Volumes, the MoMath book club
Love mathematics and books? Looking for a stimulating and fun discussion? Volumes, the MoMath book club, is just the thing for you. This reading group is designed especially for those interested in mathematics and science and how they affect our lives. No prior math or science background is necessary.
Next Up
A discussion of
The Proof Stage:
How Theater Reveals the Human Truth of Mathematics
With the author Stephen Abbott
Hosted by Ingrid Daubechies
Thursday, May 9
6:30 pm to 7:30 pm ET
(online)
Join MoMath's Distinguished Visiting Professor Ingrid Daubechies as she welcomes Stephen Abbott for an engaging conversation about his book, The Proof Stage: How Theater Reveals the Human Truth of Mathematics.
Beginning in the last century, a handful of adventurous playwrights took inspiration from the fractures of modern mathematics to expand their own artistic boundaries. Originating in the early avant-garde, math-infused theater reached a popular apex in Tom Stoppard’s 1993 play, Arcadia. The Proof Stage explores this unlikely collaboration of theater and mathematics and probes the impact of mathematics on such influential writers as Alfred Jarry, Samuel Beckett, Bertolt Brecht, and Stoppard. It delves also into the lives and achievements of mathematicians, such as Alan Turing. The result is an unexpected story about the mutually illuminating relationship between proofs and plays — from Euclid and Euripides, to Gödel and Godot.
Joining the book club discussion will be the author of The Proof Stage, Stephen Abbott. In addition to being a professor of math at Middlebury College, where he has taught for 30 years, Stephen is the author of the widely used textbook, Understanding Analysis and its Connections to Secondary Mathematics Teaching. Stephen also serves as the theater events chair for the Bridges Organization, a professional association dedicated to exploring the intersection of mathematics and art.
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Volumes in June
A discussion of
The Symmetries of Things
by John H. Conway, Heidi Burgiel, and Chaim Goodman-Strauss
With the co-author Chaim Goodman-Strauss
Hosted by Ingrid Daubechies
Tuesday, June 11
6:30 pm to 7:30 pm ET
(online)
Join MoMath's Distinguished Visiting Professor Ingrid Daubechies as she welcomes Chaim Goodman-Strauss for an engaging conversation about the book he co-authored with John H. Conway and Heidi Burgiel, The Symmetries of Things.
A fundamental phenomenon in art, science, and nature, symmetry has been captured, described, and analyzed for a long time using mathematical concepts. Start with a single shape, repeat it in some way — shift it or slide it, reflect it, rotate it around a point — and you have created symmetry!  The Symmetries of Things is a book on mathematical symmetry and the symmetries of geometric objects, aimed at audiences of multiple levels and written over the course of many years. It provides ways to describe and categorize different types of symmetries, and its rich and compelling illustrations inspire readers of all mathematical backgrounds to fall in love with the beauty and applications of symmetry!
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Volumes in July
A discussion of
The Warped Side of Our Universe:
An Odyssey through Black Holes, Wormholes, Time Travel, and Gravitational Waves
With the the authors Kip Thorne
and Lia Halloran
Hosted by Ingrid Daubechies
Monday, July 15
6:30 pm to 7:30 pm ET
(online)
Join MoMath's Distinguished Visiting Professor Ingrid Daubechies as she welcomes authors Kip Thorne and Lia Halloran for an engaging conversation about their book, The Warped Side of Our Universe: An Odyssey through Black Holes, Wormholes, Time Travel, and Gravitational Waves.
Nearly two decades in the making, The Warped Side of Our Universe marks the historic collaboration of Nobel Laureate Kip Thorne and award-winning artist Lia Halloran. Through epic poetry and painted illustrations, this fascinating book brings to vivid life the wonders and wildness of our universe’s "warped side" — objects and phenomena made from warped space and time. Relish in the beauty of mathematics translated through art as the authors shed light on time travel, black holes, gravitational waves, and the birth of the universe.
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Looking for the MoMath book club designed specially for tweens and teens (ages 10–17)? Check out tweenprimes.momath.org!
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Searching for in a reading list designed especially for those interested in mathematics and science? Check out prior Volumes selections!