The Talks at Google podcast - where great minds meet. Talks at Google brings the world’s most influential thinkers, creators, makers, and doers all to one place. Every episode is taken from a video that can be seen at YouTube.com/TalksAtGoogle. DISCLAIMER: The views or opinions expressed by the guest speakers are solely their own and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Google, Inc. The comments on this channel belong only to the person who posted them. We do, however, reserve the right to remove off-topic or inappropriate comments. Also, the materials presented in the episodes are licensed to Google by the speaker(s). Google does not endorse any products or technology presented by the guest speakers.
http://talksatgoogle.libsyn.com/
episode 402: Ep402 - Eugenia Cheng | Is Math Real?
Mathematician and author Eugenia Cheng visits Google to discuss her book “Is Math Real?: How Simple Questions Lead Us to Mathematics’ Deepest Truths.” The book aims to liberate math from its shackles to show how human curiosity, creativity, rule-breaking and seemingly silly questions can point us to some of mathematics’ most profound answers.
Where do we learn math: From rules in a textbook? From logic and deduction? Not really, according to mathematician Eugenia Cheng: we learn it from human curiosity—most importantly, from asking questions. This may come as a surprise to those who think that math is about finding the one right answer, or those who were told that the “dumb” question they asked just proved they were bad at math. But Cheng shows why people who ask questions like “Why does 1 + 1 = 2?” are at the very heart of the search for mathematical truth.
“Is Math Real?” is a much-needed repudiation of the rigid ways we’re taught to do math, and a celebration of the true, curious spirit of the discipline. Written with intelligence and passion, “Is Math Real?” brings us math as we’ve never seen it before, revealing how profound insights can emerge from seemingly unlikely sources.
Visit http://youtube.com/TalksAtGoogle/ to watch the video.