Spring 2002 Schedule

• Warm Fuzzies (January 29th)
  How can math be used to ...Help aim a camera for the telecast of a soccer game? ...Prevent drastic temperature fluctuations in an air-conditioning system? ...Cook rice to a wonderfully fluffy perfection? ...Bring commuter trains to a smooth and comfortable stop? Join Patrick Bahls and find out how the branch of mathematics called fuzzy logic has been used to do all of these things.
  
  
• To Knot or Not to Knot (February 5th)
  Most of you probably know how to tie your shoes... but can you tie your DNA? This week David Petersen shows how some strange mathematics called knot theory might help in the search for a cure for cancer.
  
  

• Dial M for Multiplication (February 12th)
  When we think of multiplication, we usually think of multiplying numbers, and we know what kinds of rules this follows. But is it possible to multiply other things? Can we think of composition of functions as "multiplying"? Is writing a form of "multiplication"? Is cooking "multiplication"? And do we have the follow the usual rules of multiplication when it's not numbers we're multiplying? Join Jac Cole as he takes a mathematician's look at multiplication.
  
  
• And the Winner Is...? (February 19th)
  In a democracy as we know it, a political candidate in a tight three-way race for public office can win with only 34% of the vote. That means that 66% of the voting public might despise the candidate - but he or she still wins! Is that fair? Are there other ways we could count votes that might better reflect what voters really want? And how can mathematics help us make these decisions? Join Derek Bruff as he takes a mathematician's look at voting, fairness, Election 2000, the Academy Awards, and Jesse "the Body" Ventura! Click here for the overheads Derek used during his talk.
  
  
• All I Really Need to Know About the Space-Time Continuum, I Learned in Kindergarten (March 20th)
  You probably think that two plus three equals five. But can you say why? And what exactly is "two"? Or "three" or "five"? Or "equals" for that matter? Join philosophy graduate student Dylan Suzanne as he takes a philosopher's look at mathematics, space, time, and everything else.
  
  
• Two's Company, Three's a Conundrum (March 27th)
  Have you ever noticed that some things are a lot more complicated with three people involved than with two people involved? Like a game of Risk or a presidential election? Adding "one more" can make things a whole lot more interesting. Join Derek Bruff and Jac Cole this week as they take a look at some famous problems in mathematics in which adding "one more" makes solutions a lot harder - and sometimes impossible!
  
  

• How to Keep a Secret (April 3rd)
  Some say that the best way to keep a secret is to never tell anyone else. If you want to shop online, though, you must share your credit card number with the company, while hoping that any snooping third parties don't get that information. What does it really mean for a transaction to be "secure"? Who is seeing your information? Are they allowed to see it? Will your information reach the right people? Can someone change your information in transit? Join Dana Gaston as she goes from ATMs to the Zimmerman Telegram to look at the history, importance, and mathematics of keeping secrets!
  
  
• Math and Music: Structure and Art (April 17th)
  People often say that math and music are related subjects, but beyond
  counting out the beat, how does math show up in the world of music?
  Join Ashley Ahlin as she shows how math answers lots of questions about music, including... Why is most Western music is based on a twelve-tone scale? And why did a 16th century guitar maker spend years trying to solve an ancient Greek mathematics problem?