Podcasts about american mathematical monthly

Fala Galera!Apertem os cintos e preparem-se para viajar! Neste episódio lotado de história e matemática, os professores Rainha e Amadeo te conduzirão por uma jornada que começa mais de 2.000 anos antes do Teorema de Pitágoras.Nossa expedição começa na Mesopotâmia, a terra dos primeiros escribas e das tabuletas de argila, onde exploraremos quem fazia matemática naquela época e como o sistema sexagesimal moldou os cálculos da antiguidade. Mas a grande estrela desta viagem é a Plimpton 322, um enigma matemático que intriga estudiosos até hoje. Seria ela a primeira tabela trigonométrica da história? Ou apenas um recurso para cálculos administrativos?Entre interpretações e controvérsias, mergulharemos na importância dessa tabuleta e em outras descobertas que revelam o impacto da matemática mesopotâmica. Pegue seu chapéu de explorador e venha com a gente desvendar os mistérios da Plimpton 322!Sejam bem vindos ao maravilhoso mundo da matemática.Participantes: Marcelo Rainha ( Professor UNIRIO) Ronan Fardim (Aluno CEDERJ/UNIRIO - Polo Belford Roxo) Marcello Amadeo (Professor UNIRIO) Juliana (Mestranda UERJ) Igor Munis (Aluno CEDERJ/UNIRIO -Magé)Edição e sonorização: Alessandro Marcatto (Aluno UNIRIO)Dicas culturais:Dica Marcelo: Dr Stone NetflixDica Ron: https://www.youtube.com/@VerveCientificaDica Ju: Gerra civil Prime videoDica Igor: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/galleries/mesopotamia DIca Marcello: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZVs6wF7nC4 Referências: Eleanor Robson; Words and Pictures: NewLight on Plimpton 322; The American Mathematical Monthly, 2002,109,105-120, DOI: 10.1080/00029890.2002.11919845Tatiana Roque; História da matemática: Uma visão crítica desfazendo mitos e lendas, Zahara 1-39,RJEsse podcast faz parte do Programa Jogos & Matemática e é coordenado pelo Professor Marcelo Rainha. Todo material dos jogos desenvolvidos pela equipe JOGOS & MATEMÁTICA está disponível GRATUITAMENTE no nosso site:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.jogosematematica.com.br/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Acompanhem nossas mídias e não percam nenhuma novidade! :) Inscrevam-se no nosso canal do YOUTUBE: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/c/JogosMatemática⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Curtam e sigam nossa página no FACEBOOK:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/jogosematematica⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sigam nosso perfil no INSTAGRAM:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/jogosematematica⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sigam nosso perfil no SPOTIFY: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/65i8uB46F07p4WaTYqkb5Q?si=AtewFx8vRWqWnfHWvt-xKw&nd=1⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Dúvidas, críticas, sugestões, informações? Escrevam para: jogosematematica@gmail.comA EDUCAÇÃO PRECISA DE TODOS NÓS!JUNTOS SOMOS MAIS FORTES!MUITO OBRIGADO A TODOS!

Welcome to Count Me In with Della and Deanna. Today we feature an exciting conversation with Dr. Ranthony Edmonds, an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Mathematics at The Ohio State University. Ranthony earned her undergraduate degrees in mathematics and English from the University of Kentucky, her masters degree in mathematics from Eastern Kentucky university, and her PhD in mathematics from the University of Iowa in 2018. Her broad research interests include commutative ring theory, applied algebraic topology, data science, and math education. After earning her PhD, Ranthony joined the faculty at Ohio State University as a Ross Assistant Professor, she then segued to a Postdoctoral Research position, and, most recently she was awarded an NSF Postroctoral research appointment. She helps lead the “Hidden Figures Revealed” project which explores the black mathematicians who graduated from the Ohio State University. She also currently serves as an Associate Editor at the American Mathematical Monthly. In this vibrant conversation, you will learn about the importance of the environments where we learn mathematics, the challenges of being “the only one” in a particular space, the importance of meetings and conferences, , the value of seeing people who look like you, and the significance of a single moment. Ranthony's love for mathematics and her ongoing commitment to making it available to any one, will inspire and encourage you. So, please join us as we talk with Ranthony.

If you're new in the field, caliche might fool you the first few times you encounter it. This week we talk about what it is, how it forms, and why you should always carry your hammer and chisel! Fun Paper Friday Knuth, Donald E. "The toilet paper problem." The American Mathematical Monthly 91.8 (1984): 465-470. (https://web.archive.org/web/20101122073052id_/http://gi.cebitec.uni-bielefeld.de:80/teaching/2007summer/jclub/papers/toiletPaper.pdf) Contact us: Show Support us on Patreon! (https://www.patreon.com/dontpanicgeo) www.dontpanicgeocast.com (http://www.dontpanicgeocast.com) SWUNG Slack (https://softwareunderground.org) @dontpanicgeo (https://twitter.com/dontpanicgeo) show@dontpanicgeocast.com John Leeman - www.johnrleeman.com (http://www.johnrleeman.com) - @geo_leeman (https://twitter.com/geo_leeman) Shannon Dulin - @ShannonDulin (https://twitter.com/ShannonDulin)

A Teoria dos Jogos tem mais aplicações na prática do que aquelas que podemos imaginar: está subjacente aos leilões de arte mas também aos leilões do peixe ou das flores; está por detrás da colocação de professores em escolas ou de médicos em hospitais. Até a turma onde a sua filha foi colocada na Faculdade é determinada por esta teoria que afinal tem aplicações muito mais concretas do que parece.Joana Pais e Hugo Van Der Ding largam o lado teórico e trocam agora a Teoria dos Jogos por miúdos, fazendo jus ao objectivo do IN PERTINENTE: dar respostas às perguntas de todos e contribuir para uma sociedade mais informada.REFERÊNCIAS E LINKS ÚTEIS:Leilões:Krishna, Vijay. Auction theory. Academic press, 2009. Milgrom, Paul Robert. Putting auction theory to work. Cambridge University Press, 2004 Desenho de mercados em geral:Roth, Alvin E. The economist as engineer: Game theory, experimentation, and computation as tools for design economics." Econometrica 70.4 (2002): 1341-1378.Roth, Alvin E. "What Have We Learned from Market Design?." The Economic Journal 118.527 (2008): 285-310. Scott Duke Kominers, Alexander Teytelboym, and Vincent P. Crawford. An invitation to market design. Oxford Review of Economic Policy Matching theory:Gale, David, and Lloyd S. Shapley. "College admissions and the stability of marriage." The American Mathematical Monthly 69.1 (1962): 9-15. Scientific Background on the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2012: https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2018/06/advanced-economicsciences2012.pdfRoth, Alvin E. "The evolution of the labor market for medical interns and residents: a case study in game theory." The Journal of Political Economy(1984): 991-1016. Alvin Roth, Marilda Sotomayor, Two-sided matching (1990), Cambridge university press (Econometric Society Monograph)Alvin Roth (2015), Who gets what - and why: The new economics of Matchmaking and Market Design, Eamon Dolan / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Michael A. Rees, Ty B. Dunn, Christian S. Kuhr, Christopher L. Marsh, Jeffrey Rogers, Susan E. Rees, Alejandra Cicero, Laurie J. Reece, Alvin E. Roth, Obi Ekwenna, et al. Kidney exchange to overcome financial barriers to kidney transplantation. American Journal of Transplantation, 17:782–790, 2017.BIOSJOANA PAISJoana Pais é professora de Economia no ISEG da Universidade de Lisboa. Obteve o seu Ph.D. em Economia na Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona em 2005. Atualmente é coordenadora do programa de Mestrado em Economia e do programa de Doutoramento em Economia, ambos do ISEG, e membro da direção da unidade de investigação REM - Research in Economics and Mathematics. É ainda coordenadora do XLAB – Behavioural Research Lab, um laboratório que explora a tomada de decisão e o comportamento económico, político e social, suportado pelo consórcio PASSDA (Production and Archive of Social Science Data). Os seus interesses de investigação incluem áreas como a teoria de jogos, em particular, a teoria da afetação (matching theory), o desenho de mercados, a economia comportamental e a economia experimental.HUGO VAN DER DING Hugo van der Ding nasceu nos finais dos anos 70 ao largo do Golfo da Biscaia, durante uma viagem entre Amesterdão e Lisboa, e cresceu numa comunidade hippie nos arredores de Montpellier. Estudou História das Artes Decorativas Orientais, especializando-se em gansos de origami. Em 2012, desistiu da carreira académica para fazer desenhos nas redes sociais. Depois do sucesso de A Criada Malcriada deixou de precisar de trabalhar. Ainda assim, escreve regularmente em revistas e jornais, é autor de alguns livros e podcasts, faz ocasionalmente teatro e televisão, e continua a fazer desenhos nas redes sociais. Desde 2019 é um dos apresentadores do programa Manhãs da 3, na Antena 3.

Today we feature a lively and thought provoking conversation with Dr. Susan Jane Colley, the Andrew and Pauline Delaney Professor of Mathematics at Oberlin College and Editor-in-Chief of the American Mathematical Monthly, the most widely read mathematics journal in the world. Susan grew up in NYC, in Manhattan, and attended a K-12 all-girls school. She earned her undergraduate and Ph.D. degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, otherwise known as MIT, in the Boston area. Her research is in enumerative geometry. She has spent her entire career on the faculty at Oberlin College and in 2017, she became the first woman to serve as editor of the American Mathematical Monthly. I (this is Della speaking) have learned a great deal from her as I prepare to succeed her in this role. This conversation with Susan underscores the ongoing influence of a strong educational beginning, the importance of effective communication, and the value of daily, intentional efforts to recharge and reset. And, if you love cats, especially if you love cats with mathematical names and nicknames, you will really enjoy this conversation. So, please join us as we talk with Susan.

Je mehr man sich mit der Wissenschaft beschäftigt desto mehr fällt auf wie perfekt die Mathematik zur Beschreibung der Natur geeignet zu sein scheint. Sogar abstrakte mathematisch hergeleitete Theoreme lassen sich oft später genau so in der Natur experimentell bestätigen. Ist das zu erwarten? Und warum ist das so? In dieser Folge finden wir Antworten auf diese spannenden Fragen. Literatur: Hamming, R. (1980). The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics. The American Mathematical Monthly, 87(2), 81-90. doi:10.2307/2321982

Show Notes This week, we review and analyze Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ (機動戦士ガンダムΖΖ) episode 9 - “Judau in Space” (宇宙のジュドー) - discuss our first impressions, and provide commentary and research on home electronics in the 1980s, namely the Sony Walkman and the pocket calculator. - Wikipedia page for Sony Walkman. - Sony corporate website company-history pages about the Walkman and a timeline of personal audio products. - Mashable article about the “retirement” of the Sony Walkman in 2010. - A book on the Sony Walkman from a cultural studies perspective: Gay, Paul Du, et al. Doing Cultural Studies: The Story of the Sony Walkman. Sage, 1997. Accessed here. - Brief histories of the Sony Walkman from IEEE Spectrum (an engineering and applied sciences magazine), The Verge, and Time. - How the Walkman evolved from the Pressman (with pictures). - Article from nippon.com about the Walkman, on the 40th anniversary of its release. - Wikipedia page for calculators. - Paper on the history of the hand-held electronic calculator: Hamrick, Kathy B. “The History of the Hand-Held Electronic Calculator.” The American Mathematical Monthly, vol. 103, no. 8, 1996, pp. 633–639. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2974875. Accessed 14 Sept. 2020. Mobile Suit Breakdown is written, recorded, and produced within Lenapehoking, the ancestral and unceded homeland of the Lenape, or Delaware, people. Before European settlers forced them to move west, the Lenape lived in New York City, New Jersey, and portions of New York State, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Connecticut. Lenapehoking is still the homeland of the Lenape diaspora, which includes communities living in Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and Ontario. You can learn more about Lenapehoking, the Lenape people, and ongoing efforts to honor the relationship between the land and indigenous peoples by visiting the websites of the Delaware Tribe and the Manhattan-based Lenape Center. Listeners in the Americas and Oceania can learn more about the indigenous people of your area at https://native-land.ca/. We would like to thank The Lenape Center for guiding us in creating this living land acknowledgment. You can subscribe to Mobile Suit Breakdown for free! on fine Podcast services everywhere and on YouTube, visit our website GundamPodcast.com, follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or email your questions, comments, and complaints to gundampodcast@gmail.com. Mobile Suit Breakdown wouldn't exist without the support of our fans and Patrons! You can join our Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus episodes, extra out-takes, behind-the-scenes photos and video, MSB gear, and much more! The intro music is WASP by Misha Dioxin, and the outro is Long Way Home by Spinning Ratio, both licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 licenses. The recap music for Season 3 is New York City (instrumental) by spinningmerkaba, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.. All music used in the podcast has been edited to fit the text. Mobile Suit Breakdown provides critical commentary and is protected by the Fair Use clause of the United States Copyright law. Gundam content is copyright and/or trademark of Sunrise Inc., Bandai, Sotsu Agency, or its original creator. Mobile Suit Breakdown is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu, or any of their subsidiaries, employees, or associates and makes no claim to own Gundam or any of the copyrights or trademarks related to it. Copyrighted content used in Mobile Suit Breakdown is used in accordance with the Fair Use clause of the United States Copyright law. Any queries should be directed to gundampodcast@gmail.com Find out more at http://gundampodcast.com

The strange loop phenomenon occurs whenever by moving upwards or downwards through the levels of some hierarchical system, we unexpectedly find ourselves right back where we started. Godel Escher Bach is one of the most complex books Neil and I have ever read. It will have you thinking about minds, intelligence, AI, and reality in an entirely new way. It weaves together insights from music, art, mathematics, ant colonies, Lewis Carroll stories, and more unexpected places into a new understanding of how our minds work and how we might program computers to emulate them. You don’t want to miss it. We covered a wide range of topics, including: What strange loops are and their presence in reality Unique perspectives on the strange loops of the mind, intelligence, and artificial intelligence The possibility of living in a simulation Defining intelligence and artificial intelligence Collective consciousness systems How art, music, and math relate with these strange loops Extra-sensory perception And much more. Please enjoy, and be sure to grab a copy of Godel Escher Bach and to check out Nat’s notes on the book! If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to check out our episode on The Way of Zen by Alan Watts, to learn about Zen Buddhism and improving your life with it, and our episode on Letters from a Stoic by Seneca, to learn ancient wisdom for a better life. Mentioned in the show: E-Mu systems [4:03] Principia Mathematica [4:58] Constant of recursion [5:50] Pulitzer Prize [7:35] American Mathematical Monthly [7:59] Godel Incompleteness Theorem [9:36] M.C. Escher paintings [15:15] The Never Ending Staircase [15:25] Inception movie [15:42] Man in an art gallery white space painting [16:20] Hands drawing hands [16:30] Turing test [39:06] Microsoft Twitter AI experiment [40:00] GoAI [41:03] Deep Blue program [42:03] Jung’s collective consciousness [58:18] Epimenides Paradox [1:09:24] Books mentioned: Godel, Escher, Bach (Nat’s Notes) Nick Bostrom’s Superintelligence [2:08] The Way of Zen [3:15] (Nat’s Notes) (Neil’s Notes) (MYT episode) Atlas Shrugged [7:30] In Praise of Idleness [9:49] (Nat’s Notes) (MYT episode) Sapiens [51:14] (Nat’s Notes) The Power of Habit [54:16] (Nat’s Notes) Antifragile [55:00] (Nat’s Notes) (MYT episode) The Red Book [59:16] The Power of Myth [1:00:28] (Nat’s Notes) (MYT episode) Emergency [1:02:26] (Nat’s Notes) (MYT episode) Amusing Ourselves to Death [1:16:58] (Nat’s Notes) (MYT episode) People mentioned: Douglas Hofstadter Godel Escher Bach Elon Musk [2:05] Nick Bostrom [2:08] Lewis Carroll [6:06] Jeremy Bernstein [8:09] Bertrand Russell [9:49] Leonhard Euler [10:55] Isaac Newton [10:56] Charles Duhigg [54:16] Carl Jung [58:18] Dr. Jordan Peterson [59:54] Alan Turing [1:02:35] 0:00 - Introductory quote from the book, some information on the book, and some connections that the book makes. 3:24 - Some thoughts on the book, the logic and mathematics in the book, how it is constructed, and the exercises in the book. 7:49 - A couple of the quotes found on the back of the book and an in-depth discussion about the first section on Godel’s incompleteness theorem. Also, discussion on the strange loops with this theorem. 14:09 - The strange loop idea on making decisions, the incompleteness of all systems, and the strange loop from Escher with the never-ending staircase. Also, some other examples by Escher regarding loops. 18:18 - What defines an incomplete system, an example of this, paradoxes, and the multiple layers that define things. 20:19 - The strange loops within our own consciousness and relating these to death. Also, thoughts on the extreme complexity of the world.   22:28 - Discussion about creating artificial intelligence and how strange loops relate to that. Some discussion on a collective intelligence and some thoughts on us being a part of a collective intelligence, as well. 25:40 - Some examples of us being a collective system, like ant colonies or cells. Also, thoughts on our memory, data storage, and how it relates to constructing intelligence and consciousness. 30:25 - The idea of what intelligence exactly is, evolutionary pressures, and thoughts on whether technology will ever be able to experience emotion and gratitude. Some discussion on intelligence versus consciousness, as well. 33:20 - Thoughts on artificial intelligence and programming in intelligence and emotion into these artificial intelligence systems. 35:02 - How the book is more about a series of essays on these various topics, and how the author is just presenting his ideas and concepts for people to discuss. 35:39 - A quote from the book on recognizing another intelligence and the limiting perspective we each have. How we can never exactly know what another thing is experiencing or thinking. 37:22 - Thoughts on us living in a simulation and how we may never know since we cannot step out of the system and observe it as a third-party. 39:06 - Thoughts on the Turing test and it relating to intelligence in technology. Also, whether conversation and chess can be a suitable measure of intelligence, and thoughts on artificial intelligence beating us at certain things. 43:13 - How the Deep Blue program works and how excellent chess players don’t even see bad moves, they just know. Thoughts on intuition and intuition in artificial intelligence. 45:31 - Thinking computers and processing power, and lower level processes. Also, what core lessons can be learned from this book and some more thoughts on the simulation theory. 49:15 - Discussion on the sense of self, the evolution of artificial intelligence, the huge power of the internet, and how we’ve domesticated wheat. 53:27 - More thoughts on the collective consciousness and the correlation between termite mounds and us. Also, how many structures may exist that we can’t perceive due to not having the ability to, similar to termites and ants with their structures. 57:21 - How just creating the binary system isn’t enough due to cause intelligence and the strange loops with this. Also, the collective symbols that exist between one another and thoughts on these exist. 1:00:27 - How our fears may affect what mythological stories stick and persist. 1:02:32 - Alan Turing and extra-sensory perception, and thoughts on ESP being real. 1:06:10 - The strange loop of questioning our own sanity and how questioning our sanity creates this tighter and tighter vortex of uncertainty. Also, this relating to questioning living in a simulation. Thoughts on solipsism, as well. 1:09:09 - The necessity of strange loops and if a system is self-referential, it has strange loops. The Epimenides paradox and self-referential paradoxes. Also, discussion on our symbol pattern recognizing system. 1:15:15 - Stoicism’s perspective on thinking about death versus Zen Buddhism’s perspective on thinking about death. 1:16:30 - Wrap-up and some closing thoughts on the book. If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe at https://madeyouthinkpodcast.com

Mathematician Paul Erdős had no home, no job, and no hobbies. Instead, for 60 years he wandered the world, staying with each of hundreds of collaborators just long enough to finish a project, and then moving on. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll meet the "magician of Budapest," whose restless brilliance made him the most prolific mathematician of the 20th century. We'll also ponder Japanese cannibalism in World War II and puzzle over a senseless stabbing. Intro: Elbert Hubbard published 12 blank pages in 1905. A duck spent 18 months in the U.S. 2nd Marine Division in 1943. Sources for our feature on Paul Erdős: Paul Hoffman, The Man Who Loved Only Numbers, 1999. The magisterial biography of Erdős. The first chapter is here. Bruce Schechter, My Brain Is Open, 2000. Béla Bollobás, "Paul Erdős (1913-96)," Nature, 383:6601 (Oct. 17, 1996), 584. Melvin Henriksen, "Reminiscences of Paul Erdős," Mathematical Association of America (accessed June 10, 2017). László Babai, Carl Pomerance, and Péter Vértesi, "The Mathematics of Paul Erdős," Notices of the AMS 45:1 (January 1998). László Babai and Joel Spencer, "Paul Erdős (1913–1996)," Notices of the AMS 45:1 (January 1998). Ronald L. Graham, Jaroslav Nesetril, Steve Butler, eds., The Mathematics of Paul Erdős, 2013. Rodrigo De Castro and Jerrold W. Grossman, "Famous Trails to Paul Erdős," Mathematical Intelligencer 21:3 (January 1999), 51–53. Bruce Torrence and Ron Graham, "The 100th Birthday of Paul Erdős/Remembering Erdős," Math Horizons 20:4 (April 2013), 10-12. Krishnaswami Alladi et al., "Reflections on Paul Erdős on His Birth Centenary," Parts I and II, Notices of the American Mathematical Society 62:2 and 62:3 (February and March 2015). Béla Bollobás, "To Prove and Conjecture: Paul Erdős and His Mathematics," American Mathematical Monthly 105:3 (March 1998), 209-237. "Information About Paul Erdős (1913-1996)," Oakland University (accessed June 13, 2017). Calla Cofield, "An Arbitrary Number of Years Since Mathematician Paul Erdős's Birth," Scientific American, March 26, 2013. Béla Bollobás, "Obituary: Paul Erdős," Independent, Oct. 2, 1996. N Is a Number: A Portrait of Paul Erdős, Kanopy Streaming, 2014. "Paul Erdős," MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive (accessed June 10, 2017). Above: Erdős teaching 10-year-old Terence Tao in 1985. Tao is now recognized as one of the world's finest mathematicians; he received the Fields Medal in 2006. Listener mail: Wikipedia, "Chichijima Incident" (accessed June 23, 2017). Charles Laurence, "George HW Bush Narrowly Escaped Comrades' Fate of Being Killed and Eaten by Japanese Captors," Telegraph, Feb. 6, 2017. James Bradley, Flyboys, 2003. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Waldo van der Waal, who sent this corroborating link (warning -- this spoils the puzzle). You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on iTunes or Google Play Music or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website or buy merchandise in our store. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

In 1913, English mathematician G.H. Hardy received a package from an unknown accounting clerk in India, with nine pages of mathematical results that he found "scarcely possible to believe." In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast, we'll follow the unlikely friendship that sprang up between Hardy and Srinivasa Ramanujan, whom Hardy called "the most romantic figure in the recent history of mathematics." We'll also probe Carson McCullers' heart and puzzle over a well-proportioned amputee. Intro: W.H. Hill's signature was unchanged when inverted. Room 308 of West Java's Samudra Beach Hotel is reserved for the Indonesian goddess Nyai Loro Kidul. Sources for our feature on Srinivasa Ramanujan: Robert Kanigel, The Man Who Knew Infinity, 1991. K. Srinivasa Rao, Srinivasa Ramanujan: A Mathematical Genius, 1998. S.R. Ranganathan, Ramanujan: The Man and the Mathematician, 1967. Bruce C. Berndt and Robert A. Rankin, Ramanujan: Letters and Commentary, 1991. G.H. Hardy, "The Indian Mathematician Ramanujan," American Mathematical Monthly 44:3 (March 1937), 137-155. Gina Kolata, "Remembering a 'Magical Genius,'" Science 236:4808 (June 19, 1987), 1519-1521. E.H. Neville, "Srinivasa Ramanujan," Nature 149:3776 (March 1942), 293. Bruce C. Berndt, "Srinivasa Ramanujan," American Scholar 58:2 (Spring 1989), 234-244. B.M. Srikantia, "Srinivasa Ramanujan," American Mathematical Monthly 35:5 (May 1928), 241-245. S.G. Gindikin, "Ramanujan the Phenomenon," Quantum 8:4 (March/April 1998), 4-9. "Srinivasa Ramanujan" in Timothy Gowers, June Barrow-Green, and Imre Leader, eds., Princeton Companion to Mathematics, 2010. "Srinivasa Aiyangar Ramanujan," MacTutor History of Mathematics (accessed Jan. 22, 2017). In the photo above, Ramanujan is at center and Hardy is at far right. Listener mail: "Myth Debunked: Audrey Hepburn Did Not Work for the Resistance" [in Dutch], Dutch Broadcast Foundation, Nov. 17, 2016. "Audrey Hepburn's Son Remembers Her Life," Larry King Live, CNN, Dec. 24, 2003. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Tyler Rousseau. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on iTunes or Google Play Music or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation on the Support Us page of the Futility Closet website. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!

In 1897, confused physician Edward J. Goodwin submitted a bill to the Indiana General Assembly declaring that he'd squared the circle -- a mathematical feat that was known to be impossible. In today's show we'll examine the Indiana pi bill, its colorful and eccentric sponsor, and its celebrated course through a bewildered legislature and into mathematical history. We'll also marvel at the confusion wrought by turkeys and puzzle over a perplexing baseball game. Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support. You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website. Sources for our feature on the Indiana pi bill: Edward J. Goodwin, "Quadrature of the Circle," American Mathematical Monthly 1:7 (July 1894), 246–248. Text of the bill. Underwood Dudley, "Legislating Pi," Math Horizons 6:3 (February 1999), 10-13. Will E. Edington, “House Bill No. 246, Indiana State Legislature, 1897,” Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science 45, 206-210. Arthur E. Hallerberg, "House Bill No. 246 Revisited," Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science 84 (1974), 374–399. Arthur E. Hallerberg, "Indiana's Squared Circle," Mathematics Magazine 50:3 (May 1977), 136–140. David Singmaster, "The Legal Values of Pi," Mathematical Intelligencer 7:2 (1985), 69–72. Listener mail: Zach Goldhammer, "Why Americans Call Turkey 'Turkey,'" Atlantic, Nov. 26, 2014. Dan Jurafsky, "Turkey," The Language of Food, Nov. 23, 2010 (accessed April 21, 2016). Accidental acrostics from Julian Bravo: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn:STASIS starts at line 7261 (“Says I to myself” in Chapter XXVI). Frankenstein:CASSIA starts at line 443 (“Certainly; it would indeed be very impertinent” in Letter 4).MIGHTY starts at line 7089 (“Margaret, what comment can I make” in Chapter 24). Moby Dick:BAIT starts at line 12904 (“But as you come nearer to this great head” in Chapter 75). (Note that this includes a footnote.) The raw output of Julian's program is here; he warns that it may contain some false positives. At the paragraph level (that is, the initial letters of successive paragraphs), Daniel Dunn found these acrostics (numbers refer to paragraphs): The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: SEMEMES (1110) Emma: INHIBIT (2337) King James Bible: TAIWAN (12186) Huckleberry Finn: STASIS (1477) Critique of Pure Reason: SWIFTS (863) Anna Karenina: TWIST (3355) At the word level (the initial letters of successive words), Daniel found these (numbers refer to the position in a book's overall word count -- I've included links to the two I mentioned on the show): Les Miserables: DASHPOTS (454934) Critique of Pure Reason: TRADITOR (103485) The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: ISATINES (373818) Through the Looking Glass: ASTASIAS (3736) War and Peace: PIRANHAS (507464) (Book Fifteen, Chapter 1, paragraph 19: "'... put it right.' And now he again seemed ...") King James Bible: MOHAMAD (747496) (Galatians 6:11b-12a, "... mine own hand. As many as desire ...") The Great Gatsby: ISLAMIC (5712) Huckleberry Finn: ALFALFA (62782) Little Women: CATFISH (20624) From Vadas Gintautas: Here is the complete list of accidental acrostics of English words of 8 letters or more, found by taking the first letter in successive paragraphs: TABITHAS in George Sand: Some Aspects of Her Life and Writings by René Doumic BASSISTS in The Pilot and his Wife by Jonas Lie ATACAMAS in Minor Poems of Michael Drayton MAINTAIN in The Stamps of Canada by Bertram W.H. Poole BATHMATS in Fifty Years of Public Service by Shelby M. Cullom ASSESSES in An Alphabetical List of Books Contained in Bohn's Libraries LATTICES in History of the Buccaneers of America by James Burney ASSESSES in Old English Chronicles by J. A. Giles BASSISTS in Tales from the X-bar Horse Camp: The Blue-Roan "Outlaw" and Other Stories by Barnes CATACOMB in Cyrano De Bergerac PONTIANAK in English Economic History: Select Documents by Brown, Tawney, and Bland STATIONS in Haunted Places in England by Elliott O'Donnell TRISTANS in Revolutionary Reader by Sophie Lee Foster ALLIANCE in Latter-Day Sweethearts by Mrs. Burton Harrison TAHITIAN in Lothair by Benjamin Disraeli Vadas' full list of accidental acrostics in the King James Bible (first letter of each verse) for words of at least five letters: ASAMA in The Second Book of the Kings 16:21TRAIL in The Book of Psalms 80:13AMATI in The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel 3:9STABS in The Acts of the Apostles 23:18ATTAR in The Book of Nehemiah 13:10FLOSS in The Gospel According to Saint Luke 14:28SANTA in The First Book of the Chronicles 16:37WATTS in Hosea 7:13BAATH in The Acts of the Apostles 15:38ASSAM in The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel 12:8CHAFF in The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans 4:9FIFTH in The Book of Psalms 61:3SAABS in The Third Book of the Kings 12:19SATAN in The Book of Esther 8:14TANGS in Zephaniah 1:15STOAT in The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah 16:20IGLOO in The Proverbs 31:4TEETH in Hosea 11:11RAILS in The Book of Psalms 80:14STATS in The First Book of the Kings 26:7HALON in The Fourth Book of the Kings 19:12TATTY in The Gospel According to Saint John 7:30DIANA in The Second Book of the Kings 5:4ABAFT in The Third Book of Moses: Called Leviticus 25:39BAHIA in The Book of Daniel 7:26TRAILS in The Book of Psalms 80:13FIFTHS in The Book of Psalms 61:3BATAAN in The First Book of Moses: Called Genesis 25:6DIANAS in The Second Book of the Kings 5:4BATAANS in The Second Book of the Chronicles 26:16 Vadas' full list of accidental acrostics (words of at least eight letters) found by text-wrapping the Project Gutenberg top 100 books (for the last 30 days) to line lengths from 40 to 95 characters (line length / word found): Ulysses58 / SCOFFLAW Great Expectations75 / HIGHTAIL Dracula58 / PONTIACS Emma52 / BRAINWASH War and Peace43 / MISCASTS The Romance of Lust: A Classic Victorian Erotic Novel by Anonymous42 / FEEBLEST77 / PARAPETS Steam, Its Generation and Use by Babcock & Wilcox Company52 / PRACTISE The Count of Monte Cristo46 / PLUTARCH The Republic57 / STEPSONS A Study in Scarlet61 / SHORTISH The Essays of Montaigne73 / DISTANCE Crime and Punishment49 / THORACES Complete Works--William Shakespeare42 / HATCHWAY58 / RESTARTS91 / SHEPPARD The Time Machine59 / ATHLETIC Democracy in America, VI89 / TEARIEST The King James Bible41 / ATTACKING56 / STATUSES61 / CATBOATS69 / ASTRAKHAN85 / SARATOVS Anna Karenina46 / TSITSIHAR74 / TRAILING David Copperfield48 / COMPACTS58 / SABBATHS Le Morte d'Arthur, Volume I55 / KAWABATA Vadas also points out that there's a body of academic work addressing acrostics in Milton's writings. For example, in Book 3 of Paradise Lost Satan sits among the stars looking "down with wonder" at the world: Such wonder seis'd, though after Heaven seen,The Spirit maligne, but much more envy seis'dAt sight of all this World beheld so faire.Round he surveys, and well might, where he stoodSo high above the circling CanopieOf Nights extended shade ... The initial letters of successive lines spell out STARS. Whether that's deliberate is a matter of some interesting debate. Two further articles: Mark Vaughn, "More Than Meets the Eye: Milton's Acrostics in Paradise Lost," Milton Quarterly 16:1 (March 1982), 6–8. Jane Partner, "Satanic Vision and Acrostics in Paradise Lost," Essays in Criticism 57:2 (April 2007), 129-146. And listener Charles Hargrove reminds us of a telling acrostic in California's recent political history. This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Lawrence Miller, based on a Car Talk Puzzler credited to Willie Myers. You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset. Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode. If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!