Mathematics is often described “beautiful,” but what does that mean? In this episode of Calculated, we follow those questions — first to the biological basis of mathematical beauty in the brain, and then to a mathematical art exhibit that recently wrapped up in Seattle.

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Transcript

ART ∩ MATH at CoCA Seattle

Dan Finkel’s Ted Talk, “Five Principles of Extraordinary Math Teaching”

Semir Zeki’s Ted Talk, “The Neurobiology of Beauty”

Semir Zeki’s 2014 paper on where math beauty happens in the brain

Math4Love

We celebrate pi, the most popular irrational number, on March 14. But not all is peaceful and easy for pi. This episode first revisits a quirky math anecdote about how one state voted to change the value of pi, then dives into the reasons why some math folk think we should be celebrating tau — 6.28… — instead of pi.

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Transcript

The Legal Values of Pi by David Singmaster (behind a paywall)

The Death of Archimedes, as recounted by Plutarch 

A history of the Indiana Pi Bill by Edray Goins

In this episode, we meet John Sims, a political and math artist in Sarasota, Florida, and find out how his quilts encode the digits of pi. Scroll down for the full transcript!

Resources for this episode

Transcript

John Sims

The Quilts of Gee’s Bend: A Slideshow (NEA)

Full text of the MIT chant

The Pi Day Anthem

Introducing a new podcast collection of stories at the intersection of math, art, and culture. Hosted by math and science writer Stephen Ornes.