On This Day
1843 – The discovery of octonions by John T. Graves, who denoted them with a boldface O, was announced to his mathematician friend William Hamilton, discoverer of quaternions, in a letter on this date.
In mathematics, the octonions are a normed division algebra over the real numbers, a kind of hypercomplex number system. The octonions are usually represented by the capital letter O, using boldface O or blackboard bold O {\displaystyle \mathbb {O} } \mathbb {O} . Octonions have eight dimensions; twice the number of dimensions of the quaternions, of which they are an extension. They are noncommutative and nonassociative, but satisfy a weaker form of associativity; namely, they are alternative. They are also power associative.
Octonions are not as well known as the quaternions and complex numbers, which are much more widely studied and used. Octonions are related to exceptional structures in mathematics, among them the exceptional Lie groups. Octonions have applications in fields such as string theory, special relativity and quantum logic. Applying the Cayley–Dickson construction to the octonions produces the sedenions.
Born On This Day
1869 – Bertha Lamme Feicht, American electrical engineer (d. 1943)
Bertha Lamme Feicht (December 16, 1869 – November 20, 1943) was an American engineer. In 1893, she became the first woman to receive a degree in engineering from the Ohio State University.[1] She is considered to be the first American woman to graduate in a main discipline of engineering other than civil engineering.[2]
FYI
City Wilds by Bill Sherwonit: True confessions: An ordinary dog walk goes awry upon entering a sheep-rutting area
Mixtape by Jonathan Bower: Close to Home: Songs Towards an Atypical Holiday Playlist
When the good folks at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Anchorage invited me to assemble a “non-traditional” Spotify playlist to mark the Advent season, I jumped at the opportunity. However, it didn’t take long after that to then feel a swift ripple of panic. While the playlist’s theme, “Close to Home,” generated a lot of ideas and held promise, I sat briefly frozen beyond the sub-zero temperatures dominating the past month in Alaska, caught in a grip of impostor syndrome.
By Mindy Weisberger, Live Science: Meat-eating dinosaurs were terrifyingly fast, footprints reveal
By Jeff Parsons, Metro: The world’s best Microsoft Excel users battle it out in a head-to-head tournament
By Bindu Bansinath, The Cut: When the Job Finds You, Take It
McKinsey & Compay: Author Talks: Beyond collaboration overload
By Kate Nasser: Rethink Criticism: Is Your Criticism of Employees Actually Contempt? #Leadership
https://youtu.be/JsQqF8nlWJc
Recipes
RecipeTinEats
- 2024 Ultimate Christmas menu planning guide December 12, 2024Here’s a handy list of my Christmas recipes, organised by make-ahead and reheating suitability, and those best made fresh. Perfect for menu planning, especially alongside the new Christmas recipe index! I thrive on holiday menu planning. It’s like the Olympics of cooking – except less athleticism and more butter! The goal, as always, is a... […]Nagi
- Easy Christmas Cheesecake Slab – no bake! December 6, 2024This no bake Christmas cheesecake is designed for sizzling Aussie summers – no sweating over a hot oven! Designed to serve a crowd, it’s the easiest cheesecake recipe I know yet it still captures all the hallmarks of a beautiful classic baked cheesecake. Decorate with whipped cream, berries and rosemary sprigs for an effortless, pretty... […]Nagi
wikimedia
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for January 2 January 2, 2025Picture of the day The Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, formerly and commonly referred to as the Château Frontenac, is a historic hotel located in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for January 1 January 1, 2025Picture of the day Jeeps riding near Natal Dunes State Park in Genipabu, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
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Stump the Bookseller is a service offered by Loganberry Books to reconnect people to the books they love but can’t quite remember. In brief (for more detailed information see our About page), people can post their memories here, and the hivemind goes to work. After all, the collective mind of bibliophiles, readers, parents and librarians around the world is much better than just a few of us thinking. Together with these wonderful Stumper Magicians, we have a nearly 50% success rate in finding these long lost but treasured books. The more concrete the book description, the better the success rate, of course. It is a labor of love to keep it going, and there is a modest fee. Please see the How To page to find price information and details on how to submit your Book Stumper and payment.
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