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Math... With a Spoon!

Icon: calendar Math... With a Spoon! Session #2 | 2026 Mar 28 from 10:20AM to 10:35AM (Central Time (US & Canada)) | Computing and Math 355

Subevent of Math... With a Spoon!

‟A Magic Carpet Ride through Irrationality” by Jeneva Clark <dr.jenevaclark@utk.edu>, University of Tennessee at Knoxville

Abstract:

Stanley Tennenbaum proved the irrationality of $\sqrt{2}$ using Carpets Theorem with square carpets, and others (myself, Conway, and Miller) have tried to generalize this proof by using triangular and pentagonal carpets. Although those families of proofs used simple tools, a.k.a. “spoons,” in this talk, I am going to try to “spoonify” this even more. I’ll prove the irrationality of $\sqrt{3}$ and $\sqrt{5}$ using only square-shaped carpets. This work extends the previous findings for grationality and opens up the possibility of more research into families of irrationality proofs.