The Monty Hall Problem
You are a contestant on Let's Make a Deal, hosted by Monty Hall. There are 3 identical doors. Behind only one is the prize car. You make your choice, then Monty Hall opens one of the other doors to re...
10 Feb 202114min
What Is Mathematics? Some Surprising Answers
Brian Katz, a professor at California State University, Long Beach, approaches math as a philosopher, a linguist and an artist. It is not a science, but a byproduct of consciousness, an expression of ...
27 Jan 202120min
Being a Mathematician
We talk with Kathryn McCormick, Assistant Professor at California State University, Long Beach, about why she got into this obscure field, what a mathematician really does, and where we can learn more...
13 Jan 202115min
Math Jokes and What They Say about Mathematicians
There are a lot of jokes that poke fun at mathematicians, how they think and how they fumble around in the real world. Many of them start, "A mathematician, an engineer and a physicist ..." We'll loo...
30 Dec 202016min
The Most Famous (Formerly) Unsolved Problem
Fermat’s Last Theorem is easy to state but has taken over 300 years to prove. Fermat’s supposed “marvelous proof” has been a magnet for crackpots and obsessed mathematicians, leading through a treasur...
16 Dec 202016min
The Mathematics of Art
A surprising amount of art is inspired by mathematics. The book Fragments of Infinity describes many works of art and the mathematics behind them. Meet mathematicians who have become artists and artis...
2 Dec 202014min
The Real World Is a Special Case
Abstract math is at once about nothing and about everything. The structures it builds may represent numbers, real world objects, music, or things we can barely imagine. Here we look at group theory fo...
18 Nov 202016min
How to Find Something You’ve Never Seen
Another seemingly easy problem that’s hard to solve. In fact, it's unsolved. Find an odd perfect number or prove one doesn’t exist. The search involves “spoof” answers, trying to find the right answer...
4 Nov 202014min
