Friday, April 10, 2009

Pulling Out (from) All the Stops

Here is a really awesome new Mathematical Moment from the American Mathematical Society about a pair of New Yorkers (who are implied to be math students, based on the vignette) who used some graph theory to help them set a new world record (by over 2 hours) for the fastest time to visit all of the stops in New York City's subway system. The thing that I really liked about this was something with which all Techers (and, in a different sense, most scientists) are familiar: The idea of doing something really cool in a collaborative fashion while using some technical expertise as a vital component. It's not just about breaking an old record; it's about how one goes about doing it!

I approve!

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