CSHPM Online Colloquium: Andrew Aberdein
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Nicolas Fillion
Dec 14, 2020, 3:46:22 AM12/14/20
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***CSHPM Online Colloquium: Andrew Aberdein***
In these isolated times, the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (http://www.cshpm.org/) is organizing an online colloquium series via Zoom. Sessions are open to CSHPM members as well as the broader scholarly community. Participants are encouraged to become members (for as little as $10-$30/year, depending on your employment status), but it is not required. Non-members can get regular updates on our activities by liking us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/cshpmschpm). The talk will last 30 minutes, followed by a Q&A.
ANDREW ABERDEIN, Professor of Philosophy at the Florida Institute of Technology, will deliver the ninth talk of the CSHPM Online Colloquium series.
DATE: December 18th
TIME: UTC 19:00; Vancouver 11:00; Edmonton 12:00; Regina/Winnipeg 13:00; Montreal/Toronto 14:00; Halifax 15:00; St. John's 15:30
TITLE: Straight from the Book: Erdős and the aesthetics of proof
ABSTRACT: One of the most memorable items of mathematical folklore is Paul Erdős’s tale of The Book: a divine book of the best mathematical proofs. However, the story exists in multiple versions. This paper reports on research conducted with a corpus of 55 different versions: five directly sourced to Erdős; the rest recounted by other mathematicians (all but three with Erdős number ≤ 4). Specifically, it employs techniques originally devised to work with biological data. Several loose groupings result from the analysis. One grouping (which includes all of Erdős’s versions) contains most narratives in which Book proofs are characterized as “best”, “elegant”, or “simple”; another grouping contains most narratives in which Book proofs are characterized as “beautiful” or “perfect”. This comports with earlier empirical work in mathematical aesthetics that suggests that beauty and simplicity do not necessarily coincide; however, it departs from that work in suggesting a clear distinction between beauty and elegance. This and other implications of this corpus for the aesthetics of mathematics are explored.
Please distribute this information to all who might be interested. The information to join the session via Zoom is as follows:
Nicolas Fillion is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Your participation will result in the disclosure of personal information to Zoom Video Communications.
To consent to this disclosure, visit the link below.
https://www.surveymonkey.ca/r/zoomprivacy
Have questions about SFU's Zoom privacy and security guidelines, visit the link below.
https://www.sfu.ca/itservices/technical/videoconferencing/zoom/privacy.html
Topic: CSHPM Online Colloquium: Andrew Aberdein
Time: Dec 18, 2020 11:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
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Meeting ID: 841 5846 3260
Password: 720794
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Meeting ID: 841 5846 3260
Password: 720794
Find your local number: https://sfu.zoom.us/u/khJLzTCzH
In these isolated times, the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (http://www.cshpm.org/) is organizing an online colloquium series via Zoom. Sessions are open to CSHPM members as well as the broader scholarly community. Participants are encouraged to become members (for as little as $10-$30/year, depending on your employment status), but it is not required. Non-members can get regular updates on our activities by liking us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/cshpmschpm). The talk will last 30 minutes, followed by a Q&A.
ANDREW ABERDEIN, Professor of Philosophy at the Florida Institute of Technology, will deliver the ninth talk of the CSHPM Online Colloquium series.
DATE: December 18th
TIME: UTC 19:00; Vancouver 11:00; Edmonton 12:00; Regina/Winnipeg 13:00; Montreal/Toronto 14:00; Halifax 15:00; St. John's 15:30
TITLE: Straight from the Book: Erdős and the aesthetics of proof
ABSTRACT: One of the most memorable items of mathematical folklore is Paul Erdős’s tale of The Book: a divine book of the best mathematical proofs. However, the story exists in multiple versions. This paper reports on research conducted with a corpus of 55 different versions: five directly sourced to Erdős; the rest recounted by other mathematicians (all but three with Erdős number ≤ 4). Specifically, it employs techniques originally devised to work with biological data. Several loose groupings result from the analysis. One grouping (which includes all of Erdős’s versions) contains most narratives in which Book proofs are characterized as “best”, “elegant”, or “simple”; another grouping contains most narratives in which Book proofs are characterized as “beautiful” or “perfect”. This comports with earlier empirical work in mathematical aesthetics that suggests that beauty and simplicity do not necessarily coincide; however, it departs from that work in suggesting a clear distinction between beauty and elegance. This and other implications of this corpus for the aesthetics of mathematics are explored.
Please distribute this information to all who might be interested. The information to join the session via Zoom is as follows:
Nicolas Fillion is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Your participation will result in the disclosure of personal information to Zoom Video Communications.
To consent to this disclosure, visit the link below.
https://www.surveymonkey.ca/r/zoomprivacy
Have questions about SFU's Zoom privacy and security guidelines, visit the link below.
https://www.sfu.ca/itservices/technical/videoconferencing/zoom/privacy.html
Topic: CSHPM Online Colloquium: Andrew Aberdein
Time: Dec 18, 2020 11:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://sfu.zoom.us/j/84158463260?pwd=LzNJWituSERNSGRKN1I1UXIyT2pudz09
Meeting ID: 841 5846 3260
Password: 720794
One tap mobile
+16475580588,,84158463260#,,,,0#,,720794# Canada
+17789072071,,84158463260#,,,,0#,,720794# Canada
Dial by your location
+1 647 558 0588 Canada
+1 778 907 2071 Canada
+1 204 272 7920 Canada
+1 438 809 7799 Canada
+1 587 328 1099 Canada
+1 647 374 4685 Canada
Meeting ID: 841 5846 3260
Password: 720794
Find your local number: https://sfu.zoom.us/u/khJLzTCzH
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