Robert A. Black, Mathematical Storyteller

"In retrospect Sandy Hook marked the end of the US gun control debate. Once America decided killing children was bearable, it was over." So wrote British columnist Dan Hodges, in a 2015 tweet that has since been memed around the world. To which I reply, "Not the end. Just on hold until the children were old enough to speak - and vote - for themselves." The children of Parkland, Florida, are now showing us that. Red State America, the children have been listening. They heard you say that your guns are more important than their lives - and they don't like it. What do you suppose they'll hear you say next? That your tax cuts are more important than their education and healthcare? That your convenience is more important than the health of the planet you're leaving them? Maybe you should think more about what you're saying. And they're not the only ones. For years now, I've been hearing Republicans claim that Democrats want more i...

(Not to be confused with "Girls Gone Wild," which is a topic for some other blog to write about...) Trying to forge your own writing path is hard, and it gets me down sometimes. This morning, for instance, although I'm better now. For those of you tuning in late, I've been trying to develop a way of storytelling that communicates math and science concepts, or at least inspires enough interest in them for kids to go and find out more for themselves. One thing that's hard about it is not having anything to compare myself to. Yeah, yeah, I know - "What part of 'forging your own path' did you not understand?" I knew what I was getting into, but that doesn't make it easy. One of the big reasons I've gotten into anime and other Japanese programming so much is that it's one of the few places where I can find at least a few shows that point toward what I'm trying to do myself. On Japanese TV, you can see random references to the...

This was the last open weekend in my schedule until Palm Sunday weekend, my last chance to go adventuring for the next six weeks, so even though I'd gone out only two weeks ago, I couldn't resist going out again. I wanted something a bit on the ambitious side, but not too demanding, since the sun is still going down in the late afternoon these days. My favorite hiking website, Nobody Hikes in LA , lists two different routes up to Josephine Peak, in the Angeles Forest along the road to Mount Wilson. They were about the same length, but one went up a wide open fire road while the other wound its way up the steep side of Colby Canyon. The trail heads were less than a mile from each other, so... why not both? I decided I'd park at the Clear Creek Fire Station, where the Angeles Crest Highway meets the Angeles Forest Highway, walk down to the Colby Canyon trail head, go up the canyon and then come back down the fire road, ending up back at the fire station. The Colby C...

There's a moment in the climactic scene of the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer , during the championship match where our hero, chess whiz kid Josh Waitzkin, realizes that his nemesis, the arrogant, scary, cutthroat chess whiz kid Jonathan Poe, has made a fatal mistake. Rather than going in for the kill, Josh extends his hand, offering Jonathan a draw. "You've lost," he tells Jonathan. "You just don't see it yet. Take the draw, and we'll share the championship." Jonathan will have none of it. At first glance, it looks like he's winning the game. "Are you crazy?" he scoffs. "Look at the board." "I have," Josh answers. " Take the draw ." Well, of course Jonathan refuses, and within a dozen or so moves, the sequence Josh saw plays out and he wins. The arrogant, scary, cutthroat chess whiz gets his comeuppance and skulks away. Josh gets his big trophy and also the satisfaction of knowing that...