Senior Project Ideas

I would really love to do a project on how concepts that seem abstract (limits, extrema, linear approximations, etc.) are actually most common in nature and science than the easily grasped (addition, subtraction, multiplication, other basic functions). People tend to assume that calculus is some huge ethereal concept that can't possibly be connected to anything in the real world. In this project, I would apply this concept to common things like how a toilet flushes, what happens when a light fades on, or even what your couch is doing when it has a person sitting on it. These things all involve calculus, but anyone who wasn't looking probably wouldn't notice it. I want to expose the hidden numbers in these seemingly commonplace and everyday things.

QQC Chapter 1

"There are so many superstitions behind the number one, and some even have a little sense behind them." How do people assign superstition to numbers? That seems like a useless endeavor.

"'Perfect numbers, like perfect men, are very rare'". Even though this quote comes from another person, I feel like it's very true. Numbers are often fragmented and tough to understand because of their properties.

"While perfect numbers were considered to be like mystical columns that held up the universe, amicable numbers were treated like perfect partners, indicating two things meant to be together". Why are people so fascinated with viewing numbers in this way? I don't think I'll ever understand, but maybe because I come from a world where we take numbers for granted and don't celebrate them as much.

QQC Chapter 0.000000001

"While we got used to the idea that numbers might not always define a whole thing--a number might be a fraction of a whole--the idea of a decimal point took longer to enlarge. This was despite the widespread use of the abacus, which nearly expressed fractions in the way we know today."
Just putting a period in between wholes and decimals took that long to come up with? It's amazing to think that people who invented such complex things such as mathematics and numbers overlooked things we think of today as simple and commonplace.

"So fractional numbers have transformed our ability to think small and understand the dimensions of things like atoms." Fractions may seem like littlwe jerks, but it looks like without them we'd be stuck in the stone age. I wonder why they're so difficult to work with. Maybe they're just too abstract to0 grasp easily.

QQC Chapter 0

"So without actually counting or even understanding the notion of numbers, it was possible for very precise trades and transactions to take place." It's pretty cool that people were able to use numbers without even really understanding them. Wish I could do that now...

"Nothing was invented around 1,800 years ago in India. lt was a very important nothing." Nothing being important kind of strikes me as funny for some reason. Why did it take so long for humans to grasp the concept? It doesn't seem so difficult, but that's probably because we have so much experience with it, and our thinking is definitely higher level.