From Math Images

Start your journey at the Math Images Project--Take the Official Tour!

Introduction to the Math Images Project

This beautiful image is a visual representation of Newton's Method. To learn more about this, check out the Newton's Basin page.

Welcome all those who enjoy interesting images, to the Math Images Project!

Our goal is to give people a new and enjoyable perspective on mathematics through beautiful and intriguing images available on the web. On our site, math is never presented simply as a mass of equations. Instead, images, animations, and plain-English explanations help clarify ideas, while applications, related puzzles, historical contexts, and other connections make it possible for you to learn something interesting even if you haven't enjoyed math in the past. Even our detailed mathematical explanations often take unique approaches to problems and questions, so they can provide advanced readers with an opportunity to research and learn.

Most of the content on our site is organized into two types of pages: image pages and helper pages. Image pages are really what this site is about; they are focused around one central topic, and provide a combination of explanations, applications, images, interactive applets, and historical information about the topic. Helper pages are used to supplement the content of image pages by providing additional information about a related topic. Links to helper pages can be found in many image pages. Some readers might choose to use a helper page as a reference in order to better understand an image page, while others use them just to learn more about an interesting topic.

This tour will show new users how to find information by searching for specific topics or simply perusing image pages, like the Fibonacci Numbers page. Additionally, we'll show users who wish to interact with the site how they can make a suggestion, ask a question, or contribute their own knowledge. The Math Images Project is a collaborative learning environment for all, so we hope that you explore our site to the fullest in whatever way you choose!

Navigating

Main Body

Image pages are created using a template that facilitates easy browsing and learning. Every page has a a main image in the top right corner, along with a caption describing the origin of the image and the field of mathematics under which the image. On the left side of the image, there is usually a small paragraph explaining the basic ideas underlying the image.

Next comes the main body of the page with a content box to facilitate easy navigation. Pages can have different formats. Some pages might miss some sections while some pages might have sections that are not present in other pages. However, in general, the default format for a page is divided into 8 parts :

1. Basic Description,2. A More Mathematical Explanation, 3. Why It's Interesting, 4. Teaching Materials, 5. About the Creator of this Image, 6. Related Links, 7. Notes and 8. References.

1. Basic Description	This section gives an introduction to the page so as to give the reader an idea of what to expect and what topics are being covered. It can give a brief discussion about some rigorous math that will be explained later on, or it can give some interesting questions or facts relating to the main image. This section is fully understandable for the average reader. Depending on the page, it may simply get the readers curious to read on, or it may provide a satisfying experience in its own right.
2. A More Mathematical Explanation	This section is hidden by default to make the pages more user friendly. It gives a mathematical explanation of the topics relating to the image. It usually starts with a simple ideas and gradually introduces new and harder concepts. This is the section in which equations and special mathematical symbols and terminology are used to help explain ideas. Sometimes, derivations of formulas and proofs of theorems are given, but they are hidden by default so as to keep the page less sprawling and navigationally friendly.
3. Why It's Interesting	This section usually does not give explanations that use much formal mathematics. Most of the time, it provides curious and interesting facts, applications, related puzzles, and historical anecdotes relating to the main images. Even if a reader has not leaned much in the More Mathematical Section, it's still possible to learn something interesting from this section.
4. Teaching Materials	This section is for teacher and tutors to share lesson plans and materials relating to certain topic. Right now, this section is unemployed, but this will hopefully change soon!
5. About the Creator of this Image	This section gives information about the software used to create the images in the page.
6. Related Links	This section gives links for further learning.
7. Notes	This section contains the shortened footnotes in the page.
8. References	This section contains all the literature that is cited or referred to in the page. They are in APA style.

Sidebar

	Navigation
	* Home	Takes you to the Home Page of the Math Images Project.
	* About Math Images	Takes you to an overview of the project and its history.
	* Math Image Tools	Takes you to a list of all the image pages that use interactive learning software.
	* Math for Computer Graphics	Takes you to a list of topics, including topics that already have Math Images pages and ones that don't, that are related to computer graphics.
	Browse Images by...
	* Title	Sorts pages alphabetically by title.
	* Field	Sorts pages by the fields under which they fall. A page can fall under multiple fields and it will appear under both fields.
	* Thumbnail Gallery	Shows all images the are used as the main image for an Image Page on the Math Images website. The images are shown in a random order, and the image title appears in the gallery.
	Search	Allows you to search for pages containing any search term. Pages with titles containing the search term are presented first, followed by pages with the search term anywhere in the body text.
	Interaction
	* Upload a file	Directs you to procedures to upload a file/image for an Image Page you have created.
	* Create an Image Page	Directs you to a template to create an image page.
	* Community Portal	Directs you to a forum where discussion of certain topics an take place. It is unemployed as of now.
	* Recent Changes	Shows you all the recent changes made to all pages by all users.
	Support
	* Help	Directs you to a page with categorized help information.
	* Wiki Tricks	Directs you to a page that provides information on how to format and write an Image Page.
	* Helper Page	Directs you to a list of pages that provide background information on certain topics that ars mentioned in an Image Page but not comprehensively discussed and explained in the main image page.
	* Ask Dr. Math Images	Directs you to a page where you can ask Dr. Math Images a question which will be answered by someone from Math Images.
	* Leave Feedback	Directs you to a page where you can leave feedback.
	Toolbox
	* What Links here	Provides a list of all pages that link to whatever page you are currently viewing.
	* Related Changes	Lists the last changes on all pages that are linked to the particular page that is open.
	* Special Pages	Gives you a list of templates and special pages. You do not need to use this unless you are a programmer.
	* Printable Version	Generates a printer-friendly version of whatever page you are currently viewing.		* Permanent Link	Places a URL for the current version of whatever page you are viewing in the address bar of your web browser.

Contributing

Anybody can contribute to the Math Images Project by giving some feedback, editing parts of a page, or making a new image page.

Giving comments & feedback

You can give both general comments about the Math Images website and specific comments on individual pages. If you want to provide some general feedback, find the support section on the navigation bar that is on the left hand side of every page on the Math Images site. Click Leave Feedback. Click on the + tab on the upper right corner of the page, as shown by the red box in the picture below. This will allow you to leave comments about our website.

If you want to leave some comments on a specific image page, click on the discussion tab near the upper left corner of a page. You can add a comment by clicking on the + tab near the upper right corner of the page, or you can edit an already-existing comment by clicking on the edit tab next to the + tab. The locations of these tabs are shown in the picture below.

Editing a page

You can edit a page by clicking on the edit with form' tab or the edit tab near the upper right corner of the page, as shown by the red boxes in the picture below.

Useful Links Provides links to pages that help the writer create a page. It has an overview of a good image pages, addresses issues that writers should be aware of, and lists some of the technical tricks that have been very useful in Math Images project.

Creating a page

Creating an image page

To create an image page, you must log in to the Math Images website. You can log in or create an Math Images account by clicking on the log in/ create account link in the top right corner of any page on the site.

Next, in the navigation bar on the left-hand side of the page, click Create an Image Page under interaction. Enter the name of the Image Page you would like to create, such as Prime numbers, and then click add or edit. You will be directed to a new page that helps you to create an Image Page. A warning banner near the top of this new page will let you know if there is already an existing image page by that name. If you see this banner, do NOT use this form to edit the page. Instead, go to the page, see what is already there, and then edit it if you would like using the instructions above.

Here are some guidelines to filling in the form in create an image page:

• Image Title: This should be the title of the image. This title also appears as the title in the Thumbnail Gallery, so the image title does not necessarily have to be the same as the page title. The title can be made interesting to grab the attention of readers.
• File: Here, click the Upload a Math Image link. A pop-up form will appear, prompting you to upload your math image to the site.
• Short Description: This is a short description (1 or 2 sentences) of the main image
• Basic Explanation: This is a description of the image and the mathematical content of the page that does not involve rigorous mathematics. Anybody should be able to read this section without difficulty.
• More Detailed Explanation: This will appear as A More Mathematical Explanation in the actual page. This is an explanation of the image and math behind the picture that may use equations, symbols, or terminology that not all readers may be comfortable with.
• Image's Field of Mathematics: This allows you to select the fields of mathematics to which the uploaded image belongs (the first one should be the primary one, i.e. the field under which the image will appear in the thumbnail gallery and slideshow).
• Why interesting: This section is should be able to answer the so what? question of the page. It should not involve much heavy mathematics, so that anybody can understand much of the this section even if they skip the More Mathematical Explanation section.
• References: Please list any references you used in creating the page
• Things This Page Needs in the Future: Leave a note to future users who are willing to edit the page. You can leave suggestions for future directions or any other ideas you have about the page that you think might be useful.
• Is This Page a Work in Progress: Although we feel all pages are technically works in progress indefinitely, please check this box when the page still requires significant contributions.

The picture below shows where on the page some of these sections might appear.

Creating a helper page

Creating a Helper Page, unlike creating an Image Page, does not require a form. You can create a helper page while you are working on an Image Page. You can simply include, in the text of your image page:

[[Title of the helper page]]

Once the page is saved, your Image Page will have a link, Title of the helper page, wherever you entered this text. If the link is blue or purple, this Helper Page already exists, and clicking on the link will take you to the page. If the link is red, this Helper Page doesn't yet exist, and clicking on the link will you direct you to a page that lets you create it. No template is assigned for helper pages. Once you save your new Helper Page, it now exists, and all links to the page will be updated to function blue or purple links.

Writing Guide

Useful Links provides a link to some basic wiki formatting pages. It also has various other links to help writers come up with ideas for, and create, good pages, but the list of links is in bad need of updating, and some of them aren't very useful.

Here are some actually useful links for writing a good page

The Checklist for Writing Good Pages provides a reasonably comprehensive list of features of good pages, and it can be helpful to consult during the writing process as well as just before finishing a page.

What Makes a Good Math Images Page gives more detailed information about the items in the Checklist for Writing Good Pages.

Here are some things that writers from summer of 2010 found especially important to pay attention to.

• Write the page so that it is satisfying to users with different levels of mathematics. Start out with a very simple overview, likely hiding much of the more advanced material to avoid overwhelming readers, like this :

• In general use short paragraphs of just a couple sentences, and use simple sentences.

• To create an Image Page, use the form described in the section above. For simple Helper Pages, the form isn't necessary.

• Before creating a page, search what pages already exist! There might already be some pages which can help you with your own page. If the page you wanted to work on already exists, perhaps you could merge your planned page and the already existing one.

• You can put other images in your page besides just the main one. In fact, doing so is highly encouraged as long as the images are relevant

• To provide definitions of terms that many users may already know, use a mouse-over balloonsUse this for definitions.. For more information on mouse-overs, go to Wiki Tricks page.

• If you don't understand some of the more sophisticated math for a page you are creating, you can leave a section blank and ask in the discussion and community portal for someone who does understand it to help you write it.

• Be sure to reference any resources you found especially useful in creating your page! Including at least two references is a good thing.

Copyrights

Make sure you have the authority to publish the image you've chosen on this site! For more information, see our page on Copyrights and the GNU Free Documentation License.

Further Questions?

The basics of using this wiki have been covered on this page. Before posting any questions you may have, though, please check the Advanced User Guide to make sure your question is not answered there. If you have questions not answered here or on those pages, you can post them Here. Or you can go to FAQ.