Dustin Ragan, Roving Math Hero

Yesterday I found myself in Borders--I had a coupon and I couldn't let it go to waste--when I happened upon something I hadn't seen in a very long time (admittedly, this is only true because I don't do research in any room that has a mirror)--people using the angle subtraction formula in trig.

Somehow, a group of high school students had managed to calculate that the sine of 15 degrees was 0.

Needless to say, after they had floundered for a few minutes (it is best if people try to solve problems like these themselves) I stepped in and helped.

It was a very geeky and pathetic sort of saving the day (much like my own experiences in trig--I got called "the math slut" because I gave "it"--i.e. homework help--away for free), but I like to think that it counts for something.

And I apologize for the multiple linterjections inside of the parentheses...