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Opinions expressed on these pages were the views of the writers and did not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the American Mathematical Society.
Author Archives: evelynjlamb
You Were on the Moon: Astropoetry from Tychogirl
After my last post about one-syllable math, I tried my hand at a proof of the math fact of Rolle in short words. The constraints and focus on words themselves got me thinking about mathematics in a way I usually … Continue reading
Posted in Mathematics and the Arts
Tagged applied mathematics, astronomy, poetry
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Simple Words, Complicated Math
A couple years ago, xkcd described the Saturn V rocket (Up Goer 5) using only the thousand ten hundred most common English words. Of course, xkcd readers were eager to try it themselves, and geneticist Theo Sanderson created an online text … Continue reading
Highly Unlikely Triangles and Other Beaded Mathematics
I first encountered Gwen Fisher’s work at the fiber arts exhibit at the 2014 Joint Mathematics Meetings in Baltimore. Fisher has a Ph.D. in math education and is an accomplished mathematical artist who specializes in beading. I featured one of her … Continue reading
Posted in Mathematics and the Arts
Tagged beading, beads, Burning Man, Gwen Fisher, Harold Coxeter, hyperbolic space, John Conway, mathematics, Penrose triangle
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Blogging in Math (History) Class
I am teaching a math history class this semester, and in addition to trying to teach my students math and history, the course satisfies an upper-level writing credit. It’s a lot to try to cram into one three-hour course! With … Continue reading
First Impressions of the Second Heidelberg Laureate Forum
Last year, I wrote with some envy about the first annual Heidelberg Laureate Forum. This year, I’m there! I mean, here! Yes, after several flights and a few train delays, I’m finally in Heidelberg, and if the fog clears and … Continue reading
Posted in Events, people in math
Tagged abel prize, fields medal, heidelberg laureate forum, hlf14, math, math communication, mathematics, prizes
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Making Conferences Easier for Families
Most mathematicians want to make mathematics, and especially mathematical academia, more hospitable to women. One way to do that is to help them participate as fully as possible in conferences, even when they have young children. Due to a sometimes … Continue reading
Posted in people in math, women in math
Tagged conferences, joint mathematics meetings, Jordan Ellenberg, Laura McLay, mathematics and parenthood, Matilde Lalin, terry tao
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Regression, Twitter, and #Ferguson
Like many people, I have been following news about the events in Ferguson, Missouri with shock and sorrow for almost two weeks. I have been following these events as a human, not as a mathematician. But there’s a mathematical side … Continue reading
Posted in Events, Mathematics and Computing, Statistics
Tagged algorithms, big data, current events, data analysis, Emma Pierson, Facebook, ferguson, social media, twitter, Zeynep Tufekci
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The Funny Pages
Ah, summer! Sleeping in, reading fiction, traveling, and, of course, preparing for fall classes. I’ll be teaching a math history class, which will be fun but is entirely new to me. As I cling to the last few weeks of … Continue reading
Alan Turing on Stage and Screen
It was a big week for Alan Turing dramatizations. On Monday, the UK and US trailers for the Turing biopic The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, were released, and on Wednesday, the 102nd anniversary of Turing’s birth, the Pet Shop … Continue reading
The Inaugural Breakthrough Prizes in Mathematics
Last month, the inaugural Breakthrough Prizes in mathematics, founded and partially funded by internet billionaires Yuri Milner and Mark Zuckerberg, were awarded to five people: Simon Donaldson, Maxim Kontsevich, Jacob Lurie, Terence Tao, and Richard Taylor. The prize is $3 … Continue reading