Q&A: How to Think Like a Mathematician - with Eugenia Cheng

[@Saka_Mulia]

Faith in humanity restored! Amazing lecture & thoughtful questions!

[@technopoptart]

i adore math so much even though i get super confused and lost with numbers themselves so this was a lovely lecture

[@temporarythoughts]

This is such a pleasure to watch. Eugenia is an incredible thinker and a breath of fresh air when you come to this video from a general day to day world (provides your not working in sciences).

[@akshaysingh5469]

She is just amazing.... Inspiring... Lots of love from india

[@SuviTuuliAllan]

Category theory is awesome. I've been trying to study it and other parts of maths (at home, on my own) but it's been difficult with depression and chronic illness and whatnot. But my brain really loves connections and stuff. I always wanted to become a software engineer, game developer, or maybe a physicist, but idk. I'll probably never have a job or anything and am okay with that. Not a big fan of capitalism anyway. I just want to do something meaningful, something I love, and help people. Not really sure what that is or how I could possibly help people unless I get better. Meh. It is what it is. One day at a time.

[@adhimta3306]

yes one thing at a time

[@timmarrell5364]

I hope one day your health issues will be resolved. You sound like an intelligent individual with lots of interests. Please keep feeding your curiosity. It's good that you wrote a comment here. It shows you are reaching out to other like-minded people. As you likely know, connecting with others helps decrease depression. Keep up the good work, and if possible, try to connect with people in the real (non-virtual) world. Maybe check out meetup.com to meet some people who are in circumstances similar to your own. : )

[@Yokai.Wakukhan]

Highly related, its hard to fine work that fits in my framework. Im extreamly educated with no credability. I don't feel like a bandit. Being humble. Its a crazy world in a simplified mind. Im with you! Let's be wizards... Gandalfs... not Saromons... they appear when the world needs them most. A follower of this Elven Queeeen🔥🥑. Eat good avacadoes!

[@ClayonTutorials]

I have ideas. We sound in many ways similar: I, too, want to help people and change the world for the better. Perhaps we could work together, at least eventually, especially seeing as such a goal is obviously one not advised to tread alone; real change only happens in groups.

[@hergocin52]

what a fantastic thread of comments! good talks generate good things!

[@alcyone1349]

Such a lovely woman. I love how she is just full of life and radiating that energy to everybody around her.

[@commanderthorkilj.amundsen3426]

Ching presents abstract math concepts in an appealing manner. Unfortunately, in her books, one ex being “The Art Of Logic” she violates basic rules of logic and principles re: paradoxes, and is too obvious in her overtly expressed zeal to bash straight white males as oppressors, selectively employing examples from identity politics, rather than sticking to objective aspects of logic and math.

[@julian.kollataj]

Hi, Royal Institute, please change the thumbnail of this video to an image of Eugenia Cheng, so it’s easier to find the relating video to the speaker’s lecture. “Relating Graphic before Relating Text” would be a good principle to follow. You could also add “Q & A” next to the Ri logo in the top left corner in the future, as another means to identify the video. What do you think of these suggestions? Apart from that, I really enjoy your channel! :) Thanks!

[@TheRoyalInstitution]

We'll definitely think about using the speaker's image in our Q&A's in the future, thanks. Q&A's and talks are also cross linked in the video descriptions and end slides if you ever need to find the missing half!

[@julian.kollataj]

The Royal Institution thanks!

[@gordybishop2375]

Awesome discussion,,,thank you

[@francisgrizzlysmit4715]

I have the book the art of Logic love Eugenia's work

[@Yokai.Wakukhan]

The advertisement before the video's first words: "Everyone hates writing." I LOVE WRITING. WHY IS THIS RELEVANT. Computing...

[@error.418]

It's like when people say "everyone hates maths." Or really any statement "everyone feels this one way about this one thing." It's all rubbish.

[@watleythewizard2381]

Brilliant. What an amazing lady with an amazing mind and an amazing heart.

[@ggg148g]

I hope is now clearer that many criticisms in the comment section of the video of the talk, are nonsense.

[@melloCreator]

love this! 31:30 was an excellent example of a pivot

[@markolehto9527]

Absolutely awesome!

[@patrickmurphy3759]

Actually the conditional probability of dying if your plane crashes is not high, it is actually quite low. I believe that somewhere around 95% of people involved in plane crashes survive. I think people have this misconception about airplanes just falling out of the sky if a problem occurs.

[@nemo227]

Indeed, so much depends on the type of plane, the terrain or scene of the crash, the pilot skill, and the cause of the crash, and unknown factors.

[@Yokai.Wakukhan]

You gotta define "crash." analogous to her definition. If your trying to be objective. Then a better word would be plane flight failure.

[@Yokai.Wakukhan]

I imagine a "crash" to be violent in my personal semantic orientation

[@IstvanWeisz_logoby]

Listening to you this came to my mind (I am graduated artist of fine arts) If you merry ART and PHILOSOPHY as a result you will get MATH.

[@vincentm99]

I don't understand 25:00 could anyone explain it to me?

[@vincentm99]

I understood, I thought it was something else

[@mohammedhussein5250]

What are the names of her three books ?

[@markkeeper7771]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:05 📐 Exploring dimensions of cubes and tesseracts. - Understanding the relationship between prime factors and dimensions of geometric shapes. - Different approaches to visualizing and drawing higher-dimensional shapes. - The connection between mathematical concepts and geometric representations. 01:31 🤔 Logic, morality, and shades of good and evil. - How logic can help in understanding and categorizing concepts like good and evil. - Exploring different dimensions of goodness and morality. - The drawbacks of black-and-white thinking in evaluating complex issues. 03:22 🧠 Mapping consciousness using mathematical frameworks. - The application of category theory in understanding consciousness and neural networks. - The importance of clear definitions in mathematical analysis. - Challenges in defining and mapping consciousness. 05:44 🌟 Balancing emotions and logic in decision-making. - The interplay between emotions and logic in decision-making. - Strategies for using rational logic to overcome strong emotions. - The importance of conditional probability in evaluating risks. 08:15 🤖 The future of education and AI in a changing world. - The role of education in preparing for the impact of AI and robotics. - The need for flexible and adaptable educational approaches. - The value of creativity and logic in addressing future challenges. 10:08 🧐 Defining and testing enlightenment and clarity. - The challenge of defining and testing enlightenment in the context of mathematical clarity. - The importance of understanding personal frameworks and definitions. - The role of progress and application in assessing enlightenment. 12:20 📚 Teaching mathematics with a tailored approach. - Adapting teaching methods based on the learning preferences and needs of students. - Balancing abstraction and concrete examples in mathematics education. - The significance of understanding and empathizing with students' thinking processes. 17:16 🤖 The role of category theory in artificial intelligence. - The integration of category theory into modern programming languages and AI. - The efficiency and error reduction associated with structural programming. - The potential of category theory in advancing AI and machine learning. 19:26 💡 Balancing logic and empathy in human behavior. - The possibility of achieving a balance between logic and empathy. - The influence of education and social interactions in developing empathy and logic. - The challenges of labeling behaviors as innate versus learned. 20:50 🧠 Empathy and Personal Growth - Developing empathy is a skill that can be honed over time. - Learning to truly listen and understand others can help combat math phobia. - Personal growth through self-awareness and continuous learning. 21:58 🧮 Curing Math Phobia - Goals and Indicators - The goal is to eliminate the fear of math (math phobia) in society. - Indicators of success include people no longer claiming they are "bad at math" and reducing negative portrayals of mathematicians in media. - Math should be seen as more than just school lessons, encouraging a broader understanding of its creativity and beauty. 24:25 💡 Early Math Experiences and Graphs - Early memories of learning math include the concept of graphs. - Understanding that math can be represented visually through graphs. - Finding joy in the process of converting math into images. 26:03 📚 Impact of Books on Math Phobia - Books can help individuals realize that their math phobia might be limited to school math. - The power of self-exploration and discovering creative and expressive aspects of math outside of formal education. - Encouragement to explore math beyond the confines of traditional education. 31:30 👩‍🔬 Gender and Diversity in Mathematics - Discussion of being a female mathematician in a male-dominated field. - Initial unawareness of gender bias and later recognition of discrepancies. - Taking proactive steps, including a freelance career, to overcome potential bias in the field of mathematics. Made with HARPA AI

[@NetAndyCz]

I think that describing consciousness will be trivial once we get a definition that allows us to distinguish between conscious and not-conscious (and unconscious) entities. On a side note it would be very helpful in biology if we had clear definition of life or species... there are loads of grey areas when people argue whether thing is alive or not (and whether two organisms are one species or not), and all because of ambiguous definitions.

[@Darthenator]

NetAndyCz Is DNA conscious?

[@NetAndyCz]

@@Darthenator Well, define the consciousness first:) I would argue that not, imho consciousness emerges at bit higher level, though I would argue that cells are conscious (in a way they react to stimuli) but it seems you need organisms with neural networks to form memories and change reactions based on previous stimuli. Anyway the ill-defined word means many things and that causes troubles of studying the topic.

[@NetAndyCz]

I believe I should treat others kindly, because otherwise I will get into trouble with law, or them and their friends.

[@steffankaizer]

that is just terrible. if there would be no law you would kill steal murder destroy? you should be kind to others if you understand how it will influence the world in a positive way. being an asshole is rarely against the law but most people choose to be nice

[@ubermensch826]

this woman's clearly a genius

[@hasithk8973]

Anyone now???

[@MClaudeW]

I figured out the coins on stairs problem by reversed equivalence imaging. I thought it was arbitrary. Turns out it was arbitrative.

[@davidwilkie9551]

Mothers are the primary educators. And the graphical (quantum) representation matrix of the Times Table eventually becomes the Periodic Table too.., based on number(ing), lines, and combined orthogonal graphics drawing out an active functional projection. Then it's all connected in an enlightening perspective that is easy for anyone to see. Eventually the matrix becomes a Hologram of functional Actuality.

[@error.418]

Saying that two things are tables doesn't make them related...

[@thedeathcake]

Great stuff!

[@peterevenhuis2663]

Amazing brains, love here explanation. Ps I also don't like flying only in my case because I can not take over in case this will be required and yes I fly weekly around the world......

[@Someone-cr8cj]

"[...]Im more afraid of natural stupidity"

[@NetAndyCz]

I am afraid of natural stupidity programming and controlling AI...

[@dt610]

Last😀😂😂

[@Angiecbd]

We need English teachers from the UK to teach Americans their English, because so many British sound more intelligent than Americans. Just my opinion.

[@alfredhitchcock45]

Her math is good but her politics is bad

[@Someone-cr8cj]

Why does she need .1 seconds to think about the answer?

[@Yokai.Wakukhan]

Experience and power learning.

[@cleitonoliveira932]

Smart people think before talking. That doesn't mean they are fast to think. Anyway, 1 second is pretty fast.

[@miyamotoclan5054]

Cleiton Oliveira .1 seconds as in 1/10th (one-tenth) or 1.0 x 10^-1. I think the original comment was tongue in cheek.

[@AngieStonesPhD]

Good entertainment but that's all.

[@Jim6593]

Ha ha ha

[@symmetrie_bruch]

to be honest the example her mother showed her when she was a child were much more interesting than anything she came up with here . i somehow doubt that the categorization of white privilege catches the imagination of anyone

[@xavierkreiss8394]

This is very disappointing. A first class mind but a total lack of understanding for people like myself. Dr Cheng speaks of empathy but then shows a total lack of that empahy with people who have maths phobia. Worse: she perpetuates stereotypes: she speaks of people who "boast" that they're bad at maths, a way of dismissing us, perhaps. But we're not going to go away. I am terrible at maths, my level is abysmal (equivalent to an 8 or 9 year old), but I have never, ever boasted about it. Neither have I ever been ashamed: why should I be? I am what I am. Maths to me is something that, over 50 years ago, cost me 6 years of agony in secondary school, getting bad marks , being "bottom of the class", watching the anxious faces of my parents with a feeling of helplessness. It could even have stopped me from getting into higher education. Was that fair, given that I was in a "literary" or "humanities" stream? I squeezed through with no maths at all, and went to journalism school. No maths, as planned. So why those six years of torment? Even now when I think back on those years (I'm 68) I sometimes feel a numbness, a tingling in my arms and hands. I checked, and it's listed as one of the physical symptoms of phobia (not just maths phobia: a phobic reaction in general). Empathy? Does Dr Cheng know about these symptoms? Does she understand the misery of a child and teenager forced to undergo years of maths lessons he doesn't understand? The feeling of powerlessness? The inevitable bad marks? That numbness I still feel today when I think of maths? And now I hear that I might be "boasting" about my inability? This is close to an insult. However, now as an adult I sometimes wonder about maths. I loathe the subject but it crops up often, so I sometimes ask myself questions, and try to understand a few limited points. Purely out of intellectual curiosity, because throughout my life as a journalist I never, ever needed maths. At least nothing that couldn't be solved by a calculator. That's why I listen to talks like Dr Cheng's and others. Also, friends have tried to help me to understand a little: one who adores maths for instance told me after 6 weeks of efforts (through daily FB messages and emails) that she was giving up, because she didn't understand how my brain works. Well, as I said to her, I don't understand how hers works, either. One thing I've noticed, though, in my research, is that maths is a highly unpopular subject with many. Not only with me. It's much more unpopular than, say, languages, or history: the evidence is overwhelming. Results in maths on the national level in the UK and elsewhere are apparently getting worse and it seems to be a real problem. And this will not change unless people like Dr Cheng and others recognise that problem for what it is, and try to understand it. Before they do, they won't be able to fix it. Don't just talk of empathy: practice it.

[@equilibriumhorsecenter7274]

So political ... should not be presented by Royal Institute ..

[@esakoivuniemi]

Agreed. She is tainting the queen of science with postmodern mumbo-jumbo about white privilege.

[@error.418]

It's more mathematical than political. Providing a framework for thinking about politics is useful. This was a good to talk to include.

[@error.418]

@@esakoivuniemi "white privilege" is neither mumbo-jumbo nor is it postmodern. Showing mathematical frameworks for thinking about complex topics does not taint mathematics.

[@Yokai.Wakukhan]

So fragil 🎶so fragil🎶

[@theBlackPrince_9]

All Chinese women look the same to me. See how that sounded racist and you weren't inclined to applaud it? Why is it okay for anybody to say anything similar and get laughs from a full auditorium? Is casual racism funny, or is it only so when it's aimed at white males? And: 1. No, I'm not white 2. I've been on the receiving end of racism--casual, covert, and overt--and that's why I'm inclined to point this out.

[@lawrencemiller3829]

This video is an excuse for political policies, very poor.

[@Yokai.Wakukhan]

Your a political policy.