The level of sophistication of the products this book aims for is fairly astounding, and using only basic Python tools. Better than a Spirograph.

The most interesting thing about the material provided by Farrell is how little coding is required to do spectacular and complicated math; you learn some very nice coding technique in this book. But at the same time you get to learn some math. Kids interested in coding can easily handle this in Middle School, with some guidance, and adults who want to learn Python and have a math orientation will love it. But it is also a good book to have around as a reference if you normally work with numbers, shapes, basic math, and things like complex numbers and systems of equations. You will find useful tools herein.

Math Adventures with Python is really fun.

Uses Python 3, and this is the TOC:

Part 1: Hitchin’ Up Your Python Wagon
Chapter 1: Drawing Polygons with Turtles
Chapter 2: Making Tedious Arithmetic Fun with Lists and Loops
Chapter 3: Guessing and Checking with Conditionals

Part 2: Riding into Math Territory
Chapter 4: Transforming and Storing Numbers with Algebra
Chapter 5: Transforming Shapes with Geometry
Chapter 6: Creating Oscillations with Trigonometry
Chapter 7: Complex Numbers
Chapter 8: Using Matrices for Computer Graphics and Systems of Equations

Part 3: Blazing Your Own Trail
Chapter 9: Building Objects with Classes
Chapter 10: Creating Fractals Using Recursion
Chapter 11: Cellular Automata
Chapter 12: Solving Problems Using Genetic Algorithms

I have about five friends, if you count people that I care a great deal for, that are very important to me, and that a) I am not married to b) am not otherwise related to and c) am not stalking. OK, maybe four. The point is, I recognize the difference between real life meatspace friends and Facebook friends.

Having said that, I have some friends on Facebook (and maybe Google+ friends?) whom I don’t know in meatspace but who I do think of as friends because we have regular, positive interactions. Just the other day, I had a long talk with Claudia about life. Gwen is always there to support a progressive idea when the arguing starts. I asked for a favor just a little while ago and Aseem immediately came to my aid. These are people I’ve never met before but I consider friends anyway. Funny how facebook works.

But since I am a facebook slut, and shamelessly use facebook to promote my political agendas and my blogs and stuff, I have ended up with a LOT of “friends” on facebook … over 4,000 … and many of them are people I don’t interact with, or people who may not even be active on facebook, or in some cases, people who are not even people but still count on the Tally of Friends. And, as I understand it, once you hit 5,000 friends, you can’t have any more. For some reason, whatever Facebook is, and whatever a Facebook friend is, you can’t have more than a certain number which happens to be a nice round number, according to the people who make up these rules at Facebook Central. Why 5,000? Because people who are in charge of made up realities tend to be utterly arbitrary in how they spec out those realities. Think playground. Making up the rules of some new game you are making up. That’s what Facebook is.

Anyway, with 4,000 plus friends, I realize that at some point I may have to tell people they can’t be my friend, but instead, they must Worship We as Public Figure. Facebook already gave me the Public Figure page. There are about five people who “like” it. The rule is, I can have 5,000 Facebook Friends but I can’t have 5,001 Facebook Friends, but I can have 5,000 Facebook Friends and 1 person who “likes” me as a public figure. I don’t understand any of this.

So, although I don’t understand it, I think I know what to do about it, and it relates to the photograph above and not just because it is all about math.

Here’s the thing. When I had 2,000 friends, if I noticed that one of my friends posted that picture, I’d confront them. I’d say “hey, do you know that although one might see that photograph as funny from certain perspectives, it actually reifies the myth that girls are bad at math, supports the idea of female inadequacies in some arbitrarily defined area as innate, and urges the objectification of young women in an inappropriate and repressive manner” or words to that effect. And we’d have a conversation, and I would spend some energy on that, and there may or may not be a good outcome.

When I had 3,000 friends, if I noticed that one of my friends posted that picture, I’d probably not approach them in the same way, but rather, I’d be a bit more aggressive. I might say something like “Hey, you dick, this picture damages women, and girls. Who do you think you are trying to meme-out your misogyny?” and then there would be a fight, and Bob, and Jaf, and Aseem and Gwen and a bunch of others would jump in and if the person who posted the picture didn’t give up right away we’d kick his ass.

But now, I have 4,000 plus friends. So when I see that picture, I unfriend you. Bye. I wanna make room for others.

And that is why when I decided to write this post, I couldn’t find a copy of this picture. I had unfreinded the three or four dickheads who had posted it. Summarily. No questions asked, statements made, or fights started. Making room for people I’d prefer to have as my friends.

Thanks, Aseem for finding that picture for me a mere 45 seconds after I asked for it!