Carry the Two

Ismar Volić, a mathematics professor and director of the Institute for Mathematics and Democracy, teams up with Theodore R. Johnson, a scholar of Black electoral politics and Washington Post columnist. They delve into how math shapes apportionment in the U.S. Congress and the historical rivalry between Jefferson and Hamilton over rounding methods. The duo discusses the flaws of the Electoral College, potential reforms for fairer voting, and how statistical techniques could enhance democratic representation. Brace for a blend of humor, history, and enlightening insights!

Ismar Volić, a mathematics professor and director at the Institute for Mathematics and Democracy, along with economics PhD student Victoria Mooers, dive into how math influences voting. They dissect the flaws of the current plurality voting system and propose preference ranking methods to reduce polarization. The conversation also touches on Liquid Democracy and the complications that arise from too much delegation in voting processes. Listen in as they illuminate the vital relationship between mathematics and effective democracy.

Find our transcript here: LINK Follow more of IMSI’s work: www.IMSI.institute, (twitter) @IMSI_institute, (mastodon) https://sciencemastodon.com/@IMSI, (instagram) IMSI.institute Follow Sadie Witkowski: https://www.sadiewit.com/, @SadieWit This episode was audio engineered by Tyler Damme. Music by Blue Dot Sessions. The Institute for Mathematical and Statistical Innovation (IMSI) is funded by NSF grant DMS-1929348.

In this classic episode, we explore how GPT-3, a free online natural language processing artificial intelligence by Open AI, does and doesn’t work. Make sure to stick around until the end for an update on how AI is a core demand between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. GPT-3 takes advantage of a whole new method of artificial intelligence research, called neural nets, to create plays, write code, and even roleplay as a historical figure. But what are the limitations to this kind of AI? University of Chicago professor Allyson Ettinger walks us through how GPT-3 manages to sound so human and where and how it fails in interesting ways. Find our transcript here: LINK Curious to learn more? Check out these additional links: When GPT-3 accidentally lies: https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/11/18/1063487/meta-large-language-model-ai-only-survived-three-days-gpt-3-science/ Microsoft’s chatbot that went racist: https://www.theverge.com/2016/3/24/11297050/tay-microsoft-chatbot-racist Is GPT-3 a replacement or tool for journalists: https://contently.net/2022/12/15/trends/chatgpt/ Entertainment Community Fund: https://entertainmentcommunity.org/ Science and Entertainment Exchange: http://scienceandentertainmentexchange.org/ AO3 and data scraping: https://www.transformativeworks.org/ai-and-data-scraping-on-the-archive/ Follow more of IMSI’s work: www.IMSI.institute, (twitter) @IMSI_institute, (mastodon) https://sciencemastodon.com/@IMSI, (instagram) IMSI.institute Follow Caitlin Parrish: @caitcrime Follow Allyson Ettinger: https://allenai.org/team, @AllysonEttinger This episode was audio engineered by Tyler Damme.  Music by Blue Dot Sessions. The Institute for Mathematical and Statistical Innovation (IMSI) is funded by NSF grant DMS-1929348.

Were you impressed by the underwater scenes in Avatar 2? Have you spent hours trying to figure out how they built the ice wall in Game of Thrones? Everything from big effects like these to smaller hidden visual effects like creating a skyline for an indoor set fall under the purview of visual effects. In this episode of Carry the Two, we get a behind-the-scenes tour of how Fuse FX effects supervisor Jamie Barty from I’m a Virgo leads a team to achieve these effects - and the copious amounts of mathematics that come into play! Find our transcript here: LINK Curious to learn more? Check out these additional links: Fuse FX: https://fusefx.com/ Course on the mathematics behind visual effects: https://www.fxphd.com/details/215/ I’m a Virgo: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13649510/ Entertainment Community Fund: https://entertainmentcommunity.org/ Science and Entertainment Exchange: http://scienceandentertainmentexchange.org/ Follow more of IMSI’s work: www.IMSI.institute, (twitter) @IMSI_institute, (mastodon) https://sciencemastodon.com/@IMSI, (instagram) IMSI.institute Follow Jamie Barty: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4495160/ This episode was audio engineered by Tyler Damme.  Music by Blue Dot Sessions. The Institute for Mathematical and Statistical Innovation (IMSI) is funded by NSF grant DMS-1929348.

Tara Kerin, a project scientist at UCLA specializing in epidemiology, dives into the science behind The Last of Us. She discusses the plausibility of a fungal apocalypse and how R0, a key statistic in disease spread, plays a vital role in both real-world pandemics like COVID-19 and fictional narratives. With humor, Tara breaks down complex epidemiological concepts and explores the intersection of math, science, and storytelling in media. Her insights reveal how entertainment can educate the public on health issues.

Robert Rosner, a notable physicist from the University of Chicago, and Paul Wilson, a leading nuclear engineering professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, dive deep into the intricate history of nuclear fission. They discuss the groundbreaking work at Chicago Pile 1 and its pivotal role in the Manhattan Project. The conversation touches on the complexities of managing nuclear reactions, the moral dilemmas faced by scientists during the era, and interesting parallels between nuclear dynamics and pandemic management. Their insights illuminate the profound impact of nuclear research on both science and society.

In this engaging conversation, Kevin Grazier—a planetary physicist and science advisor known for his work on Battlestar Galactica and Gravity—dives into the intersection of science and storytelling. He discusses how complex scientific concepts, especially orbital dynamics, are seamlessly woven into the narrative of the Foundation series. Grazier shares insights from his collaboration on projects like the Cassini mission, illustrating how real science can enhance cinematic experiences. He also emphasizes the importance of integrating math and statistics into engaging storytelling.

We're taking a short break to prepare for our next series of episodes, looking at mathematics and statistics in Hollywood. So stay tuned! Find our transcript here: LINK Follow more of IMSI’s work: www.IMSI.institute, (twitter) @IMSI_institute, (instagram) IMSI.institute Music by Blue Dot Sessions. The Institute for Mathematical and Statistical Innovation (IMSI) is funded by NSF grant DMS-1929348.

Predicting weather is already a difficult statistical challenge, but it becomes even more complex when trying to predict rare weather events. Dan Cooley, a professor in the statistics department at Colorado State University, uses extreme value analysis to model these rare events. In today’s episode, we ask Dan how his work can help explain the changing frequency and severity of wildfires in Colorado and how climate change might be playing a key role. Don’t forget to listen to Dan’s work through a geophysical lens, over at Third Pod from the Sun! Check out the episode here: LINK Find our transcript here: LINK Curious to learn more? Check out these additional links: Hear Dan’s talk for IMSI’s Confronting Global Climate Change: https://www.imsi.institute/videos/transformed-linear-methods-for-multivariate-extremes-and-application-to-climate/ More on the Fire Weather Index: https://www.nwcg.gov/publications/pms437/cffdrs/fire-weather-index-system Extreme Value Theory: https://towardsdatascience.com/extreme-value-theory-in-a-nutshell-with-various-applications-3260b6a84316 Previous Carry the Two episode on 100-year floods: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/richard-smith-on-100-year-floods/id1629115184?i=1000574780329 Follow more of IMSI’s work: www.IMSI.institute, (twitter) @IMSI_institute, (mastodon) https://sciencemastodon.com/@IMSI, (instagram) IMSI.institute Follow Dan Cooley: https://www.stat.colostate.edu/~cooleyd/ This episode was audio engineered by Tyler Damme. Special thanks to Third Pod’s producer Jace Steiner. Music by Blue Dot Sessions. The Institute for Mathematical and Statistical Innovation (IMSI) is funded by NSF grant DMS-1929348.