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It’s Not Just Numbers
Marcello Seri, Anna de Bruijn
20 episodes
4 days ago
A podcast on mathematics and its human side. In a conversation with mathematicians, we address some common stereotypes and misconceptions, giving space to the people of mathematics. Each episode will start by getting to know the guests, their research, their drive and what they do outside mathematics. In the second half of the episode we will discuss together some theme related to mathematics and mathematicians. Opinions are our own.
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Education
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All content for It’s Not Just Numbers is the property of Marcello Seri, Anna de Bruijn and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
A podcast on mathematics and its human side. In a conversation with mathematicians, we address some common stereotypes and misconceptions, giving space to the people of mathematics. Each episode will start by getting to know the guests, their research, their drive and what they do outside mathematics. In the second half of the episode we will discuss together some theme related to mathematics and mathematicians. Opinions are our own.
Show more...
Education
Episodes (20/20)
It’s Not Just Numbers
S2E10 - Teaching mathematics in high school with Maarten de Witte

The last episode of this season, is also the first of a new sub-series that we would like to keep exploring in the future: teaching mathematics at school.

Maarten de Witte, a former student at our mathematics bachelor and school teacher since three years, shares his experience teaching in Dutch high school. With him we start exploring the rewards and the challenges of the job and the differences between teaching at school or at university.

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Produced by Marcello Seri and Anna de Bruijn

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Illustrations by Henrieke Krijgsheld

The podcast soundtrack is derived from the royalty free track Starving by OctoSound and used in agreement with pixabay license https://pixabay.com/music/funk-starving-170377

We are grateful to the Faculty of Science and Engineering of the University of Groningen for allowing us to use their equipment for this recording.

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3 months ago
51 minutes 14 seconds

It’s Not Just Numbers
S2E09 - The afterMath2 with Josselin Kooij and Marit van Straaten

We come back to the question of S2E05: you have studied mathematics... now what? We met our old friend (and former co-host) Marit van Straaten and our former student Josselin Kooij, to talk about the possibilities for mathematicians that don't pursue a career in academia.

After getting to know them, with their motivations to study math and their hobbies (mainly sports!), we focus on their careers. Their different seniority levels allow us to span across many topics, with both a fresh and an experienced eye, in an episode that we hope will clarify many of your doubts on what to do to look for a job as mathematicians, and plenty of useful tips for when you interview for a position!

We plan to do a few more of these, so if there is anything that you would like to discuss in the next episodes, let us know in the comments (or sending us a message).


= = = { 0 } = = =

Produced by Marcello Seri and Anna de Bruijn

= = = { 0 } = = =

Illustrations by Henrieke Krijgsheld

The podcast soundtrack is derived from the royalty free track Starving by OctoSound and used in agreement with pixabay license https://pixabay.com/music/funk-starving-170377

We are grateful to the Faculty of Science and Engineering of the University of Groningen for allowing us to use their equipment for this recording.

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4 months ago
1 hour 11 minutes 45 seconds

It’s Not Just Numbers
S2E08 - Actively learning mathematics with Brendan Kelly

In this special episode, we return to the topics of learning and teaching mathematics. We are joined by Brendan Kelly, Director of Introductory Mathematics at Harvard University, to discuss the opportunities that active learning has to offer.

Throughout the discussion, we get to know Brendan, exploring his journey into mathematics and what led him to focus on education. Both lecturers and students will find many useful tips and tricks scattered through the recording, and we are sure you will feel Brendan's infectious energy and passion for both subjects!

Links for the episode:

  • Brendan Kelly's webpage


= = = { 0 } = = =

Produced by Marcello Seri and Anna de Bruijn

= = = { 0 } = = =

Illustrations by Henrieke Krijgsheld

The podcast soundtrack is derived from the royalty free track Starving by OctoSound and used in agreement with pixabay license https://pixabay.com/music/funk-starving-170377

We are grateful to the Faculty of Science and Engineering of the University of Groningen for allowing us to use their equipment for this recording.

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4 months ago
47 minutes 30 seconds

It’s Not Just Numbers
S2E07 - Mathematics outside mathematic departments, with Davide Grossi and Jorge Perez

This is the first episode of another small spinoff of It's Not Just Numbers, were we discuss with researchers working on mathematical topics in different disciplines and departments.

In this episode, we talk to Jorge Perez (Computer Science department) and Davide Grossi (Artificial Intelligence department). As you will hear, both of them use a lot of mathematics in their research and work on topics that also have very theoretical angles.

Throughout the episode, we discuss intedisciplinary collaborations, reaching outside one’s own line of research and the key role ofof asking questions to facilitate the exchange. We also explore if and how common stereotypes on academics change in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence from a societal point of view.

Links for the episode:

  • Davide Grossi's website
  • ⁠Jorge Perez' website
  • ⁠Video: Fundamental computing: Mathematics and logic for software we can all rely on
  • Video: Fundamental Computing: The Many Sides of Logic


= = = { 0 } = = =

Produced by Marcello Seri and Anna de Bruijn

= = = { 0 } = = =

Illustrations by Henrieke Krijgsheld

The podcast soundtrack is derived from the royalty free track Starving by OctoSound and used in agreement with pixabay license https://pixabay.com/music/funk-starving-170377

We are grateful to the Faculty of Science and Engineering of the University of Groningen for allowing us to use their equipment for this recording.

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5 months ago
1 hour 22 minutes 28 seconds

It’s Not Just Numbers
S2E06 - Proofs and proof assistants with Sander Dahmen and Jim Portegies

What is a proof? And what is a proof assistant? Isn't writing proofs what mathematicians are supposed to do themselves? In this episode, Sander Dahmen and Jim Portegies, will help us explore these questions and introduce us to the fascinating world of fomralizing mathematics. Of course, after taking our time to get to know them better.

"I always wanted to turn this around and say there's nothing wrong with being not smart in mathematics and it should be okay if you work on a proof, to not understand it, to struggle with it. So if you do a computation, make three extra steps, it should be okay to give yourself that time." Wouldn't you agree? Listen to this episode to find out where this quote came from and let us know yuor first experiences with proofs.

Links for the episode:

  • Sander Dahmen's website
  • Jim Portegies' website
  • ⁠Links to Lean, the mathlib library and the mathematics in lean book
  • Link to the ⁠natural number game⁠ and more
  • Link to waterproof, Jim's constrained natural language proof assistant
  • Link to rocq and the math-comp library
  • Terence Tao's talk on machine assisted proofs at Simons Fundation on February 19, 2025


= = = { 0 } = = =

Produced by Marcello Seri and Anna de Bruijn

= = = { 0 } = = =

Illustrations by Henrieke Krijgsheld

The podcast soundtrack is derived from the royalty free track Starving by OctoSound and used in agreement with pixabay license https://pixabay.com/music/funk-starving-170377

We are grateful to the Faculty of Science and Engineering of the University of Groningen for allowing us to use their equipment for this recording.

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6 months ago
1 hour 28 minutes 20 seconds

It’s Not Just Numbers
S2E05 - The afterMath with Sven Bootsma, Max Lein, Oscar Koster

You have studied mathematics... now what? In this episode we talk to Sven Bootsma, Max Lein and Oscar Koster about the possibilities for mathematicians that don't pursue a career in academia.

After getting to know them, with their motivations to study math and their hobbies (mainly sports!), we focus on theie career in industry after having studied mathematics . In this long episode we span across many themes and discuss how a mathematician can find a job in industry, what the differences are with working in academia and how students could go about choosing a career after their studies.

This episode is packed with insights and interesting suggestions but only scratches the surface of this interesting discussion, leaving many additional question unanswered waiting for a future afterMath2 episode!

So let us invite you to join us in a future recording: if you are a mathematician and you are not working as an academic, especially if your job is different from the ones that we heard about in this episode, please send us a mail!

And if there is anything that you would like to discuss in the next episodes, let us know in the comments (or sending us a message).

Links for the episode:

  • Max Lein's website


= = = { 0 } = = =

Produced by Marcello Seri and Anna de Bruijn

= = = { 0 } = = =

Illustrations by Henrieke Krijgsheld

The podcast soundtrack is derived from the royalty free track Starving by OctoSound and used in agreement with pixabay license https://pixabay.com/music/funk-starving-170377

We are grateful to the Faculty of Science and Engineering of the University of Groningen for allowing us to use their equipment for this recording.

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7 months ago
1 hour 48 minutes 26 seconds

It’s Not Just Numbers
S2E04 - What does it mean to do research with Pinar Kilicer and Hildeberto Jardón Kojakhmetov

What does it mean to do research? What does a researcher in mathematics do, effectively, to research? In this episode, we pick up a common question from our listeners, and try to give some partial answer with the help of Pinar Kilicer and Hildeberto Jardón Kojakhmetov. After taking the chance to know them better, we look back at their career and what were the most important moments to grow into research, putting this all in the perspective of the students thanks to the help of Anna.


Episode links:

  • Pinar's website
  • Hildeberto's website
  • Terence Tao talking about his paper rejections on mastodon


= = = { 0 } = = =

Produced by Marcello Seri and Anna de Bruijn

= = = { 0 } = = =

Illustrations by Henrieke Krijgsheld

The podcast soundtrack is derived from the royalty free track Starving by OctoSound and used in agreement with pixabay license https://pixabay.com/music/funk-starving-170377

We are grateful to the Faculty of Science and Engineering of the University of Groningen for allowing us to use their equipment for this recording.

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9 months ago
1 hour 25 minutes 13 seconds

It’s Not Just Numbers
S2E03 - Illustrating mathematics, with Constanza Rojas-Molina and Martin Skrodzki

In this episode we talk with Constanza Rojas-Molina and Martin Skrodzki about illustrating mathematics. From pseudonyms and hobbies to careers where their illustrative work is indispensable, we talk about their development as artists and mathematicians and how to encourage others to use their creativity when it comes to mathematics.

A special episode, exploring the relations between mathematics, art and how the two can empower each other and influence research, teaching and public engagement.


There are lots of links for this episode:

  • Coni's website (Coni777 on twitter and bluesky)
  • Martin's website (he can be found as msmathcomp on most social media)
  • Bridges conference and their open-access archive and open-access art gallery
  • Journal of Mathematics and the Arts
  • Illustrating Maths (IM) website,  it has an invitation to the IM Discord channel on the home page
  • Announcements for the upcoming Illustrating Maths seminars
  • To attend the one-week IM program at ICERM in Summer 2025, look here
  • For the ambitious that want to attend a longer event, here is the information for the trimester at IHP in Paris in 2026
  • #Noethember on Coni's website, on The Aperiodical and on the EMS Magazine
  • The #MathYear challenge on Coni's website and on the EWM website
  • The Blackboard Whisperers, interviews with female mathematicians, by E.A. Casanova aka Coni (here the final interview with Susanna Terracini which is missing at the other link)
  • The RAGE of the Blackboard blog, an illustration of the RAGE theorem, and an interview on the project on the AMS blog.
  • Chladni patterns: on wikipedia (videos at the bottom of the page) and an illustration
  • La misteriosa conjectura de Alicia (comic book's website)
  • The MATRIX x Imaginary conference (2026 edition still to be announced)
  • The Talking Maths In Public community page


Feel free to leave a comment if you have questions for our guests :)


= = = { 0 } = = =

Produced by Marcello Seri and Anna de Bruijn

= = = { 0 } = = =

Illustrations by Henrieke Krijgsheld

The podcast soundtrack is derived from the royalty free track Starving by OctoSound and used in agreement with pixabay license https://pixabay.com/music/funk-starving-170377

We are grateful to the Faculty of Science and Engineering of the University of Groningen for allowing us to use their equipment for this recording.

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10 months ago
1 hour 45 minutes 13 seconds

It’s Not Just Numbers
S2E02 - What mathematicians really do, with Ekin Özman and Bart Besselink

In this episode we are joined by Ekin Özman and Bart Besselink to discuss what are the work days of a mathematician at a univerisity like. With their help we get a little panoramic on what a career in mathematics looks like and what are the expectations, the priorities and sometimes the compromises that it requires.

As usual, the episode touches upon a great variety of topics, don't miss it!


Episode links:

  • ​Website of Ekin Özman
  • ​Website of Bart Besselink


If you liked this episode, please spread the voice sharing it with your friends or on your social media.


= = = { 0 } = = =

Produced by Marcello Seri and Anna de Bruijn

= = = { 0 } = = =

Illustrations by Henrieke Krijgsheld

The podcast soundtrack is derived from the royalty free track Starving by OctoSound and used in agreement with pixabay license https://pixabay.com/music/funk-starving-170377

We are grateful to the Faculty of Science and Engineering of the University of Groningen for allowing us to use their equipment for this recording.

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11 months ago
1 hour 14 minutes 8 seconds

It’s Not Just Numbers
S2E01 - Good mathematics problems, with Serte Donderwinkel and Steffen Müller

We are back with an episode on what makes mathematical problems interesting. In the studio with us, for this impossible topic, are Serte Donderwinkel and Steffen Müller: together we explore what we find interesting in mathematical problems, how beauty affects our taste, and how the way we present the problems influences the interest around them.

As usual, the episode touches upon a great variety of themes, don't miss it!


Episode links:

  • Serte Donderwinkel's ⁠homepage⁠
  • Steffen Müller's ⁠homepage⁠
  • We met Anna in Season 1 Episode 8
  • We met Jaap Top in ⁠Season 1 Episode 5⁠
  • The Joy of Why - What makes for good mathematics?
  • Freeman Dyson - Birds and Frogs


This was probably the episode with the largest amount of preliminary reading in the history of this podcast. The theme has been widely discussed and it is very interesting to see the various different points of views, with their differences and commonalities. We leave our reading list here for posterity:

  • Terence Tao - What is good mathematics?
  • John Baez - Why mathematics is boring
  • Tim Gowers - The two cultures of mathematics
  • Jeremy Avigad - Varieties of Mathematical Understanding
  • Eugene Wigner - The unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics in the natural sciences, see also the corresponding Wikipedia page
  • Gizem Karaali - Doing Math in Jest: Reflections on Useless Math, the Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics, and the Ethical Obligations of Mathematicians


If you liked this episode, please spread the voice sharing it with your friends or on your social media.


= = = { 0 } = = =

Produced by Marcello Seri and Anna de Bruijn

= = = { 0 } = = =

Illustrations by Henrieke Krijgsheld

The podcast soundtrack is derived from the royalty free track Starving by OctoSound and used in agreement with pixabay license https://pixabay.com/music/funk-starving-170377

We are grateful to the Faculty of Science and Engineering of the University of Groningen for allowing us to use their equipment for this recording.

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1 year ago
1 hour 24 minutes 7 seconds

It’s Not Just Numbers
S1E10 - What does it take to be a Professor? With Henk Broer and Harry Trentelman

For the the last episode of this season, we are joined by Henk Broer and Harry Trentelman, two emeritus professors at our Institute.

They share their views on how the mathematical landscape has evolved over the past forty years, sharing with us their insights and their hopes for the future. During the episode we touch upon a great variety of themes, don't miss it!


Episode links:

  • Henk Broer's homepage
  • A link to the draft of our book on Oscillations
  • Harry Trentelman's homepage

If you liked this episode, please spread the voice sharing it with your friends or on your social media.


= = = { 0 } = = =

Produced by Marcello Seri and Marit van Straaten

= = = { 0 } = = =

Illustrations by Henrieke Krijgsheld

The podcast soundtrack is derived from the royalty free track Starving by OctoSound and used in agreement with pixabay license https://pixabay.com/music/funk-starving-170377

We are grateful to the Faculty of Science and Engineering of the University of Groningen for allowing us to use their equipment for this recording.

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1 year ago
1 hour 22 minutes

It’s Not Just Numbers
S1E09 - Doing a PhD in Mathematics

For the ninth episode, we are joined by three Mathematics PhD students from our institute: Anne-Men Huijzer, Dijs de Neeling and Armin Pirastehzad.

They share their perspective as final year PhD students in Mathematics, answering some questions from our listeners and sharing their views on what is like to pursue a doctorate, including some obstacles they encountered and many useful tips for current and perspective students.


Episode links:

  • Blog post on doing a PhD in STEM, with some useful links
  • Steven Weinberg advice to students at the start of their scientific careers: four golden lessons
  • For perspective PhD supervisors, there is a very nice free course on future learn on Successful PhD Supervision developed at our faculty and specifically targeting STEM subjects


If you liked this episode, please spread the voice sharing it with your friends or on your social media.


= = = { 0 } = = =

Produced by Marcello Seri and Marit van Straaten

= = = { 0 } = = =

Illustrations by Henrieke Krijgsheld

The podcast soundtrack is derived from the royalty free track Starving by OctoSound and used in agreement with pixabay license https://pixabay.com/music/funk-starving-170377

We are grateful to the Faculty of Science and Engineering of the University of Groningen for allowing us to use their equipment for this recording.

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1 year ago
1 hour 20 minutes 3 seconds

It’s Not Just Numbers
S1E08 – Studying Mathematics, the students’ perspective

Welcome to the eight episode! This time we are joined by two Mathematics students, Naná Giadresco and Anna de Bruijn. They share their perspective as Mathematics students, as we discuss studying and teaching during the pandemic, expectations about studying Maths and who will be the co-host next year!


Episode links:

  • The fruit puzzle of Naná’s thesis, and a paper discussing a more general version of the equation


If you liked this episode, please spread the voice sharing it with your friends or on your social media.


= = = { 0 } = = =

Produced by Marcello Seri and Marit van Straaten

= = = { 0 } = = =

Illustrations by Henrieke Krijgsheld

The podcast soundtrack is derived from the royalty free track Starving by OctoSound and used in agreement with pixabay license https://pixabay.com/music/funk-starving-170377

We are grateful to the Faculty of Science and Engineering of the University of Groningen for allowing us to use their equipment for this recording.

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1 year ago
1 hour 22 minutes 12 seconds

It’s Not Just Numbers
S1E07 - Probability vs Statistics with Gilles Bonnet and Marco Grzegorczyk

Welcome to the sixth episode of It's Not Just Numbers! For this episode we challenged a probabilist, Gilles Bonnet, and a statistician, Marco Grzegorczyk, to sit in the same room and explain us the commonalities and differences among their disciplines.


As usual we get to know our guests and then we head straight into the theme of the episode, exploring what probability and statistics are about and their complementary relationship, paving the road for some interesting future episodes.


Episode links:

  • Gilles's website: https://www.math.rug.nl/gbonnet
  • Marco's website: https://www.math.rug.nl/stat/People/Marco


If you liked this episode, please spread the voice sharing it with your friends or on your social media.


= = = { 0 } = = =

Produced by Marcello Seri and Marit van Straaten

= = = { 0 } = = =

Illustrations by Henrieke Krijgsheld

The podcast soundtrack is derived from the royalty free track Starving by OctoSound and used in agreement with pixabay license https://pixabay.com/music/funk-starving-170377

We are grateful to the Faculty of Science and Engineering of the University of Groningen for allowing us to use their equipment for this recording.

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1 year ago
1 hour 11 minutes 32 seconds

It’s Not Just Numbers
S1E06 - Mathematics in the "real" world, with Cristóbal Bertoglio and Juan Peypouquet

Welcome to the sixth episode of It's Not Just Numbers! Complementing last month’s episode, we are joined by Cristóbal Bertoglio and Juan Peypouquet to discuss the multifacet world of applied mathematics.


We discuss why communicating as a researcher is more important than most people realise, and the idea that people cannot switch between different fields within mathematics.


Episode links:

  • Cristóbal's website: https://www.rug.nl/staff/c.a.bertoglio
  • Juan's website: https://www.rug.nl/staff/j.g.peypouquet

If you liked this episode, please spread the voice sharing it with your friends or on your social media.


= = = { 0 } = = =

Produced by Marcello Seri and Marit van Straaten

= = = { 0 } = = =

Illustrations by Henrieke Krijgsheld

The podcast soundtrack is derived from the royalty free track Starving by OctoSound and used in agreement with pixabay license https://pixabay.com/music/funk-starving-170377

We are grateful to the Faculty of Science and Engineering of the University of Groningen for allowing us to use their equipment for this recording.

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1 year ago
1 hour 28 minutes 21 seconds

It’s Not Just Numbers
S1E05 - "Pure" Maths, with Oliver Lorscheid and Jaap Top

Welcome to the fifth episode, where we focus on so-called 'pure' mathematics, together with our guests Oliver Lorscheid and Jaap Top.

We discuss the term 'pure' mathematics,  the relation to applied mathematics, and a question mathematicians might come across often: why should we care about mathematics that is not immediately applicable?

Other topics of discussion are how our guests were drawn to mathematics, and how to change students' perspectives on mathematics in high school. Or is just focussing on students not enough?


Episode links:

  • Jaap Top's website: ⁠https://www.rug.nl/staff/j.top
  • ⁠Oliver Lorscheid's website: ⁠https://oliver.impa.br⁠
  • Pythagoras, the mathematics magazine for high school students: ⁠https://www.pyth.eu⁠
  • FMF Periodiek: https://perio.fmf.nl
  • Chalkdust magazine: https://chalkdustmagazine.com


If you liked this episode, please spread the voice sharing it with your friends or on your social media.


= = = { 0 } = = =

Produced by Marcello Seri and Marit van Straaten

= = = { 0 } = = =

Illustrations by Henrieke Krijgsheld

The podcast soundtrack is derived from the royalty free track Starving by OctoSound and used in agreement with pixabay license https://pixabay.com/music/funk-starving-170377

We are grateful to the friends of FSE Radio for allowing us to use their equipment for this recording. Consider giving their podcast a go: https://open.spotify.com/show/1wi0YWwEQiZHyNDEYG2KHz

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1 year ago
1 hour 20 minutes 32 seconds

It’s Not Just Numbers
S1E04 - Talking maths to strangers, with Julian Koellermeier and Roland van der Veen

Welcome to our fourth episode, on public engagement with mathematics.

Sitting with us are Julian Koellermeier and Roland van der Veen, which will share what drove them to mathematics and their deep passion for engaging with adults and kids outside our university bubble.

We will discuss the importance of time and reflection, the role of grants in our research, the many advantages of learning how to communicate mathematics to broader audiences despite the lack of support of it.


Episode links:

  • Julian Koellermeier's website: ⁠https://www.math.rug.nl/j.koellermeier
  • Roland van der Veen's website: ⁠http://rolandvdv.nl
  • Roland's book on the Riemann hypothesis:
    https://maa.org/press/maa-reviews/the-riemann-hypothesis
  • Indra's pearls (Note by Roland: the amazing book I wrote by bachelor's thesis about): https://www.ams.org/notices/200301/rev-marden.pdf
  • Roland's PhD defense dance demonstration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6zxKBUI3wY


If you liked this episode, please spread the voice sharing it with your friends or on your social media.


= = = { 0 } = = =

Produced by Marcello Seri and Marit van Straaten

= = = { 0 } = = =

Illustrations by Henrieke Krijgsheld

The podcast soundtrack is derived from the royalty free track Starving by OctoSound and used in agreement with pixabay license https://pixabay.com/music/funk-starving-170377

We are grateful to the Faculty of Science and Engineering of the University of Groningen for allowing to use its podcast recording facilities for this episode

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1 year ago
1 hour 16 minutes 4 seconds

It’s Not Just Numbers
S1E03 - Teaching mathematics, with Tamás Görbe and Cecília Salgado

Welcome to our third episode, on teaching mathematics.

Sitting with us are Tamás Görbe and Cecília Salgado, which will share their enthusiasm for mathematics and for teaching. The discussion is broad and ranges to a number of themes that will overlap also with future episodes.

We will discuss the impostor phenomenon or impostor syndrome, how it affected us in different ways and in different stages of our careers, and how this relates to our approaches to teaching. The enthusiasm of our guests is contagious and I hope it will transpare from the recording!


Episode links:

  • Tamás Görbe website: https://www.tamasgorbe.com/
  • Cecília Salgado website: https://www.math.rug.nl/algebra/Main/salgado
  • Austin Kleon, Steal like an artist: https://austinkleon.com/steal
  • Federico Ardila (2016) Todos Cuentan: Cultivating Diversity in Combinatorics, Notices of the AMS 63(10) 1164-1170, https://doi.org/10.1090/noti1434
  • Carl E. Wieman (2014) Large-scale comparison of science teaching methods sends clear message, PNAS 111 (23) 8319-8320, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1407304111
  • Iddo Drori et al. (2022) A neural network solves, explains, and generates university math problems by program synthesis and few-shot learning at human level, PNAS 119 (32) e2123433119, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2123433119


If you liked this episode, please spread the voice sharing it with your friends or on your social media.


= = = { 0 } = = =

Produced by Marcello Seri and Marit van Straaten

= = = { 0 } = = =

Illustrations by Henrieke Krijgsheld

The podcast soundtrack is derived from the royalty free track Starving by OctoSound and used in agreement with pixabay license https://pixabay.com/music/funk-starving-170377

We are grateful to the friends of FSE Radio for allowing us to use their equipment for this recording. Consider giving their podcast a go: https://betastuf.nl/other/fse-radio/

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1 year ago
1 hour 11 minutes 53 seconds

It’s Not Just Numbers
S1E02 - Studying mathematics, with Alef Sterk and Henk van Waarde

Welcome to the first "real" episode of the podcast, where we meet Alef Sterk and Henk van Waarde and talk to them about the transition from high school to university. In our discussion we get to know them and explore their experience in studying mathematics and their recommendations for newcoming students.

This episode features a very personal discussion that leads us to the myth of the mathematical genius and led us to talk about mathematics as a subject for everybody, where the personal effort and the courage to learn from making mistake are the key to success.


Episode links:

- Alef Sterk webpage: https://www.math.rug.nl/~alef/

- Henk van Waarde webpage: https://henkvanwaarde.github.io/


If you liked this episode, please spread the voice sharing it with your friends or on your social media.


= = = { 0 } = = =

Produced by Marcello Seri and Marit van Straaten

= = = { 0 } = = =

Illustrations by Henrieke Krijgsheld

The podcast soundtrack is derived from the royalty free track Starving by OctoSound and used in agreement with pixabay license https://pixabay.com/music/funk-starving-170377

We are grateful to the Faculty of Science and Engineering, Univeristy of Groningen, for allowing us to use their podcast recording facilities

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1 year ago
48 minutes 28 seconds

It’s Not Just Numbers
S1E01 - A pilot with your hosts

Welcome to the first episode of Not Just Numbers!

As you can hear, this episode started as a pilot for us to learn how the equipment works. In this conversation, we introduce ourselves and share our far from linear paths to mathematics, discussing both our work, our experience of doing mathematics. Towards the end we touch upon what it is like to do a PhD in mathematics.


If you liked this episode, please spread the voice sharing it with your friends or on your social media.


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Produced by Marcello Seri and Marit van Straaten

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Illustrations by Henrieke Krijgsheld

The podcast soundtrack is derived from the royalty free track Starving by OctoSound and used in agreement with pixabay license https://pixabay.com/music/funk-starving-170377

We are grateful to the Faculty of Science and Engineering, Univeristy of Groningen, for allowing us to use their podcast recording facilities

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2 years ago
30 minutes 30 seconds

It’s Not Just Numbers
A podcast on mathematics and its human side. In a conversation with mathematicians, we address some common stereotypes and misconceptions, giving space to the people of mathematics. Each episode will start by getting to know the guests, their research, their drive and what they do outside mathematics. In the second half of the episode we will discuss together some theme related to mathematics and mathematicians. Opinions are our own.