# Browsing category ninja maths

## The Mathematical Ninja and the Poisson Distribution

"What are the ch..." "About 11.7%," said the Mathematical Ninja. "Assuming $X$ is drawn from a Poisson distribution with a mean of 9 and we want the probability that $X=7$." "That's a fair assumption, sensei," pointed out the student, "given that that's what the sodding question says." A wiser student

## Ask Uncle Colin: Approximating an embedded exponential

Dear Uncle Colin, Help! My calculator is broken and I need to solve - or at least approximate - $0.1 = \frac{x}{e^x - 1}$! How would you do it? -- Every $x$ Produces Outrageous Numbers, Exploring New Techniques Hi, ExPONENT, and thanks for your message! That's a bit of a

## The Mathematical Ninja lets the student investigate… cube roots

"Sensei! I have a problem!" The Mathematical Ninja nodded. "Bring it on." "There's a challenge! Someone has picked a five-digit integer and cubed it to get 6,996,364,932,376. I know it ends with a six, and I could probably get the penultimate digit with a bit of work... I just wondered

## Announcing: Ninja|Alpha

After several months of high-intensity development, we're very happy to announce the launch of Ninja|Alpha. Go ahead! Ask it anything you like.

## How the Mathematical Ninja approximates $\ln(5)$

"Isn't it somewhere around $\phi$?" asked the student, brightly. "That number sure crops up in a lot of places!" The Mathematical Ninja's eyes narrowed. "Like shells! And body proportions! And arrawk!" Hands dusted. The Mathematical Ninja stood back. "The Vitruvian student!" The student arrawked again as the circular machine he

## How the Mathematical Ninja approximates $\sin(55º)$

"$0.819$," said the Mathematical Ninja, in as weary a voice as the student used to say "I suppose you're going to tell me how." The nunchaku looked a little rusty, and the axe was in need of a good sharpening. The throwing knives could have done with a clear, and

## The Mathematical Ninja and the Nineteenths

"Look," said the student, "we all know how this goes down. A nasty-looking fraction comes out of the sum, I reach for the calculator, you commit some act of exaggerated violence and tell me how you, o wondrous one, can do it in your head." "You're not as dumb as