The official podcast version of Mura Yakerson's YouTube channel Math-Life Balance. What Mura has to say about the content:
"In this [podcast] I post my non-pro...
Interview with Jeremiah Heller and Vesna Stojanoska
In this interview, Jeremiah Heller and Vesna Stojanoska share their experience of combining math and family life, discuss their ways to get over occasional demotivation in research and speak about social aspects of research. Jokes included!
Jeremiah's homepage: https://faculty.math.illinois.edu/~jbheller/
Vesna's homepage: https://faculty.math.illinois.edu/~vesna/
Mike Hopkins’ talk at Paul Goerss’ birthday conference: youtu.be/Ix4pg87LKVk
Chapters:
0:00 teaser
0:34 their family and other animals
4:04 kids’ curiosity about math
8:30 wishes for kids’ future
11:04 existential chat about adulthood
13:51 research & relationship
16:13 finding friends outside math bubble
19:26 two-body problem
21:59 math talks as storytelling
27:01 approaches to doing math
31:02 getting over demotivation in research
35:23 mathematics is a social endeavour
37:12 jobmarket pressure
43:24 having kids & academia
47:18 solid advice
--------
49:03
Interview with Dhruv Ranganathan
Dhruv Ranganathan is a lecturer at Cambridge University, working in algebraic geometry. In this video, Dhruv talks about doing research with undergrads, being tortured by math problems, looking for friends to write math papers, and other cool stuff!
Dhruv's webpage: https://www.dhruvrnathan.net
Photo: from the webpage
0:00 teaser
0:41 from cricket to air planes
2:16 adventure novels childhood
4:46 what do algebraic geometers do
8:39 experience of undergrad research
12:30 how undergrad research really works
15:35 “now I’m a believer”(c)
18:25 why so much pressure in doing math
21:09 how we create pressure for young people
23:44 doing math as a coping mechanism
27:00 math torture vs intense cartoon watching
28:50 speakers love getting any math questions
30:54 math for extroverts
34:25 teaching students who leave academia
37:33 don’t beat yourself up for math mistakes
39:39 how we try and fail to improve inclusivity
43:44 don’t put people from minorities on every committee
45:45 the advice that’s too hard to follow
48:35 fireplace
--------
48:56
Interview with Kevin Buzzard
Kevin Buzzard is a professor in Imperial College London working in number theory and formal proof verification. In this interview, Kevin shares his views on the role of computers in doing math, tells about his experience of upbringing 3 kids as a researcher and raises questions about the way we approach math education. Lots of glorious laughter and unforgettable facial expressions are included!
Kevin's homepage: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/k.buzzard
Channel podcast: https://anchor.fm/math-life-balance
Chapters:
0:00 teaser
0:48 Kevin’s t-shirt
3:06 imagination in math
5:36 computers vs humans
10:43 computers and infinity
12:35 math as a zen puzzle
15:19 role of fashion in math
20:06 mathematicians detecting mistakes
24:41 imperfections in our math
29:14 when the dust settles
31:56 not caring what people think
36:01 how to entertain kids in the subway
40:26 babies as the way to understand humanity
42:52 doing math when you have 3 kids
46:09 writing papers with non-mathematicians
48:54 why kids are forced to memorize math?
53:29 doing exams vs learning math
57:16 unusual advice for students
59:15 the answer to the ultimate question
--------
1:01:33
Interview with Maria Chudnovsky
Maria Chudnovsky is a professor at Princeton University, working in graph theory and combinatorics. In this interview, Maria shares her personal experiences: learning Hebrew from math lessons, giving a talk at NASA, using math at her own wedding, and many more!
Maria's homepage: http://web.math.princeton.edu/~mchudnov/
Photo: from Maria's homepage
The essay we mentioned:
W.T. Gowers "The two cultures of mathematics"
https://www.dpmms.cam.ac.uk/~wtg10/2cultures.pdf
0:00 teaser
0:29 respect for math at home
2:43 math helps when you don’t speak the local language
6:42 building a world around a research problem
11:37 explaining math to a broad audience
16:00 giving a talk at NASA
19:42 applying graph theory to your wedding
23:16 problem solving vs learning
27:58 being bad at math olympiads
30:40 working with your own students
33:23 experience of doing a PhD
36:02 memorizing math
37:55 studying physics vs math
43:43 maintaining a work-life balance
49:08 everyone has self-doubts
50:54 first time teaching a class
55:46 final advice
--------
56:23
Interview with Tomer Schlank
Tomer Schlank is a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, working in homotopy theory and arithmetic geometry. In this interview, Tomer shares his experience of advising a big group of students, speaks about the importance of embracing the struggle, and explains how to get unstuck in a math problem.
Tomer's homepage: https://mathematics.huji.ac.il/people/tomer-schlank
Photo: from Tomer's homepage
0:00 teaser
0:31 astronaut’s dreams
4:06 enjoying the struggle
8:27 top-down thinking
11:35 seminar with physicists
14:52 math dream with Vesna Stojanoska
19:24 taking breaks in projects
22:32 advising 11 students
26:47 doing math & drinking arak
31:14 being stuck is good for you
34:49 how to get unstuck
38:08 don’t worry about talent
42:33 why people hate math
45:36 run towards the problem
48:25 don’t look down on other parts of math
51:43 final advice
The official podcast version of Mura Yakerson's YouTube channel Math-Life Balance. What Mura has to say about the content:
"In this [podcast] I post my non-professional interviews with professional mathematicians. I ask my colleagues about their personal experience in math, their struggles and lifehacks. I hope that this shared experience would be helpful for other people in the math community, especially for young mathematicians!"
Interviews are posted weekly during the weekends.