Mathematics and Culture in Europe

Mathematics in Art, Technology, Cinema, and Theatre
1. Auflage 2007
ISBN: 978-3-540-71963-2
Verlag: Springer

Medienkombination, Englisch, 405 Seiten, mit 1 DVD, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 630 g

It is not true that mathematics has never been able to arouse people's interest. At least, this is our feeling as mathematicians when we meet the general public to explain what we are dealing with in our work, what is the usefulness of mathematics and how it becomes possible to catch its harmony and beauty.

Also the cinema changed its attitude on the matter, and some screenplays started to show mathematicians engaged in their work while some recent theatrical pieces have a mathematician as a main character.

These considerations stimulated some of us to organize the review Mathematics and Theatre, which offered to a general audience the opportunity to attend performances and, at the same time, to hear something about prime numbers, Galois’ theory, or simply about the relationship between science, mathematics and power at Napoleon's times.

This volume, which has its origin in the activities performed in Bologna in 2004, is dedicated to all those who are curious about mathematics, but also more generally about theatre, cinema, literature, arts and science.

Thanks to the DVD one can relive various events through the voices and the images of the participants.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Manaresi, M.

Fachgebiete

• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften: Allgemeines Populärwissenschaftliche Werke
• Mathematik | Informatik Mathematik Mathematik Allgemein Populäre Darstellungen der Mathematik
• Mathematik | Informatik Mathematik Numerik und Wissenschaftliches Rechnen Angewandte Mathematik, Mathematische Modelle
• Mathematik | Informatik Mathematik Numerik und Wissenschaftliches Rechnen Computeranwendungen in der Mathematik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Mathematical culture, education and media.- Are European students sufficiently prepared in mathematics? – Questionnaire results.- Statistical methods for measuring competencies: analysis of mathematical preparation of freshmen.- Mathematics and media: tools, expectations, results.- The Trouble with Mathematics in the UK.- Metamorph from Escher to virtual architecture.- Two examples of unbounded and compact triply extended spaces.- Bringing light to a dark Universe.- Mathematics and cartoons.- Painters, Murderers, Mathematicians.- Lucio Saffaro, artist of geometry.- The mathematical logic of narrative.- Mathematics and Cinema.- A Beautiful Mind.- A recurrent eponym: Nash and game theory.- The Bank.- The Bank: Mathematics, Economics and Social Responsibility for the new millennium.- Moebius.- Moebius: a film and an invitation to topology.- Cube.- Cube: an opportunity to talk about prime numbers.- The Mirror Has Two Faces.- Funny mathematics?.- Enigma.- Fermat’s Last Theorem.- A few reflections on Fermat’s Last Theorem.- No More Time.- Mathematics and Theatre.- The Logic of Theater.- Napoleon Magical Emperor.- Regarding Napoleon Magical Emperor.- Napoleon, mathematics and the École Polytechnique.- Uncle Petros and Goldbach’s Conjecture.- Uncle Petros between science, literature and the theatre.- Some famous problems in the History of Number Theory.- Proof.- Proof: Mathematics and New Dramaturgy.- Mathematics and the American Theater Tradition.- A mathematician reads Proof.- Galois.- Évariste Galois, a Tragic Romantic Hero.- Évariste Galois.- Arcadia.- Even in Arcadia sex, literature and…? mathematics.- Wilde in Arcadia.- Father Saccheri: a mathematician on stage.- Is mathematics theatrical?.

Über Autor(innen)

Mirella Manaresi is professor of geometry at the Department of Mathematics of the University of Bologna. Her main research field is algebraic geometry, but, since some years, she is also involved in activities to promote the interest for mathematics of the general public.

She was editor, with M. Emmer, of the volume Mathematics, art, technology, cinema (Springer Italia, 2002 and Springer 2003, respectively in the Italian and in the extended English edition), and between 2002 and 2005 she has been responsible for a European project, from which this volume takes origin.