Mathematics and Culture in Europe

This volume has its origin in the activities performed in Bologna in 2004, within the framework of the European project Mathematics in Europe. This offered a general audience the opportunity to attend agreeable performances and, at the same time, to hear something about the prime numbers, the theory of Galois, or simply about the relationship between science, mathematics and power at Napoleon's times. The result is a truly interdisciplinary volume of general interest on mathematical culture, education, media, cinema and theatre showing the strong links between mathematics and culture. Discover something about the prime numbers, the theory of Galois, or simply about the relationship between science, mathematics and power at Napoleon's times. Thanks to the DVD one can relive various events through the voices and the images of the participants.

a truly interdisciplinary volume of general interest on mathematical culture, education, media, cinema and theatre showing the strong links between mathematics and culture intended for mathematicians and for a more general audience, for teachers and for researchers, for students in a large variety of topics Shows how mathematics can be a vibrant and intriguing cultural subject Deals with many films and plays having mathematical settings or themes. Several contributions on popular films such as "A Beautiful Mind", "The Bank", "Moebius", "Cube", "The Mirror Has Two Faces", "Enigma" etc. Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Autorentext

Mirella Manaresi is professor of geometry at the Department of Mathematics of the University of Bologna. Her main research field is algebraic geometry, but, since some years, she is also involved in activities to promote the interest for mathematics of the general public.

She was editor, with M. Emmer, of the volume Mathematics, art, technology, cinema (Springer Italia, 2002 and Springer 2003, respectively in the Italian and in the extended English edition), and between 2002 and 2005 she has been responsible for a European project, from which this volume takes origin.

Inhalt
Mathematical culture, education and media.- Are European students sufficiently prepared in mathematics? Questionnaire results.- Statistical methods for measuring competencies: analysis of mathematical preparation of freshmen.- Mathematics and media: tools, expectations, results.- The Trouble with Mathematics in the UK.- Metamorph from Escher to virtual architecture.- Two examples of unbounded and compact triply extended spaces.- Bringing light to a dark Universe.- Mathematics and cartoons.- Painters, Murderers, Mathematicians.- Lucio Saffaro, artist of geometry.- The mathematical logic of narrative.- Mathematics and Cinema.- A Beautiful Mind.- A recurrent eponym: Nash and game theory.- The Bank.- The Bank: Mathematics, Economics and Social Responsibility for the new millennium.- Moebius.- Moebius: a film and an invitation to topology.- Cube.- Cube: an opportunity to talk about prime numbers.- The Mirror Has Two Faces.- Funny mathematics?.- Enigma.- Fermat's Last Theorem.- A few reflections on Fermat's Last Theorem.- No More Time.- Mathematics and Theatre.- The Logic of Theater.- Napoleon Magical Emperor.- Regarding Napoleon Magical Emperor.- Napoleon, mathematics and the École Polytechnique.- Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture.- Uncle Petros between science, literature and the theatre.- Some famous problems in the History of Number Theory.- Proof.- Proof: Mathematics and New Dramaturgy.- Mathematics and the American Theater Tradition.- A mathematician reads Proof.- Galois.- Évariste Galois, a Tragic Romantic Hero.- Évariste Galois.- Arcadia.- Even in Arcadia sex, literature and? mathematics.- Wilde in Arcadia.- Father Saccheri: a mathematician on stage.- Is mathematics theatrical?.