April 9, 4:00 – 5:00 pm
Location: Science Complex 206
Speaker: Dr. Álvaro Lozano-Robledo, University of Connecticut
Title: Math in the Age of Social Media
Abstract: In this talk we will talk about the role that social media plays in the public perception of mathematics and, in particular, whether one can use social media platforms, such as Instagram, TikTok or YouTube, to move the needle and create engaging mathematical content that has a math-positive spin to counter the prevalent math phobia in society. Specifically, we will discuss certain math questions that seem to generate tremendous amounts of engagement, and we will use these “hot topics” to talk about the very important math concepts behind them. For instance, some of these questions include: why do we teach Pythagoras’ theorem in school? What is it good for and will we ever use it in real life? Why do we need proofs anyway? Why would a new proof of Pythagoras theorem (such as the wonderful proof recently discovered by two New Orleans teens) be exciting? Is Math discovered or invented? What is an axiom? How and why do we build mathematics out of axioms? What did Gödel prove in his “incompleteness theorem”? Should we give up since Math is “incomplete”? Does a straw have one or two holes? What is a Klein bottle and what is topology? Does the sum of all the positive integers 1+2+3+… really equal -1/12? What is the Riemann zeta function, what is the Riemann hypothesis, and why is there a $1M prize to whoever solves this esoteric math problem? … among many other questions. As examples, the presentation will also include some of the speakers’ videos that have been viewed millions of times.
