In this talk we will talk about the role that social media plays in the public perception of mathematics and, in particular, whether one can use social media platforms, such as Instagram, TikTok or YouTube, to move the needle and create engaging mathematical content that has a math-positive spin to counter the prevalent math phobia in society.
Specifically, we will discuss certain math questions that seem to generate tremendous amounts of engagement, and we will use these "hot topics" to talk about the very important math concepts behind them. For instance, some of these questions include:
Why do we teach Pythagoras' theorem in school? What is it good for and will we ever use it in real life?
Why do we need proofs anyway?
Why would a new proof of Pythagoras' theorem (such as the wonderful proof recently discovered by two New Orleans teens) be exciting?
Is Math discovered or invented?
What is an axiom? How and why do we build mathematics out of axioms?
What did Gödel prove in his "incompleteness theorem"? Should we give up since Math is "incomplete"?
Does a straw have one or two holes?
What is a Klein bottle and what is topology?
Does the sum of all the positive integers 1+2+3+... really equal -1/12?
What is the Riemann zeta function, what is the Riemann hypothesis, and why is there a $1M prize to whoever solves this esoteric math problem?
... among many other questions. As examples, the presentation will also include some of the speaker's videos that have been viewed millions of times.
ÁLVARO LOZANO-ROBLEDO is a professor of mathematics at the University of Connecticut.
He received his PhD from Boston University in 2004. After temporary positions at Colby College and Cornell University, Álvaro has worked at UConn since 2008. His research interests are in the area of arithmetic geometry (the crossroads of number theory and algebraic geometry).
He has published two books, "Elliptic Curves, Modular Forms, and their L-Functions", and "Number Theory and Geometry." Álvaro's blog, A Field Guide to Mathematics, contains other short stories and also other pieces of interest to mathematicians.
In his spare time, he shares math on social media (@mathandcobb on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok) with mathematical content and some comedy bits.