Math Mutation 288: One Stone To Rule Them All
Earlier this year, after half a century of searching by many talented mathematicians, an amateur finally discovered an aperiodic monotile. (Send feedback to erik@mathmutation.com)
Dec 27, 2023•5 min
Math Mutation
Welcome to Math Mutation, a podcast for people of all ages where we discuss fun, interesting, or just plain weird corners of mathematics that you would not have heard in school.(Feedback email erik@mathmutation.com).
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Episodes
Math Mutation 287: The Grim State of Modern Pizza
The surprisingly simple GRIM test, and how it helped to debunk the famous Cornell Pizza Studies. (Send feedback to erik@mathmutation.com)
Sep 09, 2023•5 min
Math Mutation 286: Adventures In Translation
I discuss my experiences translating "The Revolution of Promises" by Nelson Rodriguez Chartrand. (Send feeback to erik@mathmutation.com)
Aug 27, 2023•6 min
Math Mutation 285: Believe My Proofs Or Else
Have you used the logical method known as "proof by intimidation"? (Send feeback to erik@mathmutation.com)
Jun 29, 2023•5 min
Math Mutation 284: Don't Square Numbers, Triangle Them
We discuss Buckminster Fuller's focus on triangles in his Synergetics. (Send feeback to erik@mathmutation.com)
Apr 30, 2023•5 min
Math Mutation 283: Escape From Infinity
If we deny the existence of infinity, does math still work? (Send feeback to erik@mathmutation.com)
Feb 27, 2023•6 min
Math Mutation 282: The Man With The Map
In memory of Maurice Karnaugh, we discuss the "K-Map", a nice shortcut for desinging electronic circuits. (Send feeback to erik@mathmutation.com)
Dec 20, 2022•5 min
Math Mutation 281: Pascal vs Mathematics
Discussing the final decade of Blaise Pascal's life, when he decided math and physics were unworthy of study. (Send feeback to erik@mathmutation.com)
Oct 30, 2022•5 min
Math Mutation 280: Rubik's Resurgence
Thanks to social media, Rubik's Cube is popular again. (Send feeback to erik@mathmutation.com)
Aug 25, 2022•6 min
Math Mutation 279: Improbable Envelopes
We discuss the famous Two Envelopes paradox, along with an unconventional solution. (Send feeback to erik@mathmutation.com)
Jun 30, 2022•5 min
Math Mutation 278: Bicycle Repair Man
Alan Turing's adventures in bicycle repair. (Send feeback to erik@mathmutation.com)
May 22, 2022•4 min
Math Mutation 277: Bad Career Advice
Should you aim for a maximally "scalable" profession in order to become rich? (Send feeback to erik@mathmutation.com)
Mar 31, 2022•6 min
Math Mutation 276: Don't Believe the Math
We discuss Nassim Taleb's "Ludic Fallacy", the incorrect belief that simple mathematical models accurately predict the real world. (Send feeback to erik@mathmutation.com)
Feb 20, 2022•7 min
Math Mutation 275: Demanding Fair Dice
What does it take to create fair dice for an online game? (Send feeback to erik@mathmutation.com)
Jan 22, 2022•5 min
Math Mutation 274: The Gomboc
A strange self-righting 3-D shape was only discovered in the 21st century. (Send feeback to erik@mathmutation.com)
Nov 30, 2021•4 min
Math Mutation 273: A Maze Of Labyrinths
Why are literary and visual labyrinths from ancient and medieval times so different? (Send feeback to erik@mathmutation.com)
Oct 31, 2021•6 min
Math Mutation 272: The Mathematics of Jackie Mason
How Jackie Mason derived jokes from Talmudic logic. (Send feeback to erik@mathmutation.com)
Sep 20, 2021•5 min
Math Mutation 271: Too Much Testing
Think about the math before getting tested for a rare disease. (Send feeback to erik@mathmutation.com)
Jul 31, 2021•5 min
Math Mutation 270: Which Way To Turn
Why are screw threads always right-handed? Or are they? (Send feeback to erik@mathmutation.com)
Jun 15, 2021•3 min
Math Mutation 269: A Good Use of Downtime
We discuss a strange mathematical experiment conducted in a World War II prison camp. (Send feeback to erik@mathmutation.com)
Apr 25, 2021•5 min
Math Mutation 268: The Right Way To Gamble
When does it make sense to bet it all on a single spin of the roulette wheel? (Send feeback to erik@mathmutation.com)
Mar 19, 2021•4 min
Math Mutation 267: Free Will Isn't Free
Do the nondeterministic calculations of quantum physics inevitably lead to proof of free will? (Send feeback to erik@mathmutation.com)
Jan 31, 2021•5 min
Math Mutation 266: A Number Is A Number
We explore Bertrand Russell's set-theoretic definition of whole numbers. (Send feeback to erik@mathmutation.com)
Dec 25, 2020•4 min
Math Mutation 265: Defining Numbers, Sort of
Is there a fundamental set of axioms we can use to define whole numbers? (Send feeback to erik@mathmutation.com)
Nov 30, 2020•5 min
Math Mutation 264: Unbalanced Society
We explore some of Alfred Korzybski's odd ideas about using math to remake society. (Send feeback to erik@mathmutation.com)
Oct 11, 2020•5 min
Math Mutation 263: Asimov vs Doyle
Was Sherlock Holmes' archnemesis Moriarty really a mathematical genius? (Send feeback to erik@mathmutation.com)
Aug 31, 2020•6 min
Math Mutation 262: My Bathroom Needs More Beryllium
How to combine magic squares and Feng Shui. (Send feeback to erik@mathmutation.com)
Jul 31, 2020•6 min
Math Mutation 261: The Mystery of the S
Is the title of this podcast missing an S? (Send feeback to erik@mathmutation.com)
Jun 28, 2020•4 min
Math Mutation 260: The Conway Criterion
How much can you deform hexagonal tiles and still cover your bathroom floor? (Send feeback to erik@mathmutation.com)
May 17, 2020•5 min
Math Mutation 259: Is Reality Really Real?
Does Donald Hoffman's book "The Case Against Reality" prove everything we perceive is wrong? (Send feeback to erik@mathmutation.com)
Feb 07, 2020•5 min
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