In The Joy of X: A Guided Tour of Math, from One to Infinity, mathematician Steven Strogatz provides an entertaining refresher course in math, starting with the most elementary ideas, such as counting, and finishing with mind-bending theories of infinity—including the idea that some infinities can be bigger than others.
http://www.npr.org/2012/10/05/162372203/steven-strogatz-the-joy-of-x
Tagged with math npr steven strogatz
In the 1940s and 1950s, a group of brilliant engineers led by John von Neumann gathered in Princeton, New Jersey with the joint goal of realizing Alan Turing’s theoretical universal machine-a thought experiment that scientists use to understand the limits of mechanical computation. As a result of their fervent work, the crucial advancements that dominated 20th century technology emerged. In Turing’s Cathedral, technology historian George Dyson recreates the scenes of focused experimentation, mathematical insight, and creative genius that broke the distinction between numbers that mean things and numbers that do things-giving us computers, digital television, modern genetics, and models of stellar evolution. Also a philosopher of science, Dyson’s previous books include Baidarka, Darwin Among the Machines, and Project Orion. (recorded 3/13/2012)
This talk explored some of the connections and analogies between mathematics and music in an attempt to explain why mathematicians tend to be musical.
James Stewart is Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at McMaster University and Professor of Mathematics at the University of Toronto. He received the M.S. degree from Stanford University and the Ph.D. from the University of Toronto. His research has been in harmonic analysis and his many books include a widely used series of calculus textbooks, which have been translated into a dozen languages. He was concertmaster of the McMaster Symphony Orchestra for many years and also played professionally in the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra. One of his greatest pleasures is playing string quartets
To carry out their calculations, merchants in the early 13th century used an abacus or a system called finger reckoning. Commerce changed when Leonardo of Pisa â known today as Fibonacci â published the first arithmetic textbook. Mathematician Keith Devlin talks about the history of arithmetic and his new book "The Man of Numbers: Fibonacci’s Arithmetic Revolution."
http://www.npr.org/2011/08/12/139579620/how-fibonacci-introduced-the-world-to-numbers?ft=1&f=1007
From http://www.mathforprimates.com/2010/04/30/episode-013-probably-about-probability/
Tagged with mathematics probability math for primates
Leonard Mlodinow, of the California Institute of Technology is the author of The Drunkard’s Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives. His lecture on the subject of randomness was presented by the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Ontario on May 6th, 2009.