Bnpositives Blog

Blog

By

Why Do Numbers Look the Way They Do

I got an email a few weeks ago from my mom. Attached to the email was a PowerPoint slideshow that explained why the numbers we use everyday look the way they do.

orble-number-shape-explanation

I normally don’t open emails with attachments that are sent from my family members like that, so I started looking for a website that shared the same information and found it on the Orble website.

The article on the Orble website, Why do our written numbers look like they do, explains why the numbers we use are shaped the way they do.

We say our numbers are based on Arabic symbols, but before that Phoenician merchants used the numbering system themselves. The shape of the numbers has to do with the number of angle displayed in each number.

Over the years the shapes have simplified a bit and lost some of their original angles and turns, but overall things have remained the same. I thought the article was very interesting and figured I’d share it with everyone.

While you’re there and done reading the number article, browse around the Orble website some more on your own. There’s quite a bit of other interesting things to enjoy.

By

Using the Google Dashboard

I’m generally a big supporter, fan and user of Google‘s various online products. I knew I used a lot of Google tools, but I never really thought about just how much I use and rely on them until I stumbled across the Google Dashboard.

the-Google-dashboard

When you’re on the main Google page, look for the settings link in the top-right corner and select the option for "Google account settings" as shown in the image below:

Google-settings

Once you’ve opened the that page you should see a link towards the top of the next page that’s labeled "Personal" section and then "Dashboard" the link will say "View data stored with this account".

Once you get that you’ll have access to all the information that’s stored with and tied to your Google account. Information is available in one location for all of these items:

Although not directly available within the Google Dashboard itself, there are also links provided to 17 other services I use like:

FeedBurner, Google AdSense, Google AdWords, Google Base, Google Book Search, Google Bookmarks, Google Groups, Google News, Google Notebook, Google Page Creator, Google Sites, Google Subscribed Links, Google Toolbar Sync, Google Wave, Google Webmaster Tools, Local Business Center, Merchant Center.

I’d think some of those services listed that are not included in the dashboard are pretty mainstream and I’m surprised they’re not listed in the main dashboard display.

If you haven’t been aware of this little tool and wonder how you’ve got everything setup on those services, the Google Dashboard can come in quite handy for you.

Have you noticed the new Google fade feature on the main Google search page?

By

Math Homework Help at EasyCalculation.com

I did something tonight I haven’t done in 22 years. I tried to figure out and work on Slope Intercept Equations from my old Algebra 1 days. I didn’t actually need to know the answers, I needed to remember how to explain it to a high school freshman that needed help with her own homework.

easy-calculations-website-uncovered

The challenge with picking up this math stuff wasn’t so much the remembering how to do it myself. The challenge was both reminding myself of what was going on, understanding the concepts involved and then, the hardest part, being able to explain it to someone else.

It’s said if you want to know whether or not you really know something, see if you can teach it to someone else.

I’m not sure I really "taught" this girl more about math, but I hopefully helped her understand the concepts a little more. I owe that credit to the EasyCalculation.com website which both explained the concepts of slope-intercept equations, but also provided a calculator for us to be able to check our work to make sure we were really understanding what we thought we were.

If you need help with a mathematical concept, go uncover some homework help at EasyCalculation.com.