The Whimsical World of Mathematics

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This chapter humorously addresses the enigmatic answer to life, 42, while exploring the eccentric nature of mathematicians and their diverse passions. It emphasizes mathematics as a language, urging students to view mathematical symbols as a means of communication rather than mere operations. Additionally, the discussion highlights the importance of using concrete examples and playful learning methods, such as games, to bridge the gap between abstract concepts and understanding.

As a former quant with six grandkids, my spidey-senses started tingling as soon as I heard about Ben Orlin’s mission to make math fun.

A native of St.Paul, Ben is a math educator and popularizer who is known for his “Math With Bad Drawing” blog and book series. Today’s conversation revolves around his excellent, original new book Math for English Majors: A Human Take on the Universal Language, which reframes math as a language, complete with nouns, verbs and grammar.

Like any mathematician worth his salt, Ben loves games, which he sees as ‘puzzle engines’. No wonder then that our conversation meandered and unfolded like a satisfying puzzle, touching upon rich concepts. We discussed making sense of sampling through fantasy towns where 70% of inhabitants are lawyers (not a town I’d like to be in), threw in a bit of Lewis Carroll to discuss the assumptions built into propositional logic (sometimes it really is turtles all the way down) and pitied the Welsh kids learning how to count (keep listening to know what that means).

I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did! For more thoughts on the episode, the full transcript, and bucketloads of other stuff designed to make you go; “Hmm, that’s interesting!” check out our Substack.

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Show Notes:

A Mathematician’s Obsession
The Language of Algebra
What the Tortoise Said to Achilles
The Concrete and the Abstract
Games As Puzzle Engines
We’re not Built to Understand Base Rates
Why We Always Think About Samples Incorrectly
Randomness and Wikipedia Rabbit-holing
Counting in Different Languages
The Concept of Zero
Negatives as the Mathematical Language of Opposites
Mathematical Escape Rooms
Why Is the World Comprehensible?
Discussing Infinity on Infinite Loops
The Deep Mathematics of Music
Ben As Emperor of the World

Books Mentioned:

Math for English Majors: A Human Take on the Universal Language; by Ben Orlin
Math with Bad Drawings: Illuminating the Ideas That Shape Our Reality; by Ben Orlin
Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea; by Charles Seife
Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid; by Douglas Hofstadter
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain; by Oliver Sacks