Earnest Harrison's Web Page

Earnest Harrison

I am a retired electrical engineer with forty years experience in industry. I am now a lecturer in the Mathematics Department, teaching the following courses this fall:

Math 115 0101 MWF from 8:00 to 8:50 in MTH 0303 (syllabus) (Grades)
Math 115 0201 MWF from 9:00 to 9:50 in MTH 0303 (syllabus) (Grades)
Homework: Enhanced Web Assign for Math 115
Stat 100 0102 MWF from 12:00 to 12:50 in MTH 0307 (syllabus) (Grades)
Homework: WileyPlus for Stat 100 0102
Stat 100 Projects

My office is in MTH 1102 where I am available for help Monday and Wednesday 1:00-2:00. I will also be available in MTH 0301 from 1:00 to 2:00 on Fridays. These times are "drop-in." Other times are available by appointment.
Stat 100 students may also avail themselves of office hours offered by any other Stat 100 instructor.
See the Stat 100 Course Website for details.

Math Department Test Bank

Patterns

There are those who use patterns to communicate feelings and emotions.
We call such people musicians and artists.
There are those who use patterns to understand the universe in which we live.
We call such people scientists.
There are those who use patterns to create useful objects.
We call such people engineers.
Then there are those who simply love patterns for their own sake.
These people are mathematicians.

Many students finish high school thinking that a calculator is the machine one does mathematics with, and that the only thing that matters is the final (numerical) answer. Naturally they cannot understand why anyone would find that interesting.
However, mathematics is not about numbers, it is about patterns -- beautiful and often surprising patterns.
My favorite from elementary mathematics is Euler's formula: Euler's equation

, which ties the circular and exponential functions together.
Try to imagine the surprise people must have felt when Euler showed the these two very different-looking functions were really aspects of the same thing.