Richard M. Nixon once used a subtle idea from calculus in a political argument during his campaign for re-election. He claimed that the rate of increase of inflation was decreasing, a statement often described as the first time a sitting U.S. president implicitly invoked the third derivative to support a policy claim. Inflation itself measures how the purchasing power of money changes over time, so it can be viewed as a derivative. The rate at which inflation increases is therefore the derivative of inflation, which corresponds to the second derivative of purchasing power with respect to time. Saying that this rate is decreasing means its derivative is negative. In effect, Nixon’s claim implied that the second derivative of inflation, or equivalently the third derivative of purchasing power, was negative.

Richard Glossip needs our help, urgently! He has been on Oklahoma’s death row for 24 years for a crime he did not commit and is now scheduled to be executed on May 18th. Please help this innocent man by calling the pardon board at 405-602-6437 or email contact.us@ppb.ok.gov and request that the board grant him clemency. You can also contact @GovStitt at 405-521-2342, or write to him: Office of Gov. J. Kevin Stitt 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Suite 212 Oklahoma City, OK 73105 Let him know in your own words that Richard Glossip deserves a full pardon. We cannot execute another man especially for a crime he didn’t commit! Everyone has to hear about Richard Glossip. Please sign the petition and take action now to save his life:

Richard Hunt is one of the greatest artists Chicago has ever produced, and I couldn’t be prouder that his “Book Bird” sculpture will live outside of the newest @ChiPubLib branch at the Obama Presidential Center. I hope it inspires visitors for years to come.