University of Wisconsin - Madison
In a recent article in Quanta, Jordan Ellenberg discusses combining math with writing and how geometry came to be the topic of his most recent book, Shape. Link: https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-number-theorist-who-connects-math-to-other-creative-pursuits-20210527/
What did Abraham Lincoln study to hone his legendary rhetoric? Geometry! Jordan Ellenberg draws from his new book, “Shape” for this essay in the Wall Street Journal. Link: https://on.wsj.com/3oQ9v63
In conjunction with the release of his book, Jordan Ellenberg published an article on pandemic risk assessements, and how we react to advice intended to assist them in avoiding COVID-19. He notes that decision making isn’t based on statistics or what the CDC tells you, and it all comes down to a personal choice. Link: …
Jordan Ellenberg’s new book, “Shape: The Hidden Geometry of Information, Biology, Strategy, Democracy, and Everything Else.”, was published recently and reviewed by the New York Times. The review notes that Ellenberg is “rather spectacular” at analyzing the mathematic foundations of what we do, and how we think. The reviewer, Parul Sehgal, also noted that the …
In a recent episode of the Marketplace podcast, a question came up about billionaires. Among several experts, Jordan Ellenberg took a stab at it, suggesting a comparison instead. “How much wealth has that person amassed relative to the sum total of everybody who works for them?” Ellenberg said. “That’s a ratio that’s much closer to …
When the pandemic forced Betsy Stovall to move her large calculus class online last spring, she wondered how it would affect her office hours, which also became entirely virtual. The answer came soon enough. “I sat there alone staring at the walls,” says Stovall, an associate professor of mathematics. “Even with in-person office hours, students …
The Atlantic published an interview by Derek Thompson with Jordan Ellenberg about politics, election forecasting, and how to think about the future like a pro. Link: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/11/election-probabilities-are-emotional-nonsense/616916/
Our own Leonardo Zepeda-Nunez was part of this new method to expand the theoretical limit on the complexity of simulations. Computer simulations of waveforms are essential tools for researchers in many fields, from earth science and the energy industry to medical imaging. A new mathematical method developed by MIT researchers eliminates a theoretical limit on …
Former Van Vleck Assistant Professor Malabika Pramanik has been appointed as Director of the Banff International Research Station as of July 1, 2020. She was in Madison between 2001 and 2004. She joined the University of British Columbia in 2006. A mathematical analyst, her research interests cover Euclidean harmonic analysis, geometric measure theory, partial differential …
Lorenzo Najt studies algorithms that can build a large group of maps for a state, predict their outcomes, then compare those to the map that legislators selected. He works with UW–Madison mathematics professor Jordan Ellenberg as well as associate professor Justin Solomon and postdoctoral associate Daryl DeFord at MIT. “What if we had a big bag …