Mathematics: A poetry of logical ideas
“What we do may be small, but it has a certain character of permanence; and to have produced anything of the slightest permanent interest, whether it be a copy of verses or a geometrical theorem, is to have done something utterly beyond the powers of the vast majority of men.” (Hardy, 1967) A Mathematician’s Apology... Continue Reading →
The main aim of this article is to serve as an informal introduction to algebraic topology. We will demonstrate its usefulness by presenting a famous application which requires very few prerequisite knowledge. 1. Statement and motivation Brouwer’s fixed point theorem (BFPT) states that any continuous mapping from a disc to itself always has a fixed... Continue Reading →
Born on 22 December 1887, Ramanujan shook the mathematical community with his novel insights into number theory, infinite series, continued fractions and mathematical analysis. In honour of his memory, the government of India commemorates 22 December as National Mathematics Day. In 1900, when he was just 13, he mastered “Advanced Trigonometry by S.L Loney” and... Continue Reading →
Welcome to this section! Here we will explore ‘Mathematics in India’ – its nature, understanding, and evolution. Numerous ancient Indian mathematicians will be introduced to us, along with their works and critiques. For those who are not familiar with Sanskrit, there will be some lovely Sanskrit poetry and lines interspersed with translations. We will take... Continue Reading →
Is it possible to split a ball of (say) n cm radius into two balls having the same n cm radius? Prima facie this sounds impossible. However, mathematicians Banach and Tarski came up with a method to prove the impossible. Before we dive into the proof, let us first grasp the concept of infinity. Infinity... Continue Reading →
“The fact that all Mathematics is Symbolic Logic is one of the greatest discoveries of our age; and when this fact has been established, the remainder of the principles of mathematics consists of the analysis of Symbolic Logic itself.” - Bertrand Russell. Mathematics - the language of the universe - is entirely based on numbers... Continue Reading →
In “A Beautiful Mind”, Sylvia Nasar’s biography of the mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr., she quotes one of his colleagues: "All mathematicians live in two different worlds. They live in a crystalline world of perfect platonic forms. An ice palace. But they also live in the common world where things are transient, ambiguous, subject to... Continue Reading →
When we say: “Mathematics is the mother of all sciences”, we generally refer to physics, chemistry and similar subjects, but one of the sciences which is not usually considered in this discussion is the medical science. Even though not very widely acknowledged at the moment, medical science uses mathematical approaches in various treatments and diagnoses.... Continue Reading →
“The unexamined life is not worth living.” Socrates Mathematics has always tried to push past and beyond its present knowledge, challenging realities and fabricated realities. Breaking away from the general connotations, of complex equations and problem-solving theorems leads us to multiple universes having parallel schools of thought. Philosophy is quite literally the “love for wisdom”,... Continue Reading →
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