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cover of episode How to discover your humanity… through math? (with Francis Su)

How to discover your humanity… through math? (with Francis Su)

2022/7/25
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How to Be a Better Human

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Francis Su discusses how math is not just about computation but about building virtues like persistence and problem-solving, which are essential for human flourishing.

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Every day, we humans do math. Whether we are obsessed with a logic puzzle on our smartphones or even just calculating a morning alarm that gives you 8 more minutes in bed, our daily lives are full of numbers, quantities, shapes and patterns. And for Francis Su—a writer and Professor of Mathematics and the Former President of the Mathematical Association of America—math is actually one of the things that makes us human. In today’s episode he talks about how mathematics can serve as a tool for social justice, how math can enhance our sense of aesthetics and beauty, why math is one of the last refuges of truth in a time where misinformation is rampant, and how we can all learn to cultivate, and even come to love, the little daily mathematics of our lives.