Seminar Announcement
Thursday, October 16
4:00-5:00
115 French Hall (FH)
Speaker:
Professor Timothy Pennings (http://math.hope.edu/pennings/)
Department of Mathematics
Hope College
Featuring:
Dr. Elvis
The king of calculus
Title:
Do Dogs Know Calculus? Bifurcations at the Beach
We will show that dogs—at least my dog, Elvis—knows calculus. That is, Elvis can find the optimal—fastest—route to a ball thrown into the water some distance down the beach. But what happens when Elvis is positioned in the water and retrieves a ball that is also in the water? When should he swim straight to the ball, and when should he swim in to the shore, run along the shore, and then swim back out to the ball? What is the bifurcation point for the change in optimal strategy? Does Elvis bifurcate? Does his fur bicate?
Dr. Elvis (he has an honorary doctorate degree) will be in the building demonstrating that he's indeed the King of calculus - and much more than a hound dog.