Welcome, 77 artists, 40 different points of Attica welcomes you by singing Erotokritos an epic romance written at 1713 by Vitsentzos Kornaros
Saturday, December 7, 2013
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New Evidence Incriminates Golden Dawn
ATHENS – As supporters of the ultra-far-right Golden Dawn party have begun to ramp up protests demanding the release of its jailed leaders, Greek authorities said they have uncovered a mountain of new evidence the extremists were operating a criminal gang, for which they’ve been charged. Six of the party’s 18 Members of Parliament, including […]
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Provopoulos Tells Banks to Start Lending
ATHENS – Flush with 50 billion euros ($67.4 billion) in recapitalization cash from the government, which passed on the proceeds from a second bailout from international lenders, Greek banks are still sitting on the money when they should be lending to businesses to help revive the economy, Bank of Greece Governor Giorgos Provopoulos complained. He […]
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Greece’s 2014 Budget Set For OK
ATHENS – Lawmakers from Greece’s ruling New Democracy Conservatives and PASOK Socialists, despite some reluctance, are expected to follow orders and give their okay to a disputed 2014 budget when they vote at midnight on Dec. 7, even though they don’t know how big of a revenue gap is in it nor how the government […]
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Greek College Students Face Lost Semester
ATHENS – Reluctant to force back to work striking staffers that have shut down eight universities, Greece’s coalition government is ready to let the first semester that was supposed to have begun in Greece be lost rather than challenge the administrators who have shut down the schools. Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, who earlier this year […]
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Panathinaikos’ Hoopsters Make Euro Final 16
ATHENS – Behind a 69-63 win over lightly-regarded Red Star Belgrade, Panathinaikos advanced to the top 16 of the Euroleague but worries persist that the Greek powerhouse is underperforming and faces tougher challenges. The Greeks were led by Ramel Curry and James Gist to best the Serbian team, but had to overcome a big deficit […]
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World Cup 2014: England drawn against Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica
• First game for Roy Hodgson will be against Italy in Manaus• Brazil 2014 live blog• Watch video profiles of all the World Cup teams
England have been drawn against Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica in Group D for next summer's World Cup.
Roy Hodgson's men will open their campaign in Manaus when they face Italy on Saturday, 14 June. It is just the start the England manager did not want having spoken about his concerns at playing in the Amazon where conditions will severely test his players.
England must then head to Sao Paulo and Belo Horizonte for their meetings with Uruguay and Costa Rica on 19 June and 24 respectively.
England avoided becoming the European team placed in a special pot, who had to be drawn against a South American top seed. However they ended up in the same group as Italy, who came out of the special pot, which meant the draw could hardly have been more difficult.
It means Hodgson's team must face the side that knocked England out of Euro 2012 in Kiev, before coming face to face with a Uruguay team containing Luis Suárez and the Paris Saint-Germain star forward Edinson Cavani.
Even the group minnows, Costa Rica, will not be beaten easily given the central American country have shock potential, as they proved by beating Scotland at the 1990 tournament.
If the opponents themselves were not tough enough, the travelling involved and the tropical conditions at one of the venues makes it even harder. Hodgson has already confirmed England will base themselves in Rio de Janeiro for the tournament.
Unless he decides to relocate – as he previously suggested was an outside possibility should circumstances dictate – England face a lot of travelling. Manaus is a five-and-a-half hour flight from Rio and is located in the Amazonian rain forest, with 99% humidity.
And it is even bad news for England fans back home – the opening match against Italy will kick off at 0200 (BST) on Sunday, 15 June.
São Paulo and Belo Horizonte are much more accessible from Rio. It is just over 200 miles to São Paulo and less than 300 to Belo Horizonte.
However, that place has unhappy memories for England as the venue where they lost to the United States in one of the biggest World Cup shocks of all time in 1950.
Elsewhere, the world champions Spain will face Holland, the side they beat in the 2010 final, in the group stage. Spain's first game will be against the Dutch in a tough-looking Group B along with Chile and Australia – though perhaps not as difficult as Group G where Germany are up against Portugal, Ghana and the United States.
The hosts Brazil will play Croatia in the opening match of the World Cup in São Paulo while Mexico and Cameroon are the other sides in Group A.
The draw for the 2014 World Cup Group Stage is as follows:
Group ABrazil
Croatia
Mexico
Cameroon
Group BSpain
Holland
Chile
Australia
Group CColombia
Greece
Ivory Coast
Japan
Group DUruguay
Costa Rica
England
Italy
Group ESwitzerland
Ecuador
France
Honduras
Group FArgentina
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Iran
Nigeria
Group GGermany
Portugal
Ghana
USA
Group HBelgium
Algeria
Russia
South Korea
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Glories of Byzantium at National Gallery of Art
By Sofia Mannos WASHINGTON, DC – It’s iconic. The dazzling and mysterious history of Byzantium seen through creative minds of a long-gone civilization is on display in Washington. For the first time, the National Gallery of Art is devoting an exhibition to Byzantine art – more than 170 works, including marbles, jewelry and icons – […]
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New Pressure on Greece over Golden Dawn
Τhere was plenty of news on Dec. 5. Nevertheless, I am sure that those who were on the website of the Wall Street Journal were surprised to see a story on Golden Dawn prominently displayed. And it was not there for an instant, as is sometimes the case. It was featured there for at least […]
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Greece Draws Colombia, Japan, Ivory Coast for 2014 World Cup in Brazil
COSTA DO SAUIPE, Brazil – The United States will play Ghana, Portugal and Germany in a tough first-round group at next year’s World Cup that will take the Americans on a lengthy 9,000-mile trip around Brazil. Greece, a 200-1 shot making its second consecutive appearance, drew a bracket with Japan, Colonia and Ivory Coast in […]
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Councilman-Elect Hosts Thank You Party
ASTORIA – Costa Constantinides and his campaign team knocked on more than 12,000 doors, paving the way to 65.6 to 15 percent landslide victory on November 5 that sent to the New York City Council. On December 5, up for air and being certain it was not a dream, he hosted a party to thank […]
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Clashes break out in Athens on anniversary of teenager's killing
500 Lightstick-Toting Math Enthusiasts 'Pythagorized' NYC's Iconic Flatiron Building In Epic Fashion
As part of their first anniversary celebrations, the Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) and about 500 math enthusiasts of all ages proved that New York's iconic Flatiron building is approximately in the shape of a very special type of right triangle.
"Pythagorizing the Flatiron" is the first in a planned series of "MathHappenings" to be run by MoMath.
The proof of the Flatiron building's right triangle nature is based on the Pythagorean theorem — the statement that for a right triangle with legs (shorter sides) of lengths a and b, and hypotenuse (long side) of length c, the sum of the squares of the two shorter lengths equals the square of the long length — a2 + b2 = c2.
The Museum of Math flipped this idea around — if the lengths of the sides of a triangle, like the Flatiron building, satisfy the Pythagorean theorem, then the triangle must be a right triangle.
MoMath measured the sides of the Flatiron building in a unique way. People lined up around the three sides of the building, and MoMath workers and volunteers handed out lightsticks that the math enthusiasts held end to end. By counting while handing out the glowing toys, MoMath was able to estimate the length of the building's sides in terms of lightsticks.
The shortest side of the building, along 22nd St and designated side A, measured 75 lightsticks. The longer leg of the building, going up 5th Ave and designated side B, measured 180 lightsticks. The longest side of the building, the hypotenuse C running along Broadway, had a length of 195 lightsticks.
Having found the lengths of the sides of the building in lightsticks, MoMath then projected on the side of the building the calculations that showed that the three sides do in fact match up with the Pythagorean Theorem, proving that the Flatiron is in fact a right triangle:
Square the lengths of the two shorter sides: a2 = 752 = 5625 and b2 = 1802 = 32,400. Add those together and get a2 + b2 = 38,025. Then, square the length of the longest side: c2 = 1952 = 38,025 — you get the same number as the sum of the squares of the shorter sides: a2 + b2 = c2. So, the Pythagorean theorem holds for the Flatiron building, proving that it is in fact a right triangle.
Right triangles whose sides all have whole number lengths are special. For most right triangles, at least one of the three sides will be an irrational number — a right triangle whose shorter sides both have length one will have a hypotenuse of length square root of 2 (since, again by the Pythagorean Theorem, 12 + 12 = 1 + 1 = 2, and 2 is, by definition, the square root of 2, squared).
Sets of three whole numbers that describe a right triangle, like 75, 180, and 195, are called Pythagorean triples, and they have been of interest to mathematicians since the time of the ancient Greeks.
This particular Pythagorean triple also has one other interesting property. All three of the numbers 75, 180, and 195 can be divided by 15 without leaving a remainder: 75 ÷ 15 = 5, 180 ÷ 15 = 12, and 195 ÷ 15 = 13. So, if we "rescale" the length measurements by performing this division on the three lengths, we get that the sides of the Flatiron building are 5, 12, and 13.
MoMath thus was very clever in choosing the date for the event — December 5, 2013, or 12/5/13, matching the sides of the building.
After making the measurements of the Flatiron building's sides and showing their Pythagorean relationship, MoMath projected a couple nice geometric proofs of the Pythagorean theorem onto the side of the building:
This proof is based on representing the squares of the side lengths as being the areas of squares drawn around the triangle. MoMath then showed how one can cut up and move around the two smaller squares based on the legs of the triangle, so that they fit perfectly inside the large square based on the hypotenuse, showing that the two smaller squares put together have the same area as the larger square — proving that a2 + b2 = c2.
Events like this are a delightful way for all kinds of people to participate in the elegance and beauty of mathematics. The Pythagorean Theorem is a core concept in our understanding of geometry, and in many ways, it defines the shape of our world. It was exciting to see this fundamental mathematical principle brought to life in a fun and interactive way.
SEE ALSO: The Only 8 Numbers You Need To Do Math
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