Math 319
Homework M1

Please type your answers into a Word ( .doc or .docx ) file or a simple text ( .txt ) file,
and attach that file to the appropriate dropbox inside EMU Canvas.

1. Summarize for me:
 - your name
 - your nickname, if you go by one, or how to pronounce your name if you think I might not know.
 - your major and minor/2nd major
 - have you had statistics or probability? If so, which class/how long ago?
   Did you like it, or do you want to avoid it in future projects?
 - have you had a computer programming class? If so, which language/how long ago?
   Did you like it, or do you want to avoid it in future projects?
 - your past, current, or future jobs
 - other hobbies/interests possibly related to math modeling

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2.  Read the problem descriptions from the old Math Contest in Modeling
(MCM) problems, at
http://emunix.emich.edu/~aross15/math319/mcm-1985-to-2008.pdf
up to 2008, and then at
http://www.comap.com/undergraduate/contests/mcm/previous-contests.php
for 2009 and later.

* Tell me which 3 are your favorites (which you'd like to have worked on
the most), and why. 

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3. Read the list of standard projects at
http://emunix.emich.edu/~aross15/project-guides/standard-projects-319.txt
and the project overview at
http://emunix.emich.edu/~aross15/project-guides/ross-project-overview-guide.htm

* Write down in your homework which project ideas are your favorite so far,
and why.


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4. Here is a list of good reasons to make models:

Predict
Explain (very distinct from predict)
Guide data collection
Illuminate core dynamics
Suggest dynamical analogies
Discover new questions
Promote a scientific habit of mind
Bound (bracket) outcomes to plausible ranges
Illuminate core uncertainties.
Offer crisis options in near-real time
Demonstrate tradeoffs / suggest efficiencies
Challenge the robustness of prevailing theory through perturbations
Expose prevailing wisdom as incompatible with available data
Train practitioners
Discipline the policy dialogue
Educate the general public
Reveal the apparently simple (complex) to be complex (simple)

from "Why Model", Joshua M. Epstein (2008)
Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation vol. 11, no. 4 12
http://jasss.soc.surrey.ac.uk/11/4/12.html 

Which of these reasons is the most surprising to you? Explain why.

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5.  Tell me which of these professional societies (or any others that suit your
interests) you are interested in joining as a student member, and let me know how I can help
verify your student status:
* MAA - Math for 4-year colleges, mostly focused on teaching
* AMATYC - Math for 2-year colleges, mostly on teaching
* NCTM - Math for K-12 teaching
* AMS - pure math, ams.org
* SIAM - applied math
* INFORMS - Operations Research math
* ASA - statistics
* AEA - economics
* ACS - chemistry
* AAPT - physics teachers
* APS - physics research
* IEEE - electrical engineering/computer science
* AMS - meteorological, ametsoc.org
* AGU - geophysical
* GSA - geological, geosociety.org
* ACM - computer science
* IIE - industrial engineering
Student memberships typically cost $30-$50 per year.  If you truly cannot
afford this investment in your future right now, ask your society if
they have a sliding-scale membership fee.