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Mathematics of the Soccer Ball
WORT 89.9FM Madison · Mathematics of the Soccer Ball
Étienne Ghys (photo courtesy École normale supérieure, Lyons)
An extraterrestrial alien observing human behavior might be fascinated with the amount of time humans spend observing other humans moving small black and white spheres around with their feet. Those spheres, known to most of the world as footballs, but here in the U.S., we call them soccer balls, are possibly the world’s most watched object. The physics and the manufacturing difficulty of trying to create a durable, perfect sphere has caught the attention of French mathematician Étienne Ghys, whose new book called simply, “The Football” is out now in English translation from Princeton University Press. Étienne Ghys is a teacher at École normale supérieure in Lyons, France, and he joined the Monday Buzz on August 18, 2025.
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The post Mathematics of the Soccer Ball appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.
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By Brian Standing, Haywood Simmons Michelle Naff, Jan Miyasaki, Tony Castaneda, Jonathan ZarovWORT 89.9FM Madison · Mathematics of the Soccer Ball
Étienne Ghys (photo courtesy École normale supérieure, Lyons)
An extraterrestrial alien observing human behavior might be fascinated with the amount of time humans spend observing other humans moving small black and white spheres around with their feet. Those spheres, known to most of the world as footballs, but here in the U.S., we call them soccer balls, are possibly the world’s most watched object. The physics and the manufacturing difficulty of trying to create a durable, perfect sphere has caught the attention of French mathematician Étienne Ghys, whose new book called simply, “The Football” is out now in English translation from Princeton University Press. Étienne Ghys is a teacher at École normale supérieure in Lyons, France, and he joined the Monday Buzz on August 18, 2025.
**
Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate here
The post Mathematics of the Soccer Ball appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.