Motivating Mathematical Concepts through Problems

science, mathematics · EN

This podcast takes the approach of motivating mathematical concepts by way of a compelling problem. This is NOT the same as providing a definition and then showing that it solve a useful problem. The later has the feeling of someone doing mathematics to someone as opposed to giving one the sense that mathematics is a human endeavor; full of practical problems that need to be solved. Instead people often feel like that are being handed a collection of stone tablets handed down from the math gods. This does not mean that the material is easy. It does not mean that the material provides a history of how a given concept was created; rather, it provides at best, a pseudo history of how a given concept may have come about. The podcast also contains episodes on new material and some conjectures.