August 2016 Newsletter

Credit: http://quotesideas.com/hello-august-images-pictures-sayings-and-quotes-2015-2016/

\(\large{\color{Blue}{\textbf{Salvete omnes}}}\)!

As we warmly welcome August, we look back at the following achievements and hard work of the brilliant Brilliant Community from this past July, and endeavor to make August even more successful.

$\large \mathbf{ NEW} \ \ \ \mathbf{ FEATURES } \ \ \ \mathbf{ TO } \ \ \ \mathbf{ BE } \ \ \ \mathbf{ EXCITED } \ \ \ \mathbf{ ABOUT }$

As always, the Brilliant staff is always working to make Brilliant.org even more brilliant. The following are some electron-exciting updates:

$1. \textbf{Wiki Newsfeed:}$

Sometimes, you’re in the mood to read calculus wikis. Or algebra wikis. But you are an impatient soul and want to get straight to those calculus wikis, and don’t want to go hunting for the needle in the haystack through a long list of wikis of assorted topics. Now, wikis can be filtered by topic using the drop-down menu on the top right-hand corner, so that you can get straight to those prized calculus wikis! Try this new feature using the below link.

https://brilliant.org/community/wikis/featured/

$2. \textbf{Image zoom:}$

If you click on the magnifying glass icon in the top right-hand corner of a picture, you can now zoom in on pictures!

$\large \mathbf{ THE } \ \ \ \mathbf{ POSTS } \ \ \ \mathbf{ COMMUNITY } \ \ \ \mathbf{ LOVED }$

As always, the Brilliant community has been abuzz with intriguing discussions, fun contests, and curious problems. The following is the most popular trace of July’s 3-dimensional surface:

$1. \textbf{ Notes:}$

• Swapnil Das is now featuring a scientist every month. For the month of July, he featured Stephen Hawking, whom you can read about at this link.

• Agnishom Chattopadhyay made a compilation of funny computer science jokes at this link, and invites you to share yours as well.

$2. \textbf{Contests:}$

In July, Prince Loomba made a logic contest to test logical reasoning. You can see the various days of the contest at the following links:

• Part 1

• Part 2

• Part 3

• Final

$3. \textbf{ Problems:}$

• Find the sum of cosine of degree values 1 to 179: The Sum of Cosines

• Put your knowledge of binomial expansion to the test! Who is Vieta?

• Can you find the side length of this curious quadrilateral? Side Squared

• Instead of finding the greatest common factor, can you find the greatest perfect square factor of this absurdly long numerical expression? Factor of the Sequence

• There’s no limit on how much calculus you can do: Too much pi

• Is differentiation as easy as it’s put out to be? Don’t get tricked in this problem: Crazy Calculus 7

• Will you use U-substitution or Integration by Parts? A calculus problem by Refaat M. Sayed

$\large \mathbf{ WHO } \ \ \ \mathbf{ TO } \ \ \ \mathbf{ FOLLOW }$

The following members have been especially active in providing food for thought and stimulation of the minds of the Brilliant community by facilitating thought-provoking discussion, and posting puzzling problems, crafty solutions, etc. :

Be sure to smash the $\color{#20A900}{\boxed{\text{+Follow} \ } }$ button to stay updated with their wonderful work.

$\large \mathbf{ MISCELLANEOUS }$

• Below is some artwork by M.C. Escher, an artist whose works display impossible 3D images.

• If you’re bored, try this addictive math game

• More optical illusions to explore at this link

Don't forget, you can always join our Slack chat if you want to talk with our community members. Introduce yourself, share your favorite math and science problems, have memorable discussions, and take part in the wiki collaboration parties too! But most of all, have fun!

Regards

Moderator Team