CoTT 2 House of Cards

[Drew Espinosa]

21 minutes ago, Headstall said:

Happy Sunday, all!   This one's for @Drew Espinosa ... good boyfriend material.  

Love ya, Handsome!  

[Marty]

Well, I see we're now on page 1966...

1966 was the year I finished my secondary education and went away to university; with the latter being a big step for me.

As promised, here's a photo taken in my final term at grammar school of the sixteen members of my class ("Upper Sixth Science Two") 

Mr Hough, our form teacher is in the middle of the front row. He was also our Chemistry Teacher for the two years of sixth form.

And I'm also in there somewhere!

 

Edited December 13, 2020 by Marty
Tidying up

[Drew Espinosa]

5 minutes ago, Marty said:

Well, I see we're now on page 1966...

1966 was the year I finished my secondary education and went away to university; with the latter being a big step for me.

As promised, here's a photo taken in my final term at grammar school of the sixteen members of my class ("Upper Sixth Science Two") 

Mr Hough, our form teacher is in the middle of the front row. He was also our Chemistry Teacher for the two years of sixth form.

And I'm also in there somewhere!

 

You're handsome as always.  

Edited December 13, 2020 by Drew Espinosa

[Drew Espinosa]

For me, 1966 was the year my mom was born.  

[Marty]

And, talking of numbers, here's an article from BBC Future that might interest some of you.

@Drew Espinosa, in particular?

How Modern Mathematics Emerged From A Lost Islamic library

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20201204-lost-islamic-library-maths
By Adrienne Bernhard, 7th December 2020

Some quotes:

The House of Wisdom was destroyed in the Mongol Siege of Baghdad in 1258 (according to legend, so many manuscripts were tossed into the River Tigris that its waters turned black from ink), but the discoveries made there introduced a powerful, abstract mathematical language that would later be adopted by the Islamic empire, Europe, and ultimately, the entire world.

But this prestigious academy was in fact a major intellectual powerhouse in Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age, and the birthplace of mathematical concepts as transformative as the common zero and our modern-day “Arabic” numerals.

For hundreds of years until the ebb of the Italian Renaissance, one name was synonymous with mathematics in Europe: Leonardo da Pisa, known posthumously as Fibonacci. Born in Pisa in 1170, the Italian mathematician received his primary instruction in Bugia, a trading enclave located on the Barbary coast of Africa (coastal North Africa). In his early 20s, Fibonacci travelled to the Middle East, captivated by ideas that had come west from India through Persia. When he returned to Italy, Fibonacci published Liber Abbaci^*, one of the first Western works to describe the Hindu-Arabic numeric system.

When Liber Abbaci first appeared in 1202, Hindu-Arabic numerals were known to only a few intellectuals; European tradesmen and scholars were still clinging to Roman numerals, which made multiplication and division extremely cumbersome (try multiplying MXCI by LVII!). Fibonacci’s book demonstrated numerals’ use in arithmetic operations – techniques which could be applied to practical problems like profit margin, money changing, weight conversion, barter and interest. 

“Those who wish to know the art of calculating, its subtleties and ingenuities, must know computing with hand figures,” Fibonacci wrote in the first chapter of his encyclopaedic work, referring to the digits that children now learn in school. “With these nine figures and the sign 0, called zephyr, any number whatsoever is written.” Suddenly, mathematics was available to all in a useable form.

^* "Liber Abbaci" (sometimes spelled Liber Abaci) translates to "The Book of Calculation".

Edited December 13, 2020 by Marty
Tidying up

[Albert1434]

This is what the christmas feast will look like this year here at the house of cards!

[Albert1434]

[Drew Espinosa]

4 minutes ago, Marty said:

And, talking of numbers, here's an article from BBC Future that might interest some of you.

@Drew Espinosa, in particular?

How Modern Mathematics Emerged From A Lost Islamic library
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20201204-lost-islamic-library-maths

Some quotes:

The House of Wisdom was destroyed in the Mongol Siege of Baghdad in 1258 (according to legend, so many manuscripts were tossed into the River Tigris that its waters turned black from ink), but the discoveries made there introduced a powerful, abstract mathematical language that would later be adopted by the Islamic empire, Europe, and ultimately, the entire world.

But this prestigious academy was in fact a major intellectual powerhouse in Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age, and the birthplace of mathematical concepts as transformative as the common zero and our modern-day “Arabic” numerals.

For hundreds of years until the ebb of the Italian Renaissance, one name was synonymous with mathematics in Europe: Leonardo da Pisa, known posthumously as Fibonacci. Born in Pisa in 1170, the Italian mathematician received his primary instruction in Bugia, a trading enclave located on the Barbary coast of Africa (coastal North Africa). In his early 20s, Fibonacci travelled to the Middle East, captivated by ideas that had come west from India through Persia. When he returned to Italy, Fibonacci published Liber Abbaci^*, one of the first Western works to describe the Hindu-Arabic numeric system.

When Liber Abbaci first appeared in 1202, Hindu-Arabic numerals were known to only a few intellectuals; European tradesmen and scholars were still clinging to Roman numerals, which made multiplication and division extremely cumbersome (try multiplying MXCI by LVII!). Fibonacci’s book demonstrated numerals’ use in arithmetic operations – techniques which could be applied to practical problems like profit margin, money changing, weight conversion, barter and interest. 

“Those who wish to know the art of calculating, its subtleties and ingenuities, must know computing with hand figures,” Fibonacci wrote in the first chapter of his encyclopaedic work, referring to the digits that children now learn in school. “With these nine figures and the sign 0, called zephyr, any number whatsoever is written.” Suddenly, mathematics was available to all in a useable form.

^* "Liber Abbaci" (sometimes spelled Liber Abaci) translates to "The Book of Calculation".

I was still a young boy in middle school when I learned (on my own) about the Islamic Golden Age, and the many advancements in the sciences led by Muslim scholars. It is a fascinating era to study and explore.  

[Marty]

1 minute ago, Drew Espinosa said:

I was still a young boy in middle school when I learned (on my own) about the Islamic Golden Age, and the many advancements in the sciences led by Muslim scholars. It is a fascinating era to study and explore.  

It certainly is!

[Marty]

5 minutes ago, Albert1434 said:

This is what the Christmas feast will look like this year here at the house of cards!

And here's an album of Christmas songs that could be played at that feast:

Spoiler

 

(Although some of the jokes may not be fully understood across the pond.)

 

[Albert1434]

[Marty]

 

[dughlas]

3 hours ago, Drew Espinosa said:

Love ya, Handsome!  

Now remember ya little demon, don't fold, spindle or mutilate this one ...

 

Damn, I hope I didn't just age myself with that reference.

[Sherye Story Reader]

You know you are boring when someone calls you on google duo and they pay more attention to their tv instead of you! Geeze!

[dughlas]

3 hours ago, Marty said:

Well, I see we're now on page 1966...

1966 was the year I finished my secondary education and went away to university; with the latter being a big step for me.

As promised, here's a photo taken in my final term at grammar school of the sixteen members of my class ("Upper Sixth Science Two") 

Mr Hough, our form teacher is in the middle of the front row. He was also our Chemistry Teacher for the two years of sixth form.

And I'm also in there somewhere!

 

 

3 hours ago, Drew Espinosa said:

You're handsome as always.  

Hmmm, seems Texy and I agree on you're being handsome.

I forgot to say I think you're the slightly nonconforming lad in the back row.

Edited December 13, 2020 by dughlas
If I use all my words it improves my grammar ...

[dughlas]

3 hours ago, Drew Espinosa said:

For me, 1966 was the year my mom was born.  

I was eight and in the Third grade.

[dughlas]

1 hour ago, Albert1434 said:

This is what the christmas feast will look like this year here at the house of cards!

But ... it's just a bunch of empty plates ...

1 hour ago, Albert1434 said:

Oh good. There is food.

[Drew Espinosa]

8 minutes ago, Sherye said:

You know you are boring when someone calls you on google duo and they pay more attention to their tv instead of you! Geeze!

Hello Sherye!  

[Sherye Story Reader]

4 minutes ago, Drew Espinosa said:

Hello Sherye!  

Hello Drew!

[clochette]

3 hours ago, Marty said:

Well, I see we're now on page 1966...

1966 was the year I finished my secondary education and went away to university; with the latter being a big step for me.

As promised, here's a photo taken in my final term at grammar school of the sixteen members of my class ("Upper Sixth Science Two") 

Mr Hough, our form teacher is in the middle of the front row. He was also our Chemistry Teacher for the two years of sixth form.

And I'm also in there somewhere!

 

All nice young men

My bet is...

Spoiler

3rd on the bottom left with that cheeky smile or 4th on the top left 

But really not sure

Edited December 13, 2020 by clochette

[Drew Espinosa]

Sun's out, and the snow is melting.

[Headstall]

4 hours ago, Marty said:

Well, I see we're now on page 1966...

1966 was the year I finished my secondary education and went away to university; with the latter being a big step for me.

As promised, here's a photo taken in my final term at grammar school of the sixteen members of my class ("Upper Sixth Science Two") 

Mr Hough, our form teacher is in the middle of the front row. He was also our Chemistry Teacher for the two years of sixth form.

And I'm also in there somewhere!

 

I'm leaning  toward top row, second from right, but it would help if the photo was larger.  

[Marty]

1 hour ago, dughlas said:

I forgot to say I think you're the slightly nonconforming lad in the back row.

If you're talking about the one wearing a grey shirt instead of a white one, fourth long from the left, that's David Llewellyn. He was one of just a couple of lads who joined the school in the sixth form, having got extremely good grades in his O-Levels at one of the local Secondary Modern schools (as they didn't have a sixth form).

But you're correct in suggesting that I am on the back row - meaning @clochette's guess was incorrect. 

[clochette]

5 minutes ago, Headstall said:

I'm leaning  toward top row, second from right, but it would help if the photo was larger.  

Aaah yeah could be

[clochette]

27 minutes ago, Drew Espinosa said:

Sun's out, and the snow is melting.

Did you get to play in the snow? I bet you made a snow penis bigger than you(rs)