Chuck Adler, “Wizards, Aliens, and Starships: Physics and Math in Fantasy and Science Fiction” (Princeton UP, 2014)

Brian Clegg, “Dice World: Science and Life in a Random Universe” (Icon Books, 2013): The book discussed in this interview is Dice World: Science and Life in a Random Universe (Icon Books, 2013), by Brian Clegg, an acclaimed British writer of books on science for the general public. Brian has a knack for taking concepts that seem abstru... by New Books in Mathematics

53 min listen

Chuck Adler, “Wizards, Aliens, and Starships: Physics and Math in Fantasy and Science Fiction” (Princeton UP, 2014): [Re-posted with permission from Wild About Math] I’ve admitted before that Physics and I have never gotten along. But, science fiction is something I enjoy. So, when Princeton University Press sent me a copy of Physics Professor Chuck Adler‘s new book ... by New Books in Mathematics

96 min listen

Christopher J. Phillips, “The New Math: A Political History” (U of Chicago Press, 2015): Christopher J. Phillips‘ new book is a political history of the “New Math,” a collection of curriculum reform projects in the 1950s & 1960s that were partially sponsored by the NSF and involved hundreds of mathematicians, teachers, professors, by New Books in Mathematics

68 min listen

Oscar E. Fernandez, “Everyday Calculus: Discovering the Hidden Math All around Us (Princeton UP, 2014): The book discussed in this interview is Everyday Calculus: Discovering the Hidden Math All around Us (Princeton University Press, 2014) by Oscar E. Fernandez, who teaches mathematics – and calculus in particular – at Wellesley College. by New Books in Mathematics

54 min listen

David Reimer, “Count Like an Egyptian: A Hands-on Introduction to Ancient Mathematics” (Princeton UP, 2014): [Re-posted with permission from Sol Lederman’s Wild About Math] I love novel ways of looking at arithmetic. I’m fascinated with how computers compute in binary, with tricks for simplifying calculations and with how Vedic mathematicians handle difficult... by New Books in Mathematics

78 min listen

Edward Frenkel, “Love and Math: The Heart of Hidden Reality” (Basic Books, 2013): The book discussed in this interview is Love and Math: The Heart of Hidden Reality Basic Books, 2013) by Edward Frenkel of the University of California at Berkeley.It’s a toss-up which is more interesting – the description of Frenkel’s life or his desc... by New Books in Mathematics

57 min listen

Roger Hart, “The Chinese Roots of Linear Algebra” (Johns Hopkins UP, 2011): Roger Hart‘s The Chinese Roots of Linear Algebra (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2011) is the first book-length study of linear algebra in imperial China, and is based on an astounding combination of erudition and expertise in both Chinese history and... by New Books in Mathematics

68 min listen

Lance Fortnow, “The Golden Ticket: P, NP, and the Search for the Impossible” (Princeton UP, 2013)): Today we’ll be discussing Lance Fortnow‘s bookThe Golden Ticket:P, NP, and the Search for the Impossible (Princeton University Press, 2013).The book focuses on the challenges associated with solving problems requiring significant computation, by New Books in Mathematics

54 min listen

Peter Gardenfors, “The Geometry of Meaning: Semantics Based on Conceptual Spaces” (MIT Press, 2014): A conceptual space sounds like a rather nebulous thing, and basing a semantics on conceptual spaces sounds similarly nebulous. In The Geometry of Meaning: Semantics Based on Conceptual Spaces (MIT Press, 2014), by New Books in Mathematics

45 min listen

Jordan Ellenberg, “How Not To Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking” (Penguin Press, 2014): The book discussed in this interview is How Not To Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking (Penguin Press, 2014), by Jordan Ellenberg. This is one of those rare books that belong on the reading list of every educated person, by New Books in Mathematics

55 min listen

Leila Schneps and Coralie Colmez, “Math on Trial” (Basic Books, 2013): You may well have seen “Numb3rs,” a TV show in which mathematicians help solve crimes. It’s fiction. But, as Leila Schneps and Coralie Colmez show in their eye-opening new book Math on Trial: How Numbers Get Used and Abused in the Court Room (Basic Boo... by New Books in Mathematics

61 min listen

Eli Maor and Eugen Jost, “Beautiful Geometry” (Princeton UP, 2014): Beautiful Geometry (Princeton UP, 2014), by the mathematician prof. Eli Maor and the noted artist Eugen Jost. It’s a fascinating collaboration which helps to bridge the gap deplored by C. P. Snow in his classic The Two Cultures. by New Books in Mathematics

52 min listen

Colm Mulcahy, “Mathematical Card Magic: Fifty-Two New Effects” (A K Peters, 2013): [Re-posted with permission from Wild About Math] I had the pleasure of interviewing mathematician and mathematical card magic innovator Colm Mulcahy. Dr. Mulcahy just published a book, Mathematical Card Magic: Fifty-Two New Effects (A K Peters, by New Books in Mathematics

76 min listen

Tim Chartier, “Math Bytes: Google Bombs, Chocolate-Covered Pi, and Other Cool Bits in Computing” (Princeton UP, 2014): [Re-posted with permission from Wild About Math] My favorite kind of math challenges are those that children can understand and professional mathematicians can’t solve easily (or at all.) Math Bytes: Google Bombs, Chocolate-Covered Pi, by New Books in Mathematics

73 min listen

David Danks, “Unifying the Mind: Cognitive Representations as Graphical Models” (MIT Press, 2014): For many cognitive scientists, psychologists, and philosophers of mind, the best current theory of cognition holds that thinking is in some sense computation “in some sense,” because that core idea can and has been elaborated in a number of different w... by New Books in Mathematics

69 min listen

Catherine Jami, “The Emperor’s New Mathematics: Western Learning and Imperial Authority During the Kangxi Reign (1662-1722)” (Oxford UP, 2012): Challenging conventional modes of understanding China and the circulation of knowledge within the history of science, Catherine Jami‘s new book looks closely at the imperial science of the reign of the Kangxi Emperor (r. 1662-1722). by New Books in Mathematics

70 min listen

Michael Strevens, “Tychomancy: Inferring Probability from Causal Structure” (Harvard UP, 2013): When we’re faced with a choice between Door #1, Door #2, and Door #3, how do we infer correctly that there’s an equal chance of the prize being behind any of the doors? How is it that we are generally correct to choose the shorter of two checkout lines... by New Books in Mathematics

61 min listen

Colin Adams, “Zombies and Calculus” (Princeton UP, 2014): The book discussed in this interview is Zombies and Calculus (Princeton University Press, 2014) by Colin Adams. This is a truly unique book; a novel written in the first-person by the survivor of a zombie apocalypse who has managed to make it that fa... by New Books in Mathematics

53 min listen

Vicky Neale, “Closing the Gap: The Quest to Understand Prime Numbers” (Oxford UP, 2017): Today I talked to Vicky Neale about her new book Closing the Gap: The Quest to Understand Prime Numbers (Oxford University Press, 2017). The book details one of the most exciting developments to happen in the last few years in mathematics, by New Books in Mathematics

55 min listen

Leonard Wapner, “Unexpected Expectations: The Curiosities of a Mathematical Crystal Ball” (A.K. Peters, 2012): Today I talked to Leonard Wapner about his new book Unexpected Expectations: The Curiosities of a Mathematical Crystal Ball (A.K. Peters, 2012). Prof. Wapner’s previous book, The Pea and the Sun, was an in-depth investigation of the Banach-Tarski Theo... by New Books in Mathematics

57 min listen

Al Cuoco and Joe Rotman, “Learning Modern Algebra: From Early Attempts to Prove Fermat’s Last Theorem” (MAA, 2013): [Re-published with permission from Inspired by Math] The MAA (Mathematical Association of America) sent me a review copy of their new book Learning Modern Algebra: From Early Attempts to Prove Fermat’s Last Theorem. by New Books in Mathematics

75 min listen

Brian Clegg, “How Many Moons Does the Earth Have? The Ultimate Science Quiz Book” (Icon Books, 2015): Brian Clegg, who is arguably the most prolific science writer since Isaac Asimov, and almost certainly the most prolific British one, has written a delightfully tantalizing book entitled How Many Moons Does the Earth Have? by New Books in Mathematics

54 min listen

Lynn Gamwell, “Mathematics and Art: A Cultural History” (Princeton UP, 2015): Today I’m talking with Lynn Gamwell about Mathematics and Art: A Cultural History (Princeton University Press, 2015). This book is a breathtaking combination of scholarship and beauty, tracing the interplay of mathematics and art throughout mankind’s h... by New Books in Mathematics

59 min listen

Arthur Benjamin, “The Magic of Math” (Basic Book, 2015): Today we’ll be talking about The Magic of Math (Basic Books, 2015)by Arthur Benjamin. This is a book that has the gee-whiz feeling you got when you first encountered George Gamow’s classic One, Two, Three … Infinity, by New Books in Mathematics

56 min listen

Ian Stewart, “Calculating the Cosmos: How Mathematics Unveils the Universe” (Basic Books, 2016): The book discussed here is Ian Stewart’s Calculating the Cosmos: How Mathematics Unveils the Universe (Basic Books, 2016). If you would like to read a book that in my opinion represents the nicest job of presenting astronomy and cosmology in one volume... by New Books in Mathematics

56 min listen

Eli Maor, “Music by the Numbers: From Pythagoras to Schoenberg” (Princeton UP, 2018): Most of us have heard of the math-music connection, but Eli Maor’s Music by the Numbers: From Pythagoras to Schoenberg (Princeton University Press, 2018) is THE book that explains what that connection is, and how both math and music connect to both phy... by New Books in Mathematics

56 min listen

Alfred S. Posamentier and Robert Geretschlager, “The Circle: A Mathematical Exploration Beyond the Line” (Prometheus Books, 2016): Alfred S. Posamentier and Robert Geretschlager, The Circle: A Mathematical Exploration Beyond the Line (Prometheus Books, 2016) goes considerably beyond what its modest title would suggest. The circle has played a pivotal role–that’s “role” with an ‘e,... by New Books in Mathematics

56 min listen

John Allen Paulos, “A Numerate Life” (Prometheus Books, 2015): John Allen Paulos, who has accomplished the unheard-of double of writing best-sellers about mathematics and inserting a word (‘innumeracy’) into the language, has attempted another ambitious feat – bringing mathematics to bear on one of the few subject... by New Books in Mathematics

54 min listen

Margaret Morrison, “Reconstructing Reality: Models, Mathematics, and Simulations” (Oxford UP, 2015): Almost 400 years ago, Galileo wrote that the book of nature is written in the language of mathematics. Today, mathematics is integral to physics and chemistry, and is becoming so in biology, economics, and other sciences, by New Books in Mathematics

69 min listen

Davide Crippa, The Impossibility of Squaring the Circle in the 17th Century" (Birkhäuser, 2019): From 1667 to 1676, a pivotal controversy played out among several mathematical luminaries of the time,.. by New Books in Mathematics

61 min listen

Discover this podcast and so much more

Chuck Adler, “Wizards, Aliens, and Starships: Physics and Math in Fantasy and Science Fiction” (Princeton UP, 2014)

Chuck Adler, “Wizards, Aliens, and Starships: Physics and Math in Fantasy and Science Fiction” (Princeton UP, 2014)

Description

Titles in the series (100)

More Episodes from New Books in Mathematics

Related podcast episodes