Today's soundtrack is Carcass: Heartwork, an album that surprised me the first time I heard it, because I only knew them as a grindcore band, and here they were with some awesome melodic death metal. It's a great album. This afternoon, I'm learning how to graph rational (fraction) functions and their reciprocals. Asymptotes are seen … Continue reading 03.09.2019: One Lesson of Math – Radical and Rational Functions, 4/6: Graphing Rational Functions
03.08.2019: One Lesson of Math – Radical and Rational Functions, 3/6: Solving Radical Equations
Today's soundtrack is Guardian: Buzz, a grunge rock album from the mid-90s that really played a part in shaping my love of hard rock music. I had it on CD; depending on which way you folded the insert, there were four different options of cover art, each depicting a different interpretation of the album's title … Continue reading 03.08.2019: One Lesson of Math – Radical and Rational Functions, 3/6: Solving Radical Equations
03.07.2019: One Lesson of Math – Radical and Rational Functions, 2/6: The Square Root Functions
Today's soundtrack is Agalloch: Of Stone, Wind, & Pillor, a gorgeous blackened folk metal album - technically an EP, but it's nearly 30 minutes long, and it stands alone just fine! When comparing a linear graph of a function vs the square root of that function, invariant points will always occur at y 0 and … Continue reading 03.07.2019: One Lesson of Math – Radical and Rational Functions, 2/6: The Square Root Functions
03.06.2019: One Lesson of Math – Radical and Rational Functions, 1/6: Transformations of Radical Functions
Today's soundtrack is Krystal Meyers: Krystal Meyers, a rock album that was marketed as a Christian alternative to Avril Lavigne. Meyers has a strong voice, and the songs are nice. This afternoon, I'm learning how to transform radical functions.
03.05.2019: One Lesson of Math – Transformations, 5/5: Combining Transformations of Functions
Today's soundtrack is Dream Theater: Octavarium, an epic prog-metal masterpiece. The title track is of particular note, clocking in at nearly 25 minutes and featuring an incredible performance by the band. I've spent the past few days learning how to modify a function's equation to reflect it, translate it, and expand or compress it. Today, … Continue reading 03.05.2019: One Lesson of Math – Transformations, 5/5: Combining Transformations of Functions
03.04.2019: One Lesson of Math – Transformations, 4/5: Compressing and Expanding Graphs of Functions
Today's soundtrack is Porcupine Tree: In Absentia, an example of what prog rock is supposed to sound like. This evening, I'm learning about how to compress and expand graphs of functions horizontally and vertically. Important note: Compressing or expanding a function vertically will affect any constants, since constants affect a graph's position on the y-axis; … Continue reading 03.04.2019: One Lesson of Math – Transformations, 4/5: Compressing and Expanding Graphs of Functions
03.03.2019: One Lesson of Math – Transformations, 3/5: Reflecting Graphs of Functions
Today's soundtrack is Demon Hunter: Summer of Darkness. When I was but a wee teenaged metalhead, I heard Demon Hunter's debut album; through it, I was introduced to the concept of dynamics in progressive metal before I'd ever heard Opeth. When I got this album, I was so impressed: they not only managed to match … Continue reading 03.03.2019: One Lesson of Math – Transformations, 3/5: Reflecting Graphs of Functions
03.02.2019: One Lesson of Math – Transformations, 2/5: Translating Graphs of Functions
Today's soundtrack is AᘀBA: Gold: Greatest Hits, an album that always makes me feel happy. I initially started listening to them ironically, but their talent is pure gold. This morning, I'm learning how to compare functions' equations and graphs by translating their functions. Translation of a function just means moving it around by changing up … Continue reading 03.02.2019: One Lesson of Math – Transformations, 2/5: Translating Graphs of Functions
03.01.2019: One Lesson of Math – Transformations, 1/5: Relations and Functions
Today's soundtrack is Amon Amarth: Surtur Rising, a melodic death metal album that always gets me pumped. I've been listening to these guys for ages; they haven't evolved their sound much, but to me that's a good thing: they do one thing, and they do it really well. When I want to headbang along to … Continue reading 03.01.2019: One Lesson of Math – Transformations, 1/5: Relations and Functions
02.28.2019: One Lesson of Math – Course Preparation
Today's soundtrack is Five Finger Death Punch: The Way of the Fist, a groove metal album that doesn't break any ground, but boy is it a lot of fun! I remember reading about these guys in a guitar magazine back in in '08, and I checked out this album shortly after. I'm glad that I … Continue reading 02.28.2019: One Lesson of Math – Course Preparation
02.27.2019: One Lesson of Math – Precalculus 12 Orientation
Today's soundtrack is Supertramp: Breakfast in America, an album that really didn't click for me the first time I heard it, but the more I listen, the more its depth becomes apparent. It feels like an album that would be best experienced by listening to it on vinyl in a cozy room, reading the lyrics … Continue reading 02.27.2019: One Lesson of Math – Precalculus 12 Orientation
02.26.2019: One Guitar Lesson
Today's soundtrack is Van Halen: Van Halen, a rock album that few people haven't heard. This evening, I'm working on the first lesson in the orange category on JustinGuitar.com, "Notes in the Open Position." Today's lesson covers the first four notes on each of the six strings of a guitar in standard tuning, descending from … Continue reading 02.26.2019: One Guitar Lesson
Steven Mills 