Is mathematics an art or science?
The question The best mathematics is driven by beauty as much as the finest paintings. As the mathematician G.H. Hardy famously said “…there is no permanent place in this world for ugly mathematics.” In our quest to prove our theorems, mathematicians are guided by aesthetics as much as intellectual curiosity. Mathematics models every aspect of…
Math anxiety and gender
Math anxiety We have all experienced anxiety studying mathematics. Some go so far to call it math phobia. I experience anxiety when first grappling with a mathematical research problem. My anxiety, however, turns to excitement as I work on the problem and make progress towards its solution. I have an advantage that comes from years of experience: I can see the light…
Interview with a mathematician: Fan Chung Graham
This week, I am presenting the second of my ongoing series of interviews with influential mathematicians. Fan Chung Graham (born in Taiwan in 1949) is one of the world’s leading graph theorists and combinatorialists, with major contributions to spectral graph theory, random and quasi-random graphs, Ramsey theory, extremal graph theory, and complex networks. Fan is a professor…
This is your brain on mathematics
Mathematics speak Mathematics is one of the several ways we communicate, allowing us to grapple with the complex patterns abundant in the universe. If I state that “The number of non-isomorphic groups of order 16 is 14,” then that means something to most mathematicians. It may mean more to some; in particular, those who study groups,…