7 FEB 2017 · From Pythagoras to Einstein, from the banks of the Nile to the streamlined curves of the Large Hadron Collider, math has shown itself again and again to be fundamental to the way that humans interact with the world. Then why is math such a pain for so many people? Our answer is simple: math is, and always has been, in one way or another, guarded as an elite skill. We visit the worlds that were shaped by math, the secrets people died for, the false gods created through this noble science, and the gradual chipping away of this knowledge by a people who have always yearned for this magical skill. So what is it? And how can we make it better? Ways to support the show:    -Visit our Sponsors:   theGreatCoursesPlus.com/breakingmath Get a free month of the Great Courses Plus while supporting this show by clicking here and signing up!           brilliant.org/breakingmath Sign up at brilliant.org, where breaking math listeners get a 20% off of a year subscription of Brilliant Premium!   Patreon -Become a monthly supporter at patreon.com/breakingmath Merchandise -Purchase a Math Poster on Tensor Calculus at our facebook store at facebook.com/breakingmathpodcast [Featuring: Sofía Baca, Gabriel Hesch; Amy Lynn, Ian McLaughlin] -See our New Youtube Show "Turing Rabbit Holes Podcast" at youtube.com/TuringRabbitHolesPodcast.   Also available on all podcast players. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/breakingmathpodcast/support

7 FEB 2017 · The void has always intrigued mankind; the concept of no concept defies the laws of human reasoning to such a degree that we have no choice but to pursue it. But ancient Assyrian, Norse, Judeo-Christian creation stories, and even our own scientific inquiries have one thing in common: creation from “nothingness”. But is it really nothingness? The ancients used the term “chaos”, and, although to some “chaos” has become synonymous with “bedlam” or “randomness”, it has much more to do with the timeless myths of creation of form from the formless. So how does chaos take form? And is there meaning to be found in the apparent arbitrariness of chaos, or is it a void that defines what we think it means to be? Ways to support the show: -Visit our Sponsors:   theGreatCoursesPlus.com/breakingmath Get a free month of the Great Courses Plus while supporting this show by clicking here and signing up!           brilliant.org/breakingmath Sign up at brilliant.org, where breaking math listeners get a 20% off of a year subscription of Brilliant Premium! Patreon-Become a monthly supporter at patreon.com/breakingmath Merchandise-Purchase a Math Poster on Tensor Calculus at our facebook store at facebook.com/breakingmathpodcast --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/breakingmathpodcast/support

7 FEB 2017 · “ABABABABABABABAB”. How much information was that? You may say “sixteen letters worth”, but is that the true answer? You could describe what you just read as “AB 8 times”, and save a bunch of characters, and yet have the same information. But what is information in the context of mathematics? The answer is nothing short of miraculous; information theory has applications in telephony, human language, and even physics. So what is information theory, and what can we learn from it? --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/breakingmathpodcast/support

21 FEB 2017 · We live in an era of unprecedented change, and the tip of the spear of this era of change is currently the digital revolution. In fact, in the last decade we’ve gone from an analog to a digitally dominated society, and the amount of information has recently been increasing exponentially. Or at least it seems like it’s recent; in fact, however, the digital revolution has been going on for hundreds of centuries. From numerals inscribed in“We live in an era of unprecedented change, and the tip of the spear of this era of change is currently the digital revolution. In fact, in the last decade we’ve gone from an analog to a digitally dominated society, and the amount of information has recently been increasing exponentially. Or at least it seems like it’s recent; in fact, however, the digital revolution has been going on for hundreds of centuries. From numerals inscribed in bone to signals zipping by at almost the speed of light, our endeavors as humans, and some argue, our existence in the universe, is ruled by the concept of digital information. So how did we discover digital information? And what has it been used for? --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/breakingmathpodcast/support

7 MAR 2017 · 1948. A flash, followed by an explosion. Made possible by months of mathematical computation, the splitting of the atom was hailed as a triumph of both science and mathematics. Mathematics is seen by many as a way of quantifying experiments. But is that always the case? There are cases where it seems as though mathematics itself has made predictions about the universe and vice versa. So how are these predictions made? And what can we learn about both physics and math by examining the way in which these topics intermingle? --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/breakingmathpodcast/support

21 MAR 2017 · Mathematics has a lot in common with language. Both have been used since the dawn of time to shape and define our world, both have sets of rules which one must master before bending, both are natural consequences of the way humans are raised, and both are as omnipresent as they are seemingly intangible. Language has thrived for almost, or as long as humans have possessed the ability to use it. But what can we say that language is? Is it a living breathing organism, a set of rigid ideals, somewhere in between, or something else altogether? --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/breakingmathpodcast/support

1 APR 2017 · We are proud to announce that we have recorded our very first minisode! In addition, we are introducing a new blog which can be found at www.breakingmathpodcast.com/blog.html --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/breakingmathpodcast/support

4 APR 2017 · Proofs are sometimes seen as an exercise in tedium, other times as a pure form of beauty, and often as both. But from time immemorial, people have been using mathematics to demonstrate new theorems, and advance the state of the art of mathematics. However, it is only relatively recently, within the last 3,000 years, that the art of mathematical proof has been considered essential to the study of mathematics. Mathematicians constantly fight over what constitutes a proof, and even what makes a proof valid, partially because proof requires delicate insight. So what is the art of mathematical proof? How has it changed? And who can do it? --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/breakingmathpodcast/support

10 APR 2017 · Jonathan and Gabriel discuss everything Bangalore, evolutionary algorithmic, and more! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/breakingmathpodcast/support

18 APR 2017 · Computation is a nascent science, and as such, looks towards the other sciences for inspiration. Whether it be physics, as in simulated annealing, or, as now is popular, biology, as in neural networks, computer science has shown repeatedly that it can learn great things from other sciences. Genetic algorithms are one such method that is inspired, of course, by biological evolution. So what are genetic algorithms used for? What have they taught us about the natural process of evolution? And how can we use them to improve our world? --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/breakingmathpodcast/support