

Movement Type I: If the next number in the sequence is going to be placed vertically or horizontally, then it must be placed exactly three squares away from the previous number - there must be a two square gap between the numbers.

Movement Type II: If the next number in the sequence is going to be placed diagonally, then it must be placed exactly two squares away from the previous number - there must be a one square gap between the numbers.

3) Numbers can only be placed in empty squares - once a square has been used it can not be used again. All placements must occur within the grid.

4) Game is complete when the number 100 is reached - when all empty squares in the grid are filled. If you cannot continue placing numbers based on the two movement types above, and empty squares remain in the grid, then the puzzle is not complete and the game lost.

Two Incomplete Examples and a Solution

Example 1: The first example is one where I tried to get the worst possible result. I was able to end the game in 6 moves.

Example 2: The second example is my best result so far. In this example I was able to reach 99 – one move short of finishing the game.

A Solution: The final example is a solution completed by my student who introduced me to the game. He had been playing this game for approximately three years, and this was the only solution that he had been able to obtain during this period. This means that we know there will be at least four solutions to this game – the one presented below and its three mirrors. It would be interesting to find out how many solutions actually do exist - any mathematicians or programmers out there interested in tackling this problem?

Variations

Aside from creating a weighted scoring system or using symbols instead of numbers to fill in the squares, two variants could be: 1) give a starting point and an end point for the game – this will dramatically increase the difficulty of the puzzle; 2) create different types of grids but maintain the same placement rules – an example is presented below.

For anyone who wants to try this out, below you will find a sheet with 12 grids (click to enlarge). Ideally, a simple program based on the parameters above loaded on a device with a touchscreen would be the best way to play this game. If you are into such things, I hope the game entertains you, and if you find anymore solutions, please send them my way. Thanks in advance.

The Dominoes Are Falling, the Tides Are Turning, the War on Drugs Is Ending, but Prohibitionists Just Won’t Give up the Ghost: How to End Prohibition

1. The Dominoes Are Falling

2. The Tides Are Turning

3. The War on Drugs Is Ending

4. Prohibitionists Won’t Give Up the Ghost

5. How to End Prohibition

I. The Dominoes Are Falling

Now that Uruguay has become the first country in the world to legalize the production and sale of cannabis (2), let’s take a look at an updated map of Wikipedia’s legality of cannabis by country. In addition to the beautiful blue speck representing Uruguay in South America, please pay close attention to the two areas shown in the United States of America, expect there to be more (2).

The President of Uruguay, José Mujica, "dismissed the criticism as a double standard, pointing out that the U.S. states of Colorado and Washington have already legalized weed and that both of the states’ populations individually exceed Uruguay’s 3.4 million inhabitants.

"'Do they have two discourses, one for Uruguay and another for those who are strong?' Mujica asked."

click to enlarge - Source: “Legality of cannabis by country”

II. The Tides Are Turning

With the federal government stating that they will not interfere with the legalization of cannabis in Washington State and Colorado, and corporate shills like John McCain and mainstream pundits like Dr. Sanjay Gupta favoring legalization of cannabis, we might well be on our way towards an age of enlightenment.

In Historic Move, Feds Won't Prosecute States That Legalize Pot

III. The War on Drugs Is Ending

What we know for sure is that we’re moving in the right direction and our transformation is reverberating across the globe, to the dismay of some (2).

So while dinosaurs like Canada’s Stephen Harper spew garbage trying to justify their stance on prohibition by getting lost in their own circular argument, some of the greatest thinkers of our time are pointing out the obvious, that the war on drugs is a War on Consciousness:

“I stand here invoking the hard-won right of freedom of speech to call for and demand another right to be recognised and that is the right of adult sovereignty over consciousness. There’s a war on consciousness in our society, and if we as adults are not allowed to make sovereign decisions about what to experience with our own consciousness while doing no harm to others, including the decision to use responsibly ancient and sacred visionary plants, then we cannot claim to be free in any way and it’s useless for our society to go around the world imposing our form of democracy on others while we nourish this rot at the heart of society and we do not allow individual freedom over consciousness.” - Graham Hancock, 12 January 2013, TEDx conference in Whitechapel, London

The War on Consciousness - Graham Hancock (Removed TED Talk)

IV. Prohibitionists Just Won’t Give Up the Ghost

Even though many positive changes have taken place on the global landscape in response to the complete madness of the continuation of America’s War on Drugs, we have been unsuccessful in eliminating the control that prohibitionists and prison profiteers have over our governments.

In short, law enforcement agencies and their affiliates are profiting from the war on drugs, so in their mindset, damn be the public interest. They have proven that they are willing to do anything, including threatening and coercing defendants to forging signatures and tampering with evidence, to continue this war, destroying countless lives in the process.

A Marijuana Arrest

“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. They may be more likely to go to Heaven yet at the same time likelier to make a Hell of earth. This very kindness stings with intolerable insult. To be ‘cured’ against one's will and cured of states which we may not regard as disease is to be put on a level of those who have not yet reached the age of reason or those who never will; to be classed with infants, imbeciles, and domestic animals.” - C.S. Lewis, God in the Dock: Essays on Theology (Making of Modern Theology)

The irony is that this war and the destruction that it unleashes can be brought to an end within an instant, if it was so desired. All that is required is to end prohibition, to repeal one law.

We know that the end to prohibition will have positive effects because precedent for this has already been set. When prohibition of alcohol ended, so did most of the violence associated with gang warfare, as did much of the corruption in government. When prohibition ended, precious resources were made available again and a major source of revenue and employment was established.

These same findings have also been observed in Portugal’s experiment with drug decriminalization.

Video - Policy Forum, Full Report by Glenn Greenwald

The United Nations has also confirmed these findings in its annual report on the state of global drug policy, and many countries have been paying-heed. Drug liberalization is sweeping through major parts of Europe, Latin America, as well as numerous municipalities and States within the United States of America.

The only reason that the war on drugs continues to this day is because certain sectors of government, criminal organizations, and powerful corporation don’t want it to end since its continuation guarantees them flow of funds.

Judge Jim Gray on The Six Groups Who Benefit From Drug Prohibition

All of the above is common knowledge to anyone who has remotely researched this topic, or for that matter, even thought about it.

On the behest of a select minority that profit from prohibition, we have been waging a multi-decade war on cannabis that spans the globe, costs trillions of dollars, destroys millions of lives, and consumes precious resources. Stupid.

Retired Police Captain demolishes the War on Drugs

V. How to End Prohibition

As for what we, personally, can do to help end America’s war on drugs? Our best option is to support grassroots organizations that are working towards repealing prohibition, they did, after all, get the ball rolling on this.

“In 1973 Oregon became the first state to modify its law and decriminalize marijuana use, which meant possession became a civil offense punishable by a fine. A key reason for this legislative change was pressure exerted by the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws (NORML), a private citizens group founded in 1971 that believed drug laws were unfair to recreational users."

Below you will find the names and websites of some of the more prominent groups spearheading the battle to end prohibition in the United States and Canada. They are trying to bring sanity back into our lives and I’m sure they would appreciate our support as much as we appreciate their efforts.

Organizations Working Towards Ending Prohibition

Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP)

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP)

Erowid

Moms for Marijuana

Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS)

Marijuana Policy Project (MPP)

DrugSense

Educators For Sensible Drug Policy (EFSDP)

National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (USA) and NORML Canada

The November Coalition

Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER)

Drug Policy Alliance (DPA Network)

Canadians Can Grow Tobacco for Personal Use; They Should Be Able to Do the Same with Cannabis

1. Harper’s Agenda




2. Tobacco vs. Cannabis

I. Harper’s Agenda

Knowing full well the devastating consequences of America’s War on Drugs, the very same day that Washington State and Colorado legalized the recreational use of Cannabis, the Harper Government introduced “tough new mandatory minimum sentences for marijuana” - a change in the law that even the judiciary is resisting.

The government followed-up this prohibitionist agenda by “changing medical marijuana rules in Canada” so that patients would no longer be able to grow their own medicine, attacking the most vulnerable in our society by turning a health policy into a crime policy.

We won’t go into the details of how Canadians feel about this government, suffice it to say that even before the senate scandal blew up in Harper’s face, a poll from the summer of 2013 showed that 70% of Canadians surveyed wanted the Conservatives gone.

Stephen Harper promised that we would not recognize Canada when he got through with it, and he meant it. Some of the policies that have been implemented will take decades to unfold and will cost Canadians dearly:

“From the environment, to health care, to foreign policy, this is a different Canada than it was May 2, 2011, and many of the Harper initiatives may not be easily undone by future governments, or even future leaders of a Conservative government.”

All one has to do to fully appreciate Harper’s agenda is to read the text from a speech he made at a “June 1997 Montreal meeting of the Council for National Policy, a right-wing U.S. think tank.” Below are some highlights from the first few opening paragraphs of the speech as well as his closing statement. Every Canadian should read the full text, especially those who support Harper and his Conservatives:

“First, facts about Canada. Canada is a Northern European welfare state in the worst sense of the term, and very proud of it. Canadians make no connection between the fact that they are a Northern European welfare state and the fact that we have very low economic growth, a standard of living substantially lower than yours…

“In terms of the unemployed, of which we have over a million-and-a-half, don't feel particularly bad for many of these people. They don't feel bad about it themselves, as long as they're receiving generous social assistance and unemployment insurance…

“I'll end there and take any of your questions. But let me conclude by saying, good luck in your own battles. Let me just remind you of something that's been talked about here. As long as there are exams, there will always be prayer in schools.”

II. Tobacco vs. Cannabis

The question we should be asking ourselves as Harper hands out licenses to corporations to grow medical marijuana while prohibiting individual Canadians from growing their own supply, is that; Canadians 18 years of age or older can grow up to 15 kg of tobacco for personal use, so why shouldn’t we be able to do the same with cannabis?

Excise Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. E-14) and Excise Act, 2001 (S.C. 2002, c. 22), both of which are current to November 13, 2013, state that:

Excise Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. E-14) - Tobacco grown for private use

“220. A person who grows tobacco on his own land or property and manufactures the tobacco into common Canada twist or cut tobacco solely for the use of himself and such members of his family as are resident with him on the farm or premises on which the tobacco was grown, and not for sale, does not require a licence for so doing, nor is the tobacco so manufactured subject to excise duty, but the quantity so manufactured in any one year shall not exceed fifteen kilograms (15 kg) for each adult member of the family resident on the farm or premises.”

Excise Act, 2001 (S.C. 2002, c. 22) - Exception — manufacturing for personal use

25. (3) An individual who is not a tobacco licensee may manufacture manufactured tobacco or cigars

(a) from packaged raw leaf tobacco or manufactured tobacco on which the duty has been paid, if the tobacco or cigars are for their personal use; or

(b) from raw leaf tobacco grown on land on which the individual resides, if

(i) the tobacco or cigars are for their personal use or that of the members of their family who reside with the individual and who are 18 years of age or older, and

(ii) the quantity of tobacco or cigars manufactured in any year does not exceed 15 kg for the individual and each member of the individual’s family who resides with the individual and who is 18 years of age or older.

The best way to understand Stephen Harper’s agenda is to really listen to him. The above speech in conjunction with the following short interview where he gets lost in his own circular argument trying to answer a question regarding the legalization of marijuana should send shivers down the spine of even his most hardened supporters.

“There’s lots of crimes a lot worse than the casual use of marijuana, but, when people are buying from the drug trade they’re not buying from their neighbour, they are buying from international cartels that are involved in unimaginable violence and intimidation and social disaster and catastrophe all across the world, all across the world….

“Now you know I know some people say if you legalize it you know you get the money and all would be well, but I think that rests on the assumption that somehow drugs are bad because they’re illegal. The reasons drugs – it’s not that – the reason drugs are illegal is because they are bad, and even if these things were legalized I can predict with a lot of confidence that these would never be respectable businesses run by respectable people because of the very nature of the dependency they create, the damage they create, the social upheaval and catastrophe they create particularly in third world countries….

“Well I know people have different views, I must admit myself sometimes I’m frustrated by how little impact government have been able to have on the drug trade internationally, but we should not fool ourselves into thinking that if we somehow stop trying to deal with it it would suddenly turn into a nice wholesome industry. It will never be that. “

Stephen Harper Talks About Marijuana

So why has this war on cannabis, drugs in general, continued for so long? Noam Chomsky in a 2011 interview with ‘High Times’ provides some answers:

“Now take a look at the way the Drug War is conducted over the past 40 years. It goes back farther, but start from 40 years ago: There's very little spent on prevention and treatment. There's a lot on policing, a ton of stuff on border control and a lot on out-of-country operations. And the effect on the availability of drugs is almost undetectable; drug prices don't change on measures of availability. So there are two possibilities: Either those conducting the Drug War are lunatics, or they have another purpose….

“Furthermore, it's known, just from experience, that prevention works. Here we get to the question of what's the drug problem. Well, in fact, by far the worst problem is tobacco: Tobacco kills way more people than hard drugs, 20 times as many or some huge number. So that's a really dangerous substance. The second most dangerous is alcohol, because of its direct consequence to the user, but also because it harms others. Marijuana doesn't make you violent; alcohol does. So it contributes to abuse, violence -- drunk driving kills people. It's a killer….

“Evo Morales, the president of Bolivia, made a pertinent comment a couple years ago. He said, ‘If you want to destroy coca here, then let us destroy the tobacco in North Carolina and Kentucky. It's a far more dangerous substance. It kills way more people than coca does.’ That's a joke, obviously -- the United States isn't going to let him do that. Then again, it just shows up the cynicism of the whole program….”…continue reading for some of the answers.

Canadians can grow tobacco for personal use; we should be able to do the same with cannabis.