Místo problémů

With Charles Kenney, a graduate student in combinatorics, we explore:

- what do intense hatred and food allergies have in common

- why to be more like a fox than a hedgehog

- how to think about biases

- the linguistic Rorschach test

Startovač: https://www.startovac.cz/patron/misto-problemu/

FB stránka: https://www.facebook.com/mistoproblemu

Web: https://www.mistoproblemu.cz/

Timestamps:

(0:00) introduction

(1:41) equalities and inequalities

(5:17) the nature of combinatorics

(18:11) the Bayes rule

(25:56) handling uncertainty and biases

(31:43) collaboration and author order

(36:37) academia vs. industry

(45:00) opportunity cost and habits

(51:38) problem solving strategies

Links:

- foxes and hedgehogs: https://www.historyaccess.com/new/isaiah-berlins-hedgehogs-and-foxes/

- Erdős vs Grothendieck: https://golem.ph.utexas.edu/category/2007/04/the_two_cultures_of_mathematic.html

Humnza Jamadar is a curious mechanical engineer. He offers insights into:

- how to choose and lead an engineering team

- what are the advantages of calm observation

- how to learn through race car design

- why water purification matters

Startovač: https://www.startovac.cz/patron/misto-problemu/

FB stránka: https://www.facebook.com/mistoproblemu

Web: https://www.mistoproblemu.cz/

Timestamps:

(0:00) introduction

(1:07) curiosity and observation

(11:22) engineering and project management

(17:37) team leadership

(24:56) water purification project

(33:26) sustainability as a buzzword

(38:14) entrepreneurship as an enabler

Links:

- Humnza's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/humnzaj

Paul Ellis shares his decade's worth of experience with facilitating math circles. We will delve into:

- where do math, zen, teaching, acting and parenting meet

- what is the right age for problem-solving

- why to do activities for their own sake

- how to battle the sunk cost fallacy with free classes

Startovač: https://www.startovac.cz/patron/misto-problemu/

FB stránka: https://www.facebook.com/mistoproblemu

Web: https://www.mistoproblemu.cz/

Timestamps:

(0:00) introduction

(0:46) building a math circle

(07:01) teaching styles and community

(25:20) breaking preconceptions

(41:45) zen, ego, and presence

(59:43) intrinsic motivation and side benefits

Links:

- Westchester Area Math Circle: https://sites.google.com/site/westchestercountymathcircle

- Paulus Gerdes: https://www.mi.sanu.ac.rs/vismath/gerdokt/index.html

- Mathematics for human flourishing: https://www.francissu.com/flourishing

- Five Fabulous Activities for Your Math Circle: https://naturalmath.com/five-fabulous-activities/

- Mathematician's apology: https://archive.org/details/hardy_annotated/page/24/mode/2up

- Art of Problem Solving: https://artofproblemsolving.com/

- Nicomachean ethics: https://archive.org/download/AristotlesNicomacheanEthics/Aristotles%20-%20Nicomachean%20Ethics.pdf

- What the best college teachers do: https://books.google.cz/books/about/What_the_Best_College_Teachers_Do.html?id=YwPCxQpxKbIC&redir_esc=y

- Sonobe modules: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonobe

- Paul's website: https://www.paulellis.org/

- Paul's mail: [email protected]

With board gaming veterans Doug and Keith, we explore:

- the skills that gaming can teach us

- high-level game designs and principles

- the social aspect of gaming

- our favorite gaming experiences

Startovač: https://www.startovac.cz/patron/misto-problemu/

FB stránka: https://www.facebook.com/mistoproblemu

Web: https://www.mistoproblemu.cz/

Timestamps:

(0:00) introduction

(3:41) learning through games

(08:38) breaking games down

(24:26) cooperative games and replayability

(34:45) gaming mechanisms and their evolution

(41:16) the social aspect, luck and interaction

(52:52) education and the value of games

(1:12:40) gamification, parenting and problem solving

Links:

- Board Game Geek: https://boardgamegeek.com/

- Board Game Arena: https://en.boardgamearena.com/

- Barrage: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/251247/barrage

- Brass: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/224517/brass-birmingham

- Carnegie: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/310873/carnegie

- Castles of Burgundy: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/271320/the-castles-of-burgundy

- Champions of Midgard: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/172287/champions-of-midgard

- Codenames: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/178900/codenames

- The Crew: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/284083/the-crew-the-quest-for-planet-nine

- Gloomhaven: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/174430/gloomhaven

- Grand Austria Hotel: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/182874/grand-austria-hotel

- Hanabi: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/98778/hanabi

- Inis: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/155821/inis

- Keyflower: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/122515/keyflower

- Lisboa: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/161533/lisboa

- Magic the Gathering: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/463/magic-the-gathering

- Marco Polo II: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/283948/marco-polo-ii-in-the-service-of-the-khan

- Nucleum: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/396790/nucleum

- Obsession: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/231733/obsession

- Old West Empresario: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/261342/old-west-empresario

- Pandemic Legacy Season 1: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/161936/pandemic-legacy-season-1

- Puerto Rico: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/108687/puerto-rico

- Risk: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/181/risk

- Lost Ruins of Arnak: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/312484/lost-ruins-of-arnak

- Trajan: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/102680/trajan

- Trickerion: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/163068/trickerion-legends-of-illusion

- Twilight Imperium: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/233078/twilight-imperium-fourth-edition

Brian is a logician pilot with linguistic insights. We will delve into:

- why to keep logicians alive

- what to put on aviation checklists

- where humor influences education

- how to ignore people better thanks to linguistics

Startovač: https://www.startovac.cz/patron/misto-problemu/

FB page: https://www.facebook.com/mistoproblemu

Web: https://www.mistoproblemu.cz/

Timestamps:

(0:00) introduction

(2:56) Russell's Paradox and the Hilbert program

(12:28) the importance of logic

(17:21) engineering versus logic

(30:08) the philosophy of safe flying

(42:15) skillsets for different planes

(55:40) parallels between flying and other fields

(1:05:55) aviation checklists

(1:18:00) humor and education

(1:26:11) everyday linguistic applications

(1:32:51) unusual hobbies

Links:

- Russel's paradox: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell%27s_paradox

- Gödel's incompleteness theorems: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6del%27s_incompleteness_theorems

- the collision that ended well: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1940_Brocklesby_mid-air_collision

- Checklist manifesto: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6667514-the-checklist-manifesto

- Czech phonology: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_phonology

- trucker's hitch: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trucker's_hitch

Dustin Young is the president of the Rutgers chess club with an interest in historiography. We will explore:

- what was Newton's take on religion

- why study the interface of history, science, politics, and philosophy

- where does chess come from and how it evolved

- how to impress friends with a Taylor series party trick

Startovač: https://www.startovac.cz/patron/misto-problemu/

FB page: https://www.facebook.com/mistoproblemu

Web: https://www.mistoproblemu.cz/

Timestamps:

(0:00) introduction

(0:56) historiography, Newton, and religion

(17:31) natural philosophers and seperation of sciences

(22:35) sources, bias, and motivation

(36:03) cultures and approaches to chess

(44:35) origin and developments of chess

(57:15) no true objectivity

Links:

- Newton project: https://www.newtonproject.ox.ac.uk/

- council of Nicaea: https://www.britannica.com/event/First-Council-of-Nicaea-325

- De Morgan's laws: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/de-morgans-law/

- bongcloud: https://chess.fandom.com/wiki/Bongcloud

- Taylor series: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taylor_series

- chaturanga: https://www.chess.com/terms/chaturanga-game

- xiangqi: https://www.xiangqi.com/history

Alex Kontorovich is a Distinguished Professor of Mathematics at Rutgers University with lots of experience in teaching and outreach. In our talk, we will touch on diverse topics, including:

- why care about math (and its history)

- what can outsiders bring to the table

- how useful it is to be the dumbest in the room

- where music meets math and where it doesn't

Startovač: https://www.startovac.cz/patron/misto-problemu/

FB page: https://www.facebook.com/mistoproblemu

Web: https://www.mistoproblemu.cz/

Timestamps:

(0:00) introduction

(00:46) problems, proofs, and thinking styles

(13:16) outreach, motivation, and explaining concepts

(28:06) interdisciplinarity and outsiders

(33:30) people teaching computers and vice versa

(39:52) stamina, humility, music, and gratitude

Links:

- MoMath: https://momath.org/

- Natural Number Game: https://adam.math.hhu.de/#/g/leanprover-community/nng4

- Lean in the browser: https://live.lean-lang.org/

- Prime Number Theorem project: https://github.com/AlexKontorovich/PrimeNumberTheoremAnd

- other Lean projects: https://leanprover-community.github.io/lean_projects.html

- polymath projects: https://polymathprojects.org/

- Alex's website: https://sites.math.rutgers.edu/~alexk/

In this condensed episode, Julián Hernández-Serrano employs his diverse backgrounds and personal experience to share with us:

- how can good narratives help us solve problems

- what can hurricanes teach us

- why should we be careful when coding

- when to ground ourselves in the center

Startovač: https://www.startovac.cz/patron/misto-problemu/

FB page: https://www.facebook.com/mistoproblemu

Web: https://www.mistoproblemu.cz/

Timestamps:

(0:00) introduction

(2:28) capitalizing on different backgrounds

(7:57) Puerto Rican environment and survivalist mindset

(13:32) using storytelling for problem solving

(22:30) a favorite story

(26:42) systematizing experiments on narratives

(33:55) the impact of the internet

(36:44) the importance of staying in the center

Links:

- Roger Schank: https://www.rogerschank.com/What-We-Learn-When-We-Learn-by-Doing, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5Ah3Om-sFY

- Stories in problem solving: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226534846_Case-based_reasoning_and_instructional_design_Using_stories_to_support_problem_solving, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227714410_The_effects_of_case_libraries_on_problem_solving

- Julián's mail: [email protected]

André Hernández-Espiet formalizes Euclid's Elements in the proof assistant Lean. He will offer some thoughts on:

- what principles are essential when coding up geometry in a rigorous way

- why is graduate school a scam

- which skills and approaches are useful both in academia and the industry

- how can early access to education influence your life

Startovač: https://www.startovac.cz/patron/misto-problemu/

FB page: https://www.facebook.com/mistoproblemu

Web: https://www.mistoproblemu.cz/

Timestamps:

(0:00) introduction

(3:49) Lean and getting into it

(7:20) axiomatic systems and different geometries

(19:33) practical aspects and benefits of using Lean

(34:56) Lean communities and communication across fields

(47:23) decoupling of math from its applications

(55:38) thoughts on grad school and transitioning to the industry

(1:05:51) networking and nepotism

(1:17:46) impact of math on personal life

(1:29:18) growing up in Puerto Rico

Links:

- André's formalization of the first book of Euclid's Elements: https://github.com/ah1112/synthetic_euclid_4

- Lean blog post series: https://www.vladasedlacek.cz/en/posts/lean-01-intro

- Spherical triangles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spherical_trigonometry

- The Erdős Institute: https://www.erdosinstitute.org/

- Blog of Alice Silverberg: https://numberlandadventures.blogspot.com/

- 3Blue1Brown: https://www.3blue1brown.com/

- Numberphile: https://www.numberphile.com/

- Project Euler: https://projecteuler.net/

- Cryptohack: https://cryptohack.org/

- Better explained: https://betterexplained.com/

- Brilliant: https://brilliant.org/

- Khan Academy: https://www.khanacademy.org/

With mathematical physicist Ian Jauslin, we explore both scientific and personal topics, including:

- whether our universe could be nonlocal

- why not to put people and concepts into boxes

- what can math look like when approached organically

- how to constantly keep learning

Startovač: https://www.startovac.cz/patron/misto-problemu/

FB page: https://www.facebook.com/mistoproblemu

Web: https://www.mistoproblemu.cz/

Timestamps:

(00:00) introduction

(02:46) bosons and superfluidity

(05:46) crystallization

(17:30) math/physics interplay

(20:48) Bell's inequality

(34:12) consequences of nonlocality

(39:04) quantum cryptography

(45:12) putting people and concepts in boxes

(52:52) Bourbaki vs. organic education

(1:01:28) applicability and approach to research

(1:06:53) outreach

(1:16:30) curiosity

(1:21:25) efficiency, vim, and keyboard layouts

(1:30:07) failures in research, time management

(1:37:24) easy life and definition of success

(1:41:40) problem-solving strategies

(1:45:52) a final plea

Links:

- Ian's webpage: http://ian.jauslin.org/

- YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5OD3zd3Ds0Syf6s6cYemIw

- Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paper: https://iep.utm.edu/wp-content/media/epr-pdf.pdf

- Nicolas Bourbaki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Bourbaki

- Bell's inequality: http://scholarpedia.org/article/Bell%27s_theorem

- vim: https://www.vim.org/

- Committee of Concerned Scientists: https://concernedscientists.org/