The winning number for Week 1 is 5, by @sun. (Which doesn't seem to be a valid Twitter handle, so the Glory goes out anonymously.)
There were 51 total entries which is pretty good given the fact that I started with 4 followers and a well-used hashtag. The graph and raw data offer some good notice/wonder opportunities.
Some of mine:
1) The most chosen number was 4. When I compare this to week 1 graph from this year at my school (scroll to the bottom for week 1), nobody chose 4. Instead, 3 was most chosen. I think my students worked their way up from 1 and stopped at 3, whereas a clever group of math teachers went one integer further.
2) When I've started this with students, I've done so with no guidance other than the rules. So I'll always get a few submissions of 0.0000000001 or negative numbers -- then they start to pay attention to the words. No such problem with math teachers.
3) The winning number in the first contest this school year was also 5.
4) How many players there are will have a critical bearing on the strategy of choosing a number. Will this change things for next week?
What do you notice? What do you wonder?
Sunday, June 18, 2017
Saturday, June 17, 2017
Pick a Number
I've become somewhat obsessed with the #MTBoS community on Twitter, so I figured I'd dive in.
My primary goals are typical: to connect with other educators who are doing what I'm doing, and figure out how to do it better.
My specific goal is to share what I'm doing with 3D printing and get some feedback.
My secret goal is to be that guy with the number game. Maybe I'm walking around NCTM in DC next spring, and somebody sees my name and says, "Hey, you're the guy with the number game." Like that.
The game is simple: Each player chooses a positive integer. The winner is the player who chooses the smallest positive integer that nobody else chose.
I've done this at my school weekly for the past two years. You can see the graphs from 2015-16 and 2016-17.
I believe that I read about this game in a book called Moral Calculations by Laszlo Mero. He described Scientific American having run the game several years ago. For you game theorists, here's a paper that solves the game.
What I like about it is that everyone can play, and there are no bad answers.
I'll leave any discussion of the game for another time. But for now, choose a number. The prize is simply internet glory. What else can you ask for?
I'll collect the raw data and make that available as well.
Feel free to offer any advice. Thanks!
My primary goals are typical: to connect with other educators who are doing what I'm doing, and figure out how to do it better.
My specific goal is to share what I'm doing with 3D printing and get some feedback.
My secret goal is to be that guy with the number game. Maybe I'm walking around NCTM in DC next spring, and somebody sees my name and says, "Hey, you're the guy with the number game." Like that.
The game is simple: Each player chooses a positive integer. The winner is the player who chooses the smallest positive integer that nobody else chose.
I've done this at my school weekly for the past two years. You can see the graphs from 2015-16 and 2016-17.
I believe that I read about this game in a book called Moral Calculations by Laszlo Mero. He described Scientific American having run the game several years ago. For you game theorists, here's a paper that solves the game.
What I like about it is that everyone can play, and there are no bad answers.
I'll leave any discussion of the game for another time. But for now, choose a number. The prize is simply internet glory. What else can you ask for?
I'll collect the raw data and make that available as well.
Feel free to offer any advice. Thanks!
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