I interview William Cook, math professor and author of "In Pursuit of the Traveling Salesman Problem: Mathematics at the Limits of Computation" about his new book, and about how he got sucked into tackling a famous unsolved problem. We discuss why the problem is so intriguing, how young people can explore it, interesting applications, connections to other famous problems, the iPhone app that solves large instances, why the military cares about the problem, and more.

William Cook - Inspired by Math #2

In this podcast series I find people who are inspired by math and are inspiring others. I interview these folks with the goal of sharing their enthusiasm with you!

Education

Training

Language Courses

Higher Education

K-12

Educational Technology

Richard Rusczyk is the founder of the Art of Problem Solving, the premier community for high-performing middle and high school math students in the English-speaking world. I've always been intrigued with the world of math competitions and with what it takes to excel in them. I picked Richard's brain for an hour about competitions and about his company.

Richard Rusczyk - Inspired by Math #39

Sue VanHattum is very excited about creative ways to look at math. She has compiled and written a number of the chapters in a new book, Playing With Math, which is being produced in a community supported publishing (i.e. crowd funding) model. Listen to Sue's enthusiasm, learn about the book, then reserve your copy at https://www.incited.org/en/projects/4992-Playing-With-Math---the-Book

Sue VanHattum - Inspired by Math #38

Lou DiGioia is the executive director of MATHCOUNTS, the largest nonprofit organization dedicated to extracurricular middle school mathematics. Lou and I discuss a number of MATHCOUNTS programs, including the recent National Competition, the National Math Club, and the Math Video Challenge. We discuss who the programs serve, and so much more. And, we do this all with a ton of infectious enthusiasm.

Lou DiGioia - Inspired by Math #37

Al Cuoco has taught high school students, trained teachers, and developed curriculum that is really making a difference in math education. He and Joseph Rotman have published a book with the MAA, "Learning Modern Algebra From Early Attempts to Prove Fermat's Last Theorem." Al and I discuss a number of the principles and habits of mathematical thinking that are developed in the book.

Al Cuoco - Inspired by Math #36

David Reimer, author of "Count Like an Egyptian" and I discuss Egyptian computation methods, how kids can learn to do multiplication and division without shedding a tear or memorizing tables, how computers and Egyptians both use the same approach to multiplication, why brilliant mathematicians make better teachers and professors, and much more.

William Cook - Inspired by Math #2

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