A discussion on the mathematics of lawn-mowing; The St. Petersburg Paradox

GEOMETRY IN PRACTICE: A discussion on the mathematics of lawn-mowing.

WHILE WE'RE ON THE SUBJECT: Futility Closet, that marvellous compendium of amusement, has another esoteric mathematical paradox for your enjoyment.

WHAT ABOUT UNEMPLOYMENT: On to more pressing issues: although much of the discussion recently has centred around the topic of saving the country from mounting debt, James Fallows argues that the United States has bigger problems to deal with. Unemployment, anyone? "The federal deficit is a serious challenge in the long run. The real emergency is how many people are still out of work. That's the deficit that matters. Almost nothing can do more harm to a nation's cultural, social, political, and of course economic fabric than sustained high joblessness. And of nothing can do more, faster, to reduce a federal deficit than a restoration of economic growth. That political and media attention got hijacked to a fake debt-ceiling "emergency" is 1937 all over again -- but worse, because in principle we had the real 1937 to learn from." I'm inclined to agree.