Day of Squares
Greetings and salutations from across the sea!
We began this math-and-culture-filled day of fun, as usual, with the delectable hotel breakfast. Spicing things up this morning was a platter of sweet and juicy kiwis. Henry tried kiwi for the first time and declared them tastier than strawberries! Many of us slept in after yesterday’s many exciting adventures, so breakfast was a little quieter than usual. After breakfast, some in our group split off to explore their Hungarian culture projects. Sonja, Collin, and Henry went statue hunting for mini statues paying tribute to bits and pieces of Hungarian culture. Meanwhile, Jasmine and the cakes/cafes group went to explore the Goat Herder cafe for some pre-math caffeine.
Finally it was time for math! Today’s lesson was all about squares. So stay tuned for some square motifs throughout the blog…. We first got to take a stroll down memory lane back to the world of high school algebra. Does the quadratic formula bring back fond memories for anyone? We remember learning it to the tune of Pop Goes the Weasel. It turns out that the quadratic formula is a no-go in modland, but the underlying ideas are still applicable. After squaring our brains for a couple hours, we were very ready for lunch. The cakes/cafes group went to explore a fantastic croissant cafe. Others ventured to a cafe that was serendipitously decorated with square art!
After lunch, Kathy led a “How well do you know the group?” game, featuring fun facts about each student, Adam and Kathy, and some of our Hungarian mentors. See if you can guess who has gotten attacked by geese on multiple occasions, who made St. Olaf macarons to celebrate their college decision, who drove a squad car in a summer job after their freshman year of college, and who has had a practically uncountable (even for math majors!) number of ankle injuries. Congrats to our winning team of Collin, Sam, Will, and Dan! And many thanks to Kathy and Adam for delicious oranges and Hungarian sweets.
We capped off our day in the classroom with a math colloquium by Dr. Gabriella Keszthelyi about probability and expected value. In a delightfully interactive talk, we learned why the lottery generally is not worth it. See how you’d answer her “rational games” below!
We dispersed after the talk (taking special note of the SQUARE tiles on the hallway floor) and continued to work on our Hungarian culture projects. The art group visited the Museum of Fine Arts and especially enjoyed the exhibition on Mihaly Munkacsy. They marveled at his gorgeous and huge paintings and their incredible detail.
Then our intrepid students sought out dinner (working around their number theory homework, of course!). Some caught the subway at Deak Ferenc Ter (the Hungarian word for “square” is “ter”). Sydney and Sonja found some amazing Hungarian beef goulash and a new meaning for the word “breadstick”.
Then Adam and Kathy led a group to Gelarto Rosa for some gelato that was almost too pretty to eat! Top flavors were apple, lemon-basil, and white-chocolate lavender. And the best thing about eating ice cream in the winter is that it doesn’t melt as quickly!
Finally we trekked down to office hours, doing homework on a sofa patterned in, you guessed it, squares!
Stay square,
Emily J., Jasmine, Sonja, and Sydney
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