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Breaking Math Podcast

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Feb 13, 2024 • 33min

85. Math, Music, Neuroscience, and Fear - an Interview with Musician Levi McClain

We are joined today by content creator Levi McClain to discuss the mathematics behind music theory, neuroscience, and human experiences such as fear as they relate to audio processing. For a copy of the episode transcript, email us at BreakingMathPodcast@gmail.com.  For more in depth discussions on these topics and more, check out Levi's channels at: Patreon.com/LeviMcClainyoutube.com/@LeviMcClainTiktok.com/@levimcclainInstagram.com/levimcclainmusicHelp Support The Podcast by clicking on the links below: Start YOUR podcast on ZenCastr!   Use my special link  ZenCastr Discount to save 30% off your first month of any Zencastr paid plan Visit our Patreon
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Feb 6, 2024 • 46min

84. (Part 2) Intelligence in Nature v. Machine Learning - an Interview with Brit Cruise

Help Support The Podcast by clicking on the links below: Start YOUR podcast on ZenCastr!   Use my special link  ZenCastr Discount to save 30% off your first month of any Zencastr paid plan Visit our PatreonPart 2/2 of the interview with Brit Cruise, creator of the YouTube channel "Art of the Problem," about interesting mathematics,, electrical and computer engineering problems. In Part 1, we explored what 'intelligence' may be defined as by looking for examples of brains and proto-brains found in nature (including mold, bacteria, fungus, insects, fish, reptiles, and mammals). In Part 2, we discuss aritifical neural nets and how they are both similar different from human brains, as well as the ever decreasing gap between the two. Brit's YoutTube Channel can be found here: Art of the Problem - Brit CruiseTranscript will be made available soon! Stay tuned. You may receive a transcript by emailing us at breakingmathpodcast@gmail.com.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/breaking-math-podcast--5545277/support.
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Jan 30, 2024 • 37min

83. Intelligence in Nature v. Machine Learning-An Interview with Brit Cruise - Part 1 of 2

In this episode (part 1 of 2), I interview Brit Cruise, creator of the YouTube channel 'Art of the Problem.' On his channel, he recently released the video "ChatGPT: 30 Year History | How AI learned to talk." We discuss examples of intelligence in nature and what is required in order for a brain to evolve at the most basic level. We use these concepts to discuss what artificial intelligence - such as Chat GPT - both is and is not.Help Support The Podcast by clicking on the links below: Start YOUR podcast on ZenCastr!   Use my special link  ZenCastr Discount to save 30% off your first month of any Zencastr paid plan Visit our Patreon
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Jan 21, 2024 • 18min

82. A.I. and Materials Discovery - an Interview with Taylor Sparks

Transcripts of this episode are avialable upon request.  Email us at BreakingMathPodcast@gmail.com. In this episode Gabriel Hesch interviews Taylor Sparks, a professor of material science and engineering, about his recent paper on the use of generative modeling a.i. for material disovery.  The paper is published in the journal Digital Discovery and is titled 'Generative Adversarial Networks and Diffusion MOdels in Material Discovery. They discuss the purpose of the call, the process of generative modeling, creating a representation for materials, using image-based generative models, and a comparison with Google's approach. They also touch on the concept of conditional generation of materials, the importance of open-source resources and collaboration, and the exciting developments in materials and AI. The conversation concludes with a discussion on future collaboration opportunities.Takeaways Generative modeling is an exciting approach in materials science that allows for the prediction and creation of new materials. Creating a representation for materials, such as using the crystallographic information file, enables the application of image-based generative models. Google's approach to generative modeling received attention but also criticism for its lack of novelty and unconditioned generation of materials. Open-source resources and collaboration are crucial in advancing materials informatics and machine learning in the field of materials science.Help Support The Podcast by clicking on the links below: Start YOUR podcast on ZenCastr!   Use my special link  ZenCastr Discount to save 30% off your first month of any Zencastr paid plan Visit our PatreonHow is Machine Learning being used to further original scientific discoveries?  
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Jan 11, 2024 • 48min

In Memory of Sofia Baca, Cofounder and cohost of Breaking Math

In October of 2023, Sofia Baca passed away unexpectedly from natural causes. Sofia was one of the founders and cohosts of the Breaking Math Podcast. In this episode, host Gabriel Hesch interviews Diane Baca, mother of Sofia Baca as we talk about her passions for creativity, mathematics, science, and discovering what it means to be human. Sofia lived an exceptional life with explosive creativity, a voracious passion for mathematics, physics, computer science, and creativity. Sofia also struggled immensely with mental health issues which included substance abuse as well as struggling for a very long time understand the source of their discontent. Sofia found great happiness in connecting with other people through teaching, tutoring, and creative expression. The podcast will continue in honor of Sofia. There are many folders of ideas that Sofia left with ideas for the show or for other projects. We will continue this show with sharing some of these ideas, but also with sharing stories of Sofia - including her ideas and her struggles in hopes that others may find solace in that they are not alone in their struggles. But also in hopes that others may find inspiration in what Sofia had to offer. We miss you dearly, Sofia.
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Jul 24, 2023 • 38min

81: Correct. Now Try Again (Multiple Approaches to the Same Problem)

Join Sofía Baca and her guests, the host and co-host of the Nerd Forensics podcast, Millicent Oriana and Jacob Urban, as they explore what it means to be able to solve one problem in multiple ways.This episode is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. For full text, visit: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/[Featuring: Sofía Baca; Millicent Oriana, Jacob Urban[Help Support The Podcast by clicking on the links below: Try out ZenCastr w/ 30% DiscountUse my special link to save 30% off your first month of any Zencastr paid plan Patreon YouTube Breaking Math WebsiteEmail us for copies of the transcript!
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Jun 26, 2023 • 36min

80: Physical Dimension (Dimensional Analysis)

The podcast explores the concept of units, dimensions, and variables in mathematics, discussing their use for counting and measuring tangible and abstract things. It also delves into the conversion between units of measurement and the manipulation of numbers, the evolution of measurement systems, the contamination of Biscayne Bay, the application of the Buckingham Pi theorem, and the utility of dimensional analysis in simplifying complex physical problems.
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Jun 8, 2023 • 47min

79: 1 2 3 (Counting)

Help Support The Podcast by clicking on the links below: Try out ZenCastr w/ 30% DiscountUse my special link to save 30% off your first month of any Zencastr paid plan Patreon YouTube Breaking Math WebsiteEmail us for copies of the transcript!Join Sofia Baca and Nerd Forensics co-host Jacob Urban as they discuss all things counting!Counting is the first arithmetic concept we learn, and we typically learn to do so during early childhood. Counting is the basis of arithmetic. Before people could manipulate numbers, numbers had to exist. Counting was first done on the body, before it was done on apparatuses outside the body such as clay tablets and hard drives. However, counting has become an invaluable tool in mathematics itself, as became apparent when counting started to be examined analytically. How did counting begin? What is the study of combinatorics? And what can be counted? All of this and more, on this episode of Breaking Math.This episode is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (full text: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)[Featuring: Sofia Baca; Jacob Urban]
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May 9, 2023 • 32min

78: Perpetual Notion (Entropy and Thermodynamics)

As you listen to this episode, you'll be exerting mental effort, as well as maybe exerting effort doing other things. The energy allowing your neurons to continually charge and discharge, as well as exert mechanical energy in your muscles and chemical energy in places like your liver and kidneys, came from the food you ate. Specifically, it came from food you chewed, and then digested with acid and with the help of symbiotic bacteria. And even if that food you're eating is meat, you can trace its energy back to the sun and the formation of the earth. Much of this was established in the previous episode, but this time we're going to explore a fundamental property of all systems in which heat can be defined. All of these structures had a certain order to them; the cow that might have made your hamburger had all the same parts that you do: stomach, lips, teeth, and brain. The plants, such as the tomatoes and wheat, were also complex structures, complete with signaling mechanisms. As you chewed that food, you mixed it, and later, as the food digested, it became more and more disordered; that is to say, it became more and more "shuffled", so to speak, and at a certain point, it became so shuffled that you'd need all the original information to reconstruct it: reversing the flow of entropy would mean converting vomit back into the original food; you'd need all the pieces. The electrical energy bonding molecules were thus broken apart and made available to you. And, if you're cleaning your room while listening to this, you are creating order only at the cost of destroying order elsewhere, since you are using energy from the food you ate. Even in industrial agriculture where from 350 megajoules of human and machine energy, often 140 gigajoules of corn can be derived per acre, a ratio of more than 400:1, the order that the seeds seem to produce from nowhere is constructed from the energy of the chaotic explosion from a nearby star. So why are the concepts of heat, energy, and disorder so closely linked? Is there a general law of disorder? And why does the second law mean you can't freeze eggs in a hot pan? All of this and more on this episode of Breaking Math.Distributed under a CC BY-SA 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)[Featuring: Sofia Baca; Millicent Oriana, Jacob Urban]Help Support The Podcast by clicking on the links below: Try out ZenCastr w/ 30% DiscountUse my special link to save 30% off your first month of any Zencastr paid plan Patreon YouTube Breaking Math WebsiteEmail us for copies of the transcript!
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Feb 28, 2023 • 55min

77: An Interview with Christopher Roblesz of MathNMore

Christopher Roblesz is a math educator who, until the pandemic, worked as a teacher. It was his experiences during the pandemic, and his unwavering passion for preparing disadvantaged youth for STEM careers, that eventually led him to developing mathnmore, a company focused on providing an enriched educational experience for sstudents who are preparing for these careers.More on energy and entropy next time!All of this and more on this interview episode of Breaking Math![Featuring: Sofia Baca; Christopher Roblesz]

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