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Math Horizons Contents—February 2017

The February issue of Math Horizons has several articles that look back at mathematics in the middle of the 20th century. The book and film Hidden Figures tell the true story of female African American mathematicians who worked at NASA in segregated Virginia. In our cover story, Jenna Carpenter interviews Hidden Figures author Margot Lee Shetterly and film producer Elizabeth Gabler. In honor of the 70th anniversary of the ENIAC—the first general-purpose electronic computer—Brian Shelburne describes the workings of the device and walks readers through how it would solve a differential equation. Chris Christensen and Jared Antrobus describe the procedure that Word War II codebreakers used to crack a Japanese cipher. There are also articles about basketball, magic, Farey fractions, and more. Enjoy this issue of Math Horizons! —David Richeson, Editor

Volume 24, Issue 3

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Supplements

Such supplemental information as solutions for contests, contest winners, editorials, and other reader responses to Math Horizons articles is available here.

Articles

Mathematicians from A (1-Down) to Z (64-Down)

p. 2.
A crossword puzzle by Sid Kolpas and Stu Ockman.
To purchase the article from JSTOR: http://dx.doi.org/10.4169/mathhorizons.24.3.2

Modeling March Madness

p. 5.
Over the last 32 years, which NCAA bracket has been most unlikely? Most likely? Matthew Menzel
To purchase the article from JSTOR: http://dx.doi.org/10.4169/mathhorizons.24.3.5

The Farey Sequence: From Fractions to Fractals

p. 8.
An incorrect way to add fractions has connections to deep mathematics. Erik R. Tou
To purchase the article from JSTOR: http://dx.doi.org/10.4169/mathhorizons.24.3.8

DO THE MATH!

Magical Data Restoration

p. 12.
The Hamming code is the basis of this elegant magic trick. Ricardo Teixeira

To purchase the article from JSTOR: http://dx.doi.org/10.4169/mathhorizons.24.3.12

Fresh Perspectives Bring Discoveries

p. 15.
Students discover a new pattern in the rascal triangle. Julian F. Fleron

To purchase the article from JSTOR: http://dx.doi.org/10.4169/mathhorizons.24.3.15

THE BOOKSHELF

p. 16.
John MacCormick reviews The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Computer, by Sydney Padua;
Matthew Welz reviews The Perfect Bet: How Science and Math Are Taking the Luck Out of Gambling, by Adam Kucharski.
To purchase the article from JSTOR: http://dx.doi.org/10.4169/mathhorizons.24.3.16

Hidden Figures Light Up Screen: Black Women Who Helped America Win the Space Race

p. 18.
Jenna Carpenter chats with author Margot Lee Shetterly and movie producer Elizabeth Gabler about the book and film Hidden Figures.

Download free PDF here.

Cracking the Japanese JN-25 Cipher

p. 22.
Chris Christensen and Jared Antrobus describe the clever mathematics used to decipher a World War II Japanese code.

To purchase the article from JSTOR: http://dx.doi.org/10.4169/mathhorizons.24.3.22

The ENIAC at 70

p. 26.
For the 70th anniversary of a made-for-battle computer, Brian J. Shelburne describes how it functioned and how it solved a differential equation.

To purchase the article from JSTOR: http://dx.doi.org/10.4169/mathhorizons.24.3.26

THE PLAYGROUND!

p. 30.
The Math Horizons problem section, edited by Gary Gordon
To purchase the article from JSTOR: http://dx.doi.org/10.4169/mathhorizons.24.3.30

AFTERMATH

The Gods Have Descended

p. 34.
Mathematicians should share the mathematics they find beautiful. Marc Chamberland

To purchase the article from JSTOR: http://dx.doi.org/10.4169/mathhorizons.24.3.34

To read the article on the MAA blog: http://horizonsaftermath.blogspot.com/