Uploaded December 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Wednesday, December 2, 2020
Among the most fundamental tasks of mathematics (or science) is to classify in order to understand what kinds of things there are in the world. A particularly satisfying form of classification is when we can show that every complicated thing is built out of a much smaller set of simpler things. In chemistry, we get this satisfaction from the periodic table; in mathematics, we find it just about everywhere, from numbers to polynomials to curved surfaces. Take a tour of some of these "periodic tables" of mathematics with mathematician Jordan Ellenberg and join us as together we explore the surprising relationships among them.
Special introduction by Alex Kontorovich, MoMath's 2020-2021 Distinguished Visiting Professor for the Public Dissemination of Mathematics and Rutgers math professor.
Math Encounters is a public presentation series celebrating the spectacular world of mathematics and presented by the Simons Foundation and the National Museum of Mathematics.
For further information, call the Museum of Mathematics at (212) 542-0566 or e-mail mathencounters@momath.org.
Wednesday, December 2, 2020
Among the most fundamental tasks of mathematics (or science) is to classify in order to understand what kinds of things there are in the world. A particularly satisfying form of classification is when we can show that every complicated thing is built out of a much smaller set of simpler things. In chemistry, we get this satisfaction from the periodic table; in mathematics, we find it just about everywhere, from numbers to polynomials to curved surfaces. Take a tour of some of these "periodic tables" of mathematics with mathematician Jordan Ellenberg and join us as together we explore the surprising relationships among them.
Special introduction by Alex Kontorovich, MoMath's 2020-2021 Distinguished Visiting Professor for the Public Dissemination of Mathematics and Rutgers math professor.
Math Encounters is a public presentation series celebrating the spectacular world of mathematics and presented by the Simons Foundation and the National Museum of Mathematics.
For further information, call the Museum of Mathematics at (212) 542-0566 or e-mail mathencounters@momath.org.
