Math-Life Balance

Mura Yakerson
  • 5.0 (3)
  • MATHEMATICS

The official podcast version of Mura Yakerson's YouTube channel Math-Life Balance. What Mura has to say about the content: "In this [podcast] I post my non-professional interviews with professional mathematicians. I ask my colleagues about their personal experience in math, their struggles and lifehacks. I hope that this shared experience would be helpful for other people in the math community, especially for young mathematicians!"

  1. Interview with Simon Singh

    OCT 27

    Interview with Simon Singh

    Simon Singh is, according to himself, "an author, journalist and TV producer, specialising in science and mathematics, the only two subjects I have the faintest clue about". In this interview we chat about various projects of Simon, from theatre festivals to math education in schools, and argue about math outreach. Have fun listening! Simon's webpage: simonsingh.net Parallel project: parallel.org.uk Math-Life Balance on YouTube: youtube.com/@math-life-balance Chapters: 0:00 teaser 0:41 math & magic at Fringe 9:15 cool math for teenagers 16:16 why kids really need it 18:52 confidence for various projects 20:41 Shakespeare in math class? 28:51 what could go wrong 30:48 outreach and effectivity 34:56 Simon gets annoyed :) 37:03 too much outreach? 39:50 math in Simpsons and writing 44:38 sweet book selling story 46:45 how I learned about Simon

    48 min
  2. Interview with @3blue1brown‬

    OCT 10

    Interview with @3blue1brown‬

    Grant Sanderson is the creator of the coolest math youtube channel, "3blue1brown". In this interview, Grant and Mura chat about a bunch of different topics, such as feelings towards abstract math, and even hear Grant read a piece from his poem. Enjoy Grant's beautiful thoughts and exquisite English!Grant's channel: youtube.com/ 3blue1brownGrant's homepage: 3blue1brown.com/aboutGrant's poetry: 3blue1brown.com/blog/poemsThe Math-life balance YouTube channel: youtube.com/@math-life-balanceChapters: 0:00 teaser 0:45 introducing Grant and his job 2:52 struggles of having a popular YouTube channel 6:03 sociology of math outreach 10:36 why people love 3blue1brown 13:22 how to popularize abstract math 17:40 making algebraic K-theory popular 21:17 how to measure success 27:16 did god hand you the definition of a topological space? 32:27 who writes wiki pages and and why 36:13 which feelings cause abstraction 44:39 what if you don't understand math 46:49 unpacking genius 51:48 how Grant deals with the frustration of not understanding math 55:16 Grant's poetry 1:01:47 Grant's question to mathematicians 1:03:38 advice from Grant

    1h 5m
  3. Interview with Jeremiah Heller and Vesna Stojanoska

    07/13/2022

    Interview with Jeremiah Heller and Vesna Stojanoska

    In this interview, Jeremiah Heller and Vesna Stojanoska share their experience of combining math and family life, discuss their ways to get over occasional demotivation in research and speak about social aspects of research. Jokes included! Jeremiah's homepage: https://faculty.math.illinois.edu/~jbheller/ Vesna's homepage: https://faculty.math.illinois.edu/~vesna/ Mike Hopkins’ talk at Paul Goerss’ birthday conference: youtu.be/Ix4pg87LKVk Chapters: 0:00 teaser 0:34 their family and other animals 4:04 kids’ curiosity about math 8:30 wishes for kids’ future 11:04 existential chat about adulthood  13:51 research & relationship 16:13 finding friends outside math bubble 19:26 two-body problem 21:59 math talks as storytelling 27:01 approaches to doing math 31:02 getting over demotivation in research 35:23 mathematics is a social endeavour 37:12 jobmarket pressure 43:24 having kids & academia 47:18 solid advice

    49 min
  4. Interview with Dhruv Ranganathan

    12/19/2021

    Interview with Dhruv Ranganathan

    Dhruv Ranganathan is a lecturer at Cambridge University, working in algebraic geometry. In this video, Dhruv talks about doing research with undergrads, being tortured by math problems, looking for friends to write math papers, and other cool stuff! Dhruv's webpage: https://www.dhruvrnathan.net Photo: from the webpage 0:00 teaser 0:41 from cricket to air planes 2:16 adventure novels childhood 4:46 what do algebraic geometers do 8:39 experience of undergrad research 12:30 how undergrad research really works 15:35 “now I’m a believer”(c) 18:25 why so much pressure in doing math 21:09 how we create pressure for young people 23:44 doing math as a coping mechanism 27:00 math torture vs intense cartoon watching 28:50 speakers love getting any math questions 30:54 math for extroverts  34:25 teaching students who leave academia 37:33 don’t beat yourself up for math mistakes 39:39 how we try and fail to improve inclusivity 43:44 don’t put people from minorities on every committee 45:45 the advice that’s too hard to follow 48:35 fireplace

    49 min
  5. Interview with Kevin Buzzard

    11/29/2021

    Interview with Kevin Buzzard

    Kevin Buzzard is a professor in Imperial College London working in number theory and formal proof verification. In this interview, Kevin shares his views on the role of computers in doing math, tells about his experience of upbringing 3 kids as a researcher and raises questions about the way we approach math education. Lots of glorious laughter and unforgettable facial expressions are included! Kevin's homepage: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/k.buzzard Channel podcast: https://anchor.fm/math-life-balance​​​​ Chapters: 0:00 teaser 0:48 Kevin’s t-shirt 3:06 imagination in math 5:36 computers vs humans 10:43 computers and infinity 12:35 math as a zen puzzle 15:19 role of fashion in math 20:06 mathematicians detecting mistakes 24:41 imperfections in our math 29:14 when the dust settles 31:56 not caring what people think 36:01 how to entertain kids in the subway 40:26 babies as the way to understand humanity 42:52 doing math when you have 3 kids 46:09 writing papers with non-mathematicians 48:54 why kids are forced to memorize math? 53:29 doing exams vs learning math 57:16 unusual advice for students 59:15 the answer to the ultimate question

    1h 2m
  6. Interview with Maria Chudnovsky

    08/30/2021

    Interview with Maria Chudnovsky

    Maria Chudnovsky is a professor at Princeton University, working in graph theory and combinatorics. In this interview, Maria shares her personal experiences: learning Hebrew from math lessons, giving a talk at NASA, using math at her own wedding, and many more! Maria's homepage: http://web.math.princeton.edu/~mchudnov/ Photo: from Maria's homepage The essay we mentioned: W.T. Gowers "The two cultures of mathematics" https://www.dpmms.cam.ac.uk/~wtg10/2cultures.pdf 0:00 teaser 0:29 respect for math at home 2:43 math helps when you don’t speak the local language 6:42 building a world around a research problem 11:37 explaining math to a broad audience 16:00 giving a talk at NASA 19:42 applying graph theory to your wedding 23:16 problem solving vs learning 27:58 being bad at math olympiads  30:40 working with your own students 33:23 experience of doing a PhD 36:02 memorizing math  37:55 studying physics vs math 43:43 maintaining a work-life balance 49:08 everyone has self-doubts 50:54 first time teaching a class 55:46 final advice

    56 min
  7. Interview with Tomer Schlank

    07/16/2021

    Interview with Tomer Schlank

    Tomer Schlank is a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, working in homotopy theory and arithmetic geometry. In this interview, Tomer shares his experience of advising a big group of students, speaks about the importance of embracing the struggle, and explains how to get unstuck in a math problem. Tomer's homepage: https://mathematics.huji.ac.il/people/tomer-schlank Photo: from Tomer's homepage 0:00 teaser 0:31 astronaut’s dreams 4:06 enjoying the struggle 8:27 top-down thinking 11:35 seminar with physicists 14:52 math dream with Vesna Stojanoska 19:24 taking breaks in projects 22:32 advising 11 students 26:47 doing math & drinking arak 31:14 being stuck is good for you 34:49 how to get unstuck 38:08 don’t worry about talent 42:33 why people hate math 45:36 run towards the problem 48:25 don’t look down on other parts of math 51:43 final advice

    54 min
  8. Interview with Saul Glasman

    07/10/2021

    Interview with Saul Glasman

    Saul Glasman worked in homotopy theory and K-theory, and now works as a software engineer. In this interview, we discuss the hardships of academic jobmarket, fears around leaving math, and the fundamental problems in academia. Saul's homepage: http://www-users.math.umn.edu/~sglasman/ Photo: from his website #mathematician​​​​​​ #mathlife​​​​​​ #interview​​​​​​  #academiavsindustry #leavingacademia #jobmarketacademia 0:00 teaser 0:44 always loved math 2:04 why left academia 8:55  the fears of leaving 14:02 staying in touch with math 20:33 send greetings to Saul :) 21:55 stigma around leaving academia 25:13 problems in academia 30:11 we aren't taught to teach 35:50 there's freedom in industry 37:36 and you feel productive! 42:44 social interactions: academia vs industry 45:19 learning effective team work 49:15 you can learn to enjoy a job 52:20 why can't we do internships 55:47 what you wish you knew 59:02 advice for those who have doubts

    1h 1m
See All (27)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

The official podcast version of Mura Yakerson's YouTube channel Math-Life Balance. What Mura has to say about the content: "In this [podcast] I post my non-professional interviews with professional mathematicians. I ask my colleagues about their personal experience in math, their struggles and lifehacks. I hope that this shared experience would be helpful for other people in the math community, especially for young mathematicians!"

Information

  • Creator
    Mura Yakerson
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2025
  • Episodes
    27
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Mura Yakerson
  • Show Website
    Math-Life Balance

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