Archives
The case for accidental politicians
[podcast]http://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/upLoads//2011/03/Accidental-Politicians.mp3[/podcast] Canada is about to enter a federal election campaign, and you know what that means. Platforms, proclamations, partisanship, preening, pretending, pandering and pestering, not to mention politicians on your porch. It’s enough to make you tired, but at least here that knock on the door is a smiling politician and not the secret police. As Winston Churchill famously noted, “democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.” That doesn’t mean it can’t be improved, of course. In Canada, we periodically get calls for parliamentary reform, but there’s one kind of reform I’ve never heard mentioned, one that may sound drastic, but boasts mathematical evidence ...The mathematics of pizza slicing
[podcast]http://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/upLoads//2009/12/Pizza-Slicing.mp3[/podcast] It’s almost Christmas, and Christmas means food: turkey, dressing, candy canes, oranges, cranberries, chocolate, and, of course, pizza. (OK, maybe pizza is not the most traditional of foods, but it’s still a popular holiday choice, so humor me.) Pizzas normally come pre-sliced. The question is, and I’m sure you’ve asked yourself this a lot, “How do we eat this pre-sliced pizza in a way that ensures nobody gets an unfair share?” That’s the question, as New Scientist reported on December 11, that Rick Mabry and Paul Deiermann kept asking themselves when they used to share pizza for lunch at Louisiana State University in Shreveport. They kept getting into discussions about the mathematics of slicing it up while ...Gambling
Ever since there have been human beings, human beings have gambled. Dice carved from the ankle bones of antelope have been found in prehistoric tombs. The ancient Egyptians played a game calle datep, which involved guessing how many fingers someone was holding up. The classical Greeks and biblical Jews had forms of dice, and the Romans bet heavily on gladitorial fights and chariot races. At various times in history gambling has been almost universally condemned by religions and governments alike, but it has never been eradicated, and today, legalized gambling is making a comeback all over the world. Witness all the various national and provincial lotteries you can play in ...Mathematics
I'm going to say something which, alas, will probably immediately alienate me from a large number of readers: I've always enjoyed math. Times tables held no terrors for me, fractions I found fascinating, and algebra--ah, algebra! When I first started taking algebra, I enjoyed it so much I'd make up equations out of thin air and solve them just for fun. No, I'm not from another planet: such people really do exist. In fact, many mathematicians look at math--and enjoy it--as if it were a game, especially those who develop new mathematics and solve previously unsolved or even supposedly unsolvable problems. As in other games, you have a goal, you ...Numbers
"1, 2, 3, 4! What are we all counting for? "5, 6, 7, 8! Ain't our number system great?" All right, so maybe you won't hear thousands of people chanting it at a street demonstration--it's still an interesting question. (The question in the first line, that is; the question in the second is rhetorical.) What are we all counting for? And what are these things called numbers that we're all counting with? Numbers are a system of symbols used to express quantities. Throw in a few rules about how to use them, and you've got a special language that makes all kinds of things possible--things such as counting ("997 sheep, 998 sheep, 999 sheep . . ...Zero: much ado about nothing
Several centuries ago Shakespeare titled a play Much Ado About Nothing. If I gave these columns titles, that's what I'd call this one--not because I think I write as well as Shakespeare, but because that's what this column is about: nothing. Nothing is very important. Um, what I mean is, the concept of nothing is very important: specifically, nothing as embodied in the simple circular form of the zero. The zero was invented about 1500 years ago by a group of Indian astronomers. When its use became widespread in western mathematics in the 15th century, it had an impact comparable to that of the computer in this century--and, in fact, without zero, computers would be impossible....
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Magebane
“Spectacular” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Evil wizards, multi-level conspiracies, hidden kingdoms…Lee Arthur Chane…has done a marvelous job…Magebane is a very entertaining book and well worth the time.” – A.M. Donovan, Night Owl Reviews
I happily recommend Magebane and I’ll certainly give Chane’s next novel a try based on this one.” —Bill Capossere, Fantasy Literature
“…an original and delightful tale of epic fantasy and magic, steampunk science, adventure, tragedy, and love…” – Errant Dreams Reviews
Eight centuries ago, the world changed. A devastating war swept the lands, and the MageLords, who had long ruled by virtue of their spell powers, were driven to a distant place, separated from those they had ruled by a magical Barrier. With magic banished from the rest of the world, the MageLords became mere legend and people turned to science to improve their lives. But if one man has his way, all that is about to change….
Written as Lee Arthur Chane (the middle names of my older brothers, Jimmy Lee and Dwight Arthur, and myself, Edward Chane Willett).
Marseguro
Winner of the 2009 Prix Aurora Award for Best Long-Form Work in English
Water world Marseguro is home to the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from human DNA. When an unmodified human seeks revenge on a Selkie by activating a distress beacon taken from the remains of the original colony ship, a strikeforce is sent from Earth to eradicate the genetic abomination. Yet Marseguro will not prove as easy to conquer as the Earth force anticipates…
Terra Insegura
Finalist for the 2010 Prix Aurora Award for Best Novel in English
Marseguro, a water world far from Earth, is home to a colony of humans and the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from modified human DNA. For seventy years the colony has lived in peace. Then Earth discovers Marseguro, and a strike force is sent to eradicate this “abomination.” But Marseguro has created a genetically tailored plague to use against Earth’s Holy Warriors. With the enemy defeated, the people of Marseguro feel they are safe. But Chris Keating, the traitor who signaled Marseguro’s location to the Holy Warriors, has fled to Earth, unknowingly carrying the deadly plague within him. The people of Marseguro feel they must send a ship to Earth with a life-saving vaccine. Only time will tell what awaits them when they reach their destination.
Lost in Translation
Kathryn was a human empath whose world and life had been destroyed when the alien S’sinn slaughtered her parents before her very eyes. Jarrikk was a young S’sinn, an unproven warrior who’d seen his flight mates slaughtered by the humans who’d sought to colonize his world.
As humans and S’sinn found themselves on the brink of war, these two Translators had to work together to find a common ground and avert catastrophe. But whether their Translators’ oath and training could overcome the enemies leagued against them was very much in doubt…
Archives
Song of the Sword
My new YA fantasy novel from Lobster Press
Before the Lady called her, Ariane’s life was a mess. Two years ago, her mother disappeared. She bounced around different foster homes until her aunt finally took her in. The meanest clique at her new high school has decided to make Ariane their prime target. And to top it all off, she is having frightening premonitions, and they are becoming more intense. The moment water touches her skin, she sees visions of a lake, a lady, and a sword. When a staircase opens up in the middle of Wascana Lake and the water begins singing to her, she has no choice but to answer the call….
Historic Walks of Regina and Moose Jaw
Ten walks to points of historic and architectural interest in the cities of Regina and Moose Jaw (eight walks for Regina, two for Moose Jaw).
Johnny Cash: The Man in Black
When country music legend Johnny Cash took the stage at Folsom State Prison in 1968, he solidified the public’s perception of him as a rebel who followed his own path. Born in Arkansas during the Great Depression, Cash endured poverty, the death of his older brother, and a difficult relationship with his father. He turned to gospel and country music to express the pain, and after many years of struggling, his songs of hardship and hope would finally reach the ears of those waiting for an artist who represented them, ordinary people fighting to survive.
Andy Warhol: Everyone Will Be Famous for 15 Minutes
“Paintings are too hard. Machines have less problems…” In the 1960s, Andy Warhol became the most famous creator of a new style of art called pop art, which transformed mass-produced items of popular culture into fine works of art. From Campbell’s Soup cans to photographs of Marilyn Monroe, Warhol’s willingness to use anything and everything from the mass media in his work expanded the range of subject matter available to artists. His avant-garde films, artistic usage of American icons, and unconventional social life made him a controversial figure, both greatly admired and deeply reviled. A trendsetter rather than a trend-follower, a dispassionate observer of both the seamy and celebrity sides of life, Warhol was a true American rebel.
Disease-Hunting Scientist
The true stories of six real disease hunters. Epidemiologists travel the world trying to keep us safe from deadly diseases—from high-tech labs in Canada to remote villages in Africa. Learn how these “disease detectives” are coming up with new ways to fight disease, and find out if you have what it takes to become an epidemiologist, too!
The Bounty Mutiny
The Bounty was a British ship visiting Tahiti in 1789 when some of the crew overthrew the captain, William Bligh, and set him adrift in a tiny boat with sailors loyal to him. The mutiny resulted in a number of trials–both of the men who mutinied and of Bligh for losing command of his ship. These fascinating events have been the source for numerous Hollywood movies, most recently The Bounty. The Bounty Mutiny: From the Court Case to the Movie explores the famous case and the movies it inspired.
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