-
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.
Category Archives: Applied Math
Climate Science Blogs to Follow for Earth Day
This blog has now made almost exactly one trip around the sun! We kicked things off last year on Earth Day with the mathematics of planet earth, and today I want to highlight some more posts about our planet. On … Continue reading
Posted in Applied Math
Tagged climate change, climate science, Earth Day, geometry, john baez, math, mathematics, Steve Easterbrook, Tamsin Edwards
Comments Off on Climate Science Blogs to Follow for Earth Day
Why Should We Fund Math Research?
As my co-blogger Brie Finegold mentioned last month, Cathy O’Neil of mathbabe.org has been writing about how MOOCs might change the face of math departments and, ultimately, how math research gets funded. O’Neil is concerned that without calculus classes to … Continue reading
Job Security Calculus: Reasoning about our futures
Most academics have a love/hate relationship to teaching, and especially teaching Calculus. Prior to the first exam of the semester, it seems that everyone in the class is there for learning’s sake, discussing ideas, engaging in problem-solving. But we worry … Continue reading
Posted in Applied Math, Issues in Higher Education, Math Education, people in math, Theoretical Mathematics
Tagged calculus, Future of Mathematics Research, Jobs for Matheamticians, MOOCs, Research Funding
Comments Off on Job Security Calculus: Reasoning about our futures
I’ve always resonated with Mobius bands — but now I know signals do too!
So here I am, trained as a topologist and geometric group theorist, starting a job that involves mainly digital signal processing. Today I was perusing the magazines on the shelf at my new job, and what do I see? The … Continue reading
See Math, See Math Run
To me, the formula for the volume of a cone says “Did you know that 3 copies of the same cone occupy the same space as the smallest cylinder that contains one of them?” This fact relates (see picture) to … Continue reading
This is your brain. This is your brain on category theory!
I often ponder whether mathematics is lying around waiting to be discovered or is non-existent until we invent it. One of the most recent posts at Math Rising led me to a similar question concerning the brain. Has the physical … Continue reading
Posted in Applied Math, Biomath, Theoretical Mathematics
Tagged Biomath, Category Theory, Cognitive Science, Math Rising, Philosophy, science
1 Comment
Binary Bonsai and Other Mathematical “Plants”
Many of us have seen Fibonacci numbers in sunflowers and hyperbolic curvature in kale leaves. Botanica Mathematica, “a textile taxonomy of mathematical plant forms,” takes mathematical-botanical correspondences like these and throws in a little fiber art. “The Botanica Mathematica project … Continue reading
Posted in Applied Math, Mathematics and the Arts
Tagged botany, crochet, knitting, plants, recommended reading, textiles
Comments Off on Binary Bonsai and Other Mathematical “Plants”
The Mathematics of Planet Earth
Happy Earth Day! It seems appropriate today to highlight the Mathematics of Planet Earth blog. In fact, it’s triply appropriate: today is Earth Day, April is Mathematics Awareness Month (with a theme this year of the mathematics of sustainability), and … Continue reading
Posted in Applied Math
Tagged climate change, Earth Day, ecology, network theory
Comments Off on The Mathematics of Planet Earth