The following graphing calculator is written entirely in CSS and HTML. That's right; there is no Javascript anywhere on this page. Quite a few shenanigans are involved, from hidden checkboxes, to recursive variables, and even bit hacks. But let's be honest, using CSS often requires a few hacks...
Read moreHere's a brainchild of mine that started during a 10-hour flight and ended in an overengineered Javascript-free crossword component. I like cryptic crosswords but rarely find them with technical themes. Thus, to be the change I wish to see, I created my first crossword and gave it a computer science theme.
The clues are cryptic, so expect wordplay (along with a hidden definition) within most of them. If you get a bit stuck or want more sematic clues, don't hesitate to view the hints (and feel free to blame my craftmanship, or lack thereof). They provide a more literal description for each word. Also feel free to make heavy use of Google, a good regex search, or any other external tools, as there are a few technical and niche terms. ...
Read moreIn the modern age, it is slightly strange how prevalent books remain. We have so much media in more immersive and interactive forms, yet books are not uncommon and apparently people want to read more of them.
Some of this ought to be from people wanting to be "someone who reads books," but I still think they have their uses. Given that written content tends to be easier to produce, there is abundant quality material on any topic, particularly for more niche subjects like undergraduate/graduate maths (much to the detriment of my growing to-read list). ...
Read moreI was reviewing my Anki flashcards from my second year discrete maths course (MATH2302) and rediscovered this fact for myself: "For any integer, the number of odd partitions is the same as the number of distinct partitions." I found this strange; it was clear from the generating functions, but I didn't have any intuition on why this would be the case.
To give some background, a partition is a way to write an integer as a sum of positive integers where we ignore ordering ...
Read moreRecently MSS held its integration bee (think spelling bee, but integration questions) for 2023 and I was set aside the task of creating the questions. I always like this job (I did it last year as well), as coming up with good integrals is tricky. The aim is that the integrals can be done quickly if you know what you are doing (say in less than one minute), achieveable with only the basic integration techniques (substitution and integration by parts, and avoiding trig substitutions and hyperbolic functions if possible), but still can stump some contestants and wow the audience. ...
Read moreThe UQ Computing Society (UQCS) recently wanted to hold some sort of welcome night for the new semester. Having suggested a quiz-show-like format that was "not quite trivia", I got allocated with coming up with the questions. Being a bit of a quiz show fan, this was great fun. Coming up with the format of the night was a little tricky; I've been to previous game-show inspired trivia nights and often found that the "show" format does not carry over well into a many teamed event. In the end the commitee settled on having sheets of problems that teams would solve in 10-15 minutes. All that was left was to come up with questions ...
Read moreI have wanted a personal website for a while now, but never got around to doing it. Partially, not having hosting lead to this procrastination, but it was also due to not knowing a suitable stack. The former deterrent was overcome when I was gifted a domain and some cheap web hosting for Christmas. The latter disappeared when I decided (perhaps over-zealously) to ditch server-hosted JavaScript altogether.
That does sound a little rash (which it was), so let me explain. Whilst I have dabbled in learning some front-end stacks ...
Read morePlaying cards seem to be the default merch for math-student-seeking companies. This always seemed a little strange to me given that they are the stereotypical incarnation of probability, and numerous maths students seem (unfortunately) opposed to any form of statistics. Despite this, these cheap pieces of card (which might explain their prevalence) have accumulated in my bedroom, having been given to me from FinTech companies every open day and employment fair.
With no use for 7 decks, I thought that I could use a few to make some nice shapes. Luckily, I was not the first to think of this. ...
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