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=LAST MINUTE LOCATION ANNOUNCEMENT=
[[Image:logo.png|right|600px]]
<font size="4" color = red>We are thrilled to announce that, starting on September 28, we have a beautiful new room for our Math Circle: Room 3255 in the Helen C White Library, which is right next to the Memorial Union on the UW Campus.  We apologize for the inconvenience that our room changes have caused but we think this will be a great fit.</font>
 
=Weekly Meeting=
We have a weekly meeting, <b>Monday at 6pm in 3255 Helen C White Library</b>, during the school year. <b>New students are welcome at any point! </b> There is no required registration, no fee, and the talks are independent of one another, so you can just show up any week.  See below for directions. 
 
If you are a student, we hope you will tell other interested students about these talks, and speak with your parents or with your teacher about organizing a car pool to the UW campus. If you are a parent or a teacher, we hope you'll tell your students about these talks and organize a car pool to the UW (all talks take place in 3255 Helen C White Library, on the UW-Madison campus, right next to the Memorial Union).


For the site in Spanish, visit [[Math Circle de Madison]]
=What is a Math Circle?=
=What is a Math Circle?=
The Madison Math Circle is a weekly series of mathematically based activities aimed at interested middle school and high school students. It is an outreach program organized by the UW Math Department.  Our goal is to provide a taste of exciting ideas in math and science. In the past we've had talks about plasma and weather in outer space, video game graphics, and encryption.  In the sessions, students (and parents) are often asked to explore problems on their own, with the presenter facilitating a discussion.  The talks are independent of one another, so new students are welcome at any point.
The Madison Math Circle is a weekly series of mathematically based activities aimed at interested middle school and high school students. It is an outreach program organized by the UW Math Department.  Our goal is to provide a taste of exciting ideas in math and science. In the past we've had talks about plasma and weather in outer space, video game graphics, and encryption.  In the sessions, students (and parents) are often asked to explore problems on their own, with the presenter facilitating a discussion.  The talks are independent of one another, so new students are welcome at any point.
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[[Image: MathCircle_2.jpg|500px]]  
[[Image: MathCircle_2.jpg|550px]] [[Image: MathCircle_4.jpg|550px]]  
 
[[Image: MathCircle_4.jpg|500px]]  




After each talk we'll have pizza provided by the Mathematics Department, and students will have an opportunity to mingle and chat with the speaker and with other participants, to ask questions about some of the topics that have been discussed, and also about college, careers in science, etc.
After each talk we'll have pizza provided by the Mathematics Department, and students will have an opportunity to mingle and chat with the speaker and with other participants, to ask questions about some of the topics that have been discussed, and also about college, careers in science, etc.


'''The Madison Math circle was featured in Wisconsin State Journal:''' http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/education/local_schools/school-spotlight-madison-math-circle-gives-young-students-a-taste/article_77f5c042-0b3d-11e1-ba5f-001cc4c03286.html
'''The Madison Math Circle was featured in Wisconsin State Journal:''' [http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/education/local_schools/school-spotlight-madison-math-circle-gives-young-students-a-taste/article_77f5c042-0b3d-11e1-ba5f-001cc4c03286.html check it out]!


=All right, I want to come!=
=All right, I want to come!=
==Directions and parking==
Meetings are held in 120 Ingraham Hall.


<div class="center" style="width:auto; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;">
Our in person talks will be at, <b>Monday at 6pm in 3255 Helen C White Library</b>, during the school year. New students are welcome at any point!  There is no fee and the talks are independent of one another. You can just show up any week, but we ask all participants to take a moment to register by following the link below:
[[File: Ingraham_Map.jpg|400px]]</div>


'''Parking.''' Parking on campus is rather limited.  Here is as list of some options:
[https://forms.gle/5QRTkHngWf43nmCC9 '''Math Circle Registration Form''']


*Directly in front of Ingraham hall, 2 metered spots (25 minute max) in [http://goo.gl/maps/HhFUm Lot 11 off of Observatory Drive].
All of your information is kept private, and is only used by the Madison Math Circle organizer to help run the Circle.  
*A 0.2 mile walk to Ingraham Hall via [http://goo.gl/maps/3IFaw these directions], many spots ('''free starting 4:30pm''') [http://goo.gl/maps/Gkx1C in Lot 26 along Observatory Drive].
*A 0.3 mile walk to Ingraham Hall via [http://goo.gl/maps/yFwNr these directions], many spots ('''free starting 4:30pm''') [http://goo.gl/maps/vs17X in Lot 34]. 
*A 0.2 mile walk to Ingraham Hall via [http://goo.gl/maps/9NNNm these directions], 2 metered spots (25 minute max) [http://goo.gl/maps/ukTcu in front of Lathrop Hall].
*A 0.3 mile walk to Ingraham Hall via [http://goo.gl/maps/P156B these directions] 6 metered spots (25 minute max) around [http://goo.gl/maps/6EAnc the loop in front of Chadbourne Hall] .
*For more information, see the [http://transportation.wisc.edu/parking/parking.aspx UW-Madison Parking Info website].


==Email list==
If you are a student, we hope you will tell other interested students about these talks, and speak with your parents or with your teacher about organizing a car pool to the UW campus. If you are a parent or a teacher, we hope you'll tell your students about these talks and organize a car pool to the UW (all talks take place in 3255 Helen C White Library, on the UW-Madison campus, right next to the Memorial Union).
Sign up for our email list: https://lists.math.wisc.edu/listinfo/math-circle
 
==Contact the organizers==
If you have any questions, suggestions for topics, or so on, just email the '''organizers''' (Carolyn Abbott, Gheorghe Craciun, Daniel Erman, Lalit Jain, Ryan Julian, and Philip Matchett Wood): [mailto:math-circle-organizers@math.wisc.edu math-circle-organizers@math.wisc.edu].  We are always interested in feedback!
 
==Report on Math Circle in 2013-14==
[https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/images/Math_Circle_Newsletter.pdf Annual Report]
 
==Donations==
Please consider donating to the Madison Math Circle.  As noted in our [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/images/Math_Circle_Newsletter.pdf annual report], our main costs consist of pizza and occasional supplies for the speakers.  Our costs have been covered so far by donations from the UW Math Department plus generous gifts from a private donor. But our costs are rising, primarily because this year we expect to hold more meetings than in any previous year.  In fact, this year, we expect to spend at least $2500 on pizza and supplies alone.


So please consider donating to support your math circle!  The easiest way to donate is to go to the link:


[http://www.math.wisc.edu/donate Online Donation Link]
There are instructions on that page for donating to the Math Department.  <b> Be sure and add a Gift Note saying that the donation is intended for the "Madison Math Circle"!</b>  The money goes into the Mathematics Department Annual Fund and is routed through the University of Wisconsin Foundation, which is convenient for record-keeping, etc.
Alternately, you can bring a check to one of the Math Circle Meetings.  If you write a check, be sure to make it payable to the "WFAA" and add the note "Math Circle Donation" on the check. 
Or you can just pay in cash, and we'll give you a receipt.
==Flyer==
Please feel free to distribute our flyer! 
[https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/images/Flyer_MMSD.pdf Flyer]
==Help us grow!==
If you like Math Circle, please help us continue to grow!  Students, parents, and teachers can help by:
*Posting our flyer at schools or anywhere that might have interested students
*Discussing the Math Circle with students, parents, teachers, administrators, and others
*Making an announcement about Math Circle at PTO meetings
*Donating to Math Circle
Contact the organizers if you have questions or your own ideas about how to help out.
=Meetings for Fall 2015 and Spring 2016=


== Fall Schedule ==
<center>
<center>
All talks are at '''6pm in [http://goo.gl/maps/6k5IA Ingraham Hall] room 120''', unless otherwise noted.


{| style="color:black; font-size:120%" border="1" cellpadding="14" cellspacing="0"
{| style="color:black; font-size:120%" border="1" cellpadding="14" cellspacing="0"
|-
|-
! colspan="3" style="background: #ffdead;" align="center" | Fall 2015
! colspan="4" style="background: #e8b2b2;" align="center" | Fall Schedule
|-
|-
! Date !! Speaker !! Topic
! Date !! Location and Room || Speaker || Title
|-
|-
| September 14, 2015 || David Sondak || [[#David Sondak | How to SEE Sound]]
| Oct 7 || 3255 College Library || Caitlin Davis || How to Cut a Cake (Fairly)
|-
|-
| September 21, 2015 || Uri Andrews|| [[#Uri Andrews | Guarding Mona Lisa]]
| Oct 14 || 3255 College Library || Uri Andrews || Math, Philosophy, Psychology, and Artificial Intelligence
|-
|-
| September 28, 2015 || Eva Elduque|| [[#Eva Elduque | Pick's Theorem]]
| Oct 21 || 3255 College Library || Sam Craig || Fractal geometry and the problem of measuring coastlines
|-
|-
| October 5, 2015 || Jessica Lin|| [[#Jessica Lin | The Math of Sudoku]]
| Oct 28 || 3255 College Library || Cancelled || Cancelled
|-
|-
| October 12, 2015 || Ryan Julian || [[#Ryan Julian | Eight Dimensional Oranges]]
| Nov 4 || 3255 College Library || Sam Craig || Proofs of the Pythagorean theorem, new and old.
|-
|-
| October 19, 2015 || Keith Rush|| [[#TBA | Abstract]]
| Nov 11 || 3255 College Library || Chenxi Wu || Heron’s method for approximating square roots
|-
|-
| October 26, 2015 || Megan Maguire || [[#TBA | Abstract]]
| Nov 18 || 3255 College Library || Diego Rojas || Non-Transitive Dice: The Math That Doesn’t Play Fair
|-
|-
| November 2, 2015 || Marko Budisic|| [[#TBA | Abstract]]
| Nov 25 || 3255 College Library || TBA || TBA
|-
|-
| November 9, 2015 || Tess Anderson || [[#TBA | Abstract]]
| Dec 2 || 3255 College Library || TBA || TBA
|-
|-
| November 16, 2015 || DJ Bruce || [[#TBA | Abstract]]
| Dec 9 || 3255 College Library || TBA || TBA
|-
|-
| November 23, 2015 || Tullia Dymarz (Last meeting of fall) || [[#TBA | Abstract]]
| Dec 16 || 3255 College Library || TBA || TBA
|-
|-
! colspan="3" style="background: #ffdead;" align="center" | Spring 2016
|}
 
</center>
 
= Fall Abstracts =
 
=== Abstract 10/7 ===
<center>
{| style="color:black; font-size:100%" table border="2" cellpadding="10" width="700" cellspacing="20"
|-
|-
! Date !! Speaker !! Topic
| bgcolor="#e8b2b2" align="center" style="font-size:125%" | '''Caitlin Davis'''
|-
|-
| February 1, 2016 || Will Mitchell || [[#Will Mitchell | Are these networks the same?]]
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD"  align="center" | '''Title: How to Cut a Cake (Fairly)'''
|-
|-
| February 8, 2016 || Lalit Jain || [[#TBA | Abstract]]
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD"  | 
Imagine you and a friend are sharing a cupcake.  How can you cut the cupcake so that each of you gets your fair share?  If you've ever shared a cupcake (or some other treat) with a friend, you might have an answer!  Now what if you're sharing a cake with several friends?  Can we use the same strategy to cut the cake fairly? We'll talk about how math can be used to study questions like this.
|}                                                                       
</center>
 
=== Abstract 10/14 ===
<center>
{| style="color:black; font-size:100%" table border="2" cellpadding="10" width="700" cellspacing="20"
|-
|-
| February 15, 2016 || Jordan Ellenberg || [[#TBA | Abstract]]
| bgcolor="#e8b2b2" align="center" style="font-size:125%" | '''Uri Andrews'''
|-
|-
| February 22, 2016 || TBA || [[#TBA | Abstract]]
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD"  align="center" | '''Title: Math, Philosophy, Psychology, and Artificial Intelligence'''
|-
|-
| February 29, 2016 || TBA || [[#TBA | Abstract]]
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD"  | 
People come to understand the truth via a process of arguing. This could be a philosophical debate. This could be an internal dialogue. This could be in a courtroom. This could be deciding with your family where to go for dinner. These are all different forms of argumentation, with different rules for when you are convinced. In a courtroom, you have to be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt, whereas when deciding where to go for dinner, you might just have to look hungriest to win. These processes can be mathematically modeled. Moreover, this is important for the modern goal of teaching a computer how to think and how to understand human reasoning (Artificial Intelligence).
|}                                                                       
</center>
 
 
=== Abstract 10/21 ===
<center>
{| style="color:black; font-size:100%" table border="2" cellpadding="10" width="700" cellspacing="20"
|-
|-
| March 7, 2016 || TBA || [[#TBA | Abstract]]
| bgcolor="#e8b2b2" align="center" style="font-size:125%" | '''Sam Craig'''
|-
|-
| March 14, 2016 || TBA || [[#TBA | Abstract]]
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD"  align="center" | '''Title: Fractal geometry and the problem of measuring coastlines'''
|-
|-
| March 21, 2016 || No Meeting (Spring Break) || [[#TBA | Abstract]]
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD"  |  
A fractal is a shape which looks about the same when you look closely as when you look far away. I will show some examples of fractals that arise in math (like the Sierpinski triangle) and in nature (like the coastline of an island) and discuss the difficulties in determining what the length of a fractal means.
|}                                                                       
</center>
 
=== Abstract 11/4 ===
<center>
{| style="color:black; font-size:100%" border="2" cellpadding="10" width="700" cellspacing="20" table
|-
|-
| March 28, 2016 || No Meeting (Spring Break) || [[#TBA | Abstract]]
| bgcolor="#e8b2b2" align="center" style="font-size:125%" | '''Sam Craig'''
|-
|-
| April 4, 2016 || TBA || [[#TBA | Abstract]]
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD" align="center" | '''Title: Proofs of the Pythagorean theorem, new and old.'''
|-
|-
| April 11, 2016 || Andrew Kidd || [[#TBA | Abstract]]
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD" |
The Pythagorean theorem has been known for thousands of years and over that time, people have found a number of different ways to prove the theorem. We will talk about a proof given by Pythagoras, a proof by US President Andrew Garfield, and a very recent proof (that you might have heard of in the news) by Calcea Johnson and Ne'Kiya Jackson.
|}
</center>
 
=== Abstract 11/11 ===
<center>
{| style="color:black; font-size:100%" border="2" cellpadding="10" width="700" cellspacing="20" table
|-
|-
| April 18, 2016 || TBA || [[#TBA | Abstract]]
| bgcolor="#e8b2b2" align="center" style="font-size:125%" | '''Chenxi Wu'''
|-
|-
| April 25, 2016 || TBA || [[#TBA | Abstract]]
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD" align="center" | '''Title:Heron’s method for approximating square roots.'''
|-
|-
| May 2, 2016 || TBA || [[#TBA | Abstract]]
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD" |
We will talk about Heron's method for approximating square roots. This will lead us on a journey through approximation methods including Newton's method, through algebraic concepts like the p-adic numbers, and Hensel's Lemma.
|}
|}
</center>
</center>


=High school meetings for Fall 2015=
=== Abstract 11/18 ===
 
We are experimenting with holding some Math Circle meetings directly at local high schools.  Our schedule for the fall is below.  If you are interesting in having us come to your high school, please contact us!
 
<center>
<center>
 
{| style="color:black; font-size:100%" border="2" cellpadding="10" width="700" cellspacing="20" table
{| style="color:black; font-size:120%" border="1" cellpadding="14" cellspacing="0"
|-
|-
! colspan="5" style="background: #ffdead;" align="center" | Fall 2015
| bgcolor="#e8b2b2" align="center" style="font-size:125%" | '''Diego Rojas'''
|-
|-
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD" align="center" | '''Title:Non-Transitive Dice: The Math That Doesn’t Play Fair.'''
|-
|-
! Date !! Location !! Speaker !! Topic !! Link for more info
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD" |
|-
What if I told you there’s a set of dice where winning doesn’t follow the rules you expect? In this talk, we’ll explore the strange and surprising world of non-transitive dice, where the usual logic of “if A is better than B, and B is better than C, then A must be better than C” simply falls apart. Using math, probability, and a little imagination, we’ll uncover why these dice defy intuition and how they challenge our understanding of competition and strategy. Get ready to think about games—and math—in a whole new way!
| September 28, 2015 || 2:45pm East High || Daniel Erman || How to Catch a (data) thief [[#How to Catch a (data) thief | Abstract]] ||
|-
| October 19, 2015 || 2:45pm East High || Uri Andrews || [[#TBA | Abstract]] ||
|-
|}
|}
</center>
==Directions and parking==
Our meetings are held on the 3rd floor of Helen C. White Hall in room 3255.
<div class="center" style="width:auto; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;">
[[File: Helencwhitemap.png|400px]]</div>
'''Parking.''' Parking on campus is rather limited.  Here is as list of some options:
*There is a parking garage in the basement of Helen C. White, with an hourly rate.  Enter from Park Street.
*A 0.5 mile walk to Helen C. White Hall via [http://goo.gl/cxTzJY these directions], many spots ('''free starting 4:30pm''') [http://goo.gl/maps/Gkx1C in Lot 26 along Observatory Drive].
*A 0.3 mile walk to Helen C. White Hall via [http://goo.gl/yMJIRd these directions], many spots ('''free starting 4:30pm''') [http://goo.gl/maps/vs17X in Lot 34]. 
*A 0.3 mile walk to Helen C. White Hall via [http://goo.gl/yMJIRd these directions], 2 metered spots (25 minute max) [http://goo.gl/maps/ukTcu in front of Lathrop Hall].
*A 0.2 mile walk to Helen C. White Hall via [http://goo.gl/b8pdk2 these directions] 6 metered spots (25 minute max) around [http://goo.gl/maps/6EAnc the loop in front of Chadbourne Hall] .
*For more information, see the [http://transportation.wisc.edu/parking/parking.aspx UW-Madison Parking Info website].
==Email list==
The best way to keep up to date with the what is going is by signing up for our email list. Please add your email in the form:
[https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe_cKMfdjMQlmJc9uZg5bZ-sjKZ2q5SV9wLb1gSddrvB1Tk1A/viewform '''Join Email List''']


==Contact the organizers==
The Madison Math Circle is organized by a group of professors and graduate students from the [http://www.math.wisc.edu Department of Mathematics] at the UW-Madison. If you have any questions, suggestions for topics, or so on, just email the '''organizers''' [mailto:mathcircleorganizers@g-groups.wisc.edu here]. We are always interested in feedback!
<center>
<gallery widths="500" heights="300" mode="packed">
File:Uri.jpg|[https://www.math.wisc.edu/~andrews/ Prof. Uri Andrews]
</gallery>
<gallery widths="500" heights="250" mode="packed">
</gallery>
</center>
</center>
== Abstracts ==


===David Sondak===
==Donations==
''How to SEE Sound''
Please consider donating to the Madison Math Circle. Our main costs consist of pizza and occasional supplies for the speakers.  So far our costs have been covered by donations from the UW Mathematics Department as well as a generous gifts from private donors. The easiest way to donate is to go to the link:
 
[http://www.math.wisc.edu/donate Online Donation Link]
 
There are instructions on that page for donating to the Math Department.  <b> Be sure and add a Gift Note saying that the donation is intended for the "Madison Math Circle"!</b>  The money goes into the Mathematics Department Annual Fund and is routed through the University of Wisconsin Foundation, which is convenient for record-keeping, etc.
 
Alternately, you can bring a check to one of the Math Circle Meetings.  If you write a check, be sure to make it payable to the "WFAA" and add the note "Math Circle Donation" on the check. 
 
Or you can make donations in cash, and we'll give you a receipt.
 
==Help us grow!==
If you like Math Circle, please help us continue to grow!  Students, parents, and teachers can help by:
* Like our [https://facebook.com/madisonmathcircle '''Facebook Page'''] and share our events with others!
* Posting our [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/images/Math_Circle_Flyer_2021.pdf '''flyer'''] at schools or anywhere that might have interested students.
* Discussing the Math Circle with students, parents, teachers, administrators, and others.
* Making an announcement about Math Circle at PTO meetings.
* Donating to Math Circle.
Contact the organizers if you have questions or your own ideas about how to help out.
 
=Useful Resources=
 


The idea is to give a simple overview of sound waves by introducing sines and cosines and some of their basic anatomy (amplitude and frequency).  We will then have a computational component where the students create their own sound waves by fiddling with parameters in the sines and cosines (again, amplitude, frequency and different superpositions of the sines and cosines). They will actually be able to see plots of their waves AND listen to their waves.  Finally, if time permits, the students will use their own sound waves to make Oobleck dance.  This will bring the exercise full circle in that they will be able to see their very own sound waves in action.


===Uri Andrews===
== Archived Abstracts ==
''Guarding Mona Lisa''


You have gotten a tip that a famous art thief is going to steal something from the Louvre. It is your task to organize a security team that can watch all the works of art. The problem is that the Louvre is really big and has a strange layout. Where do you put your guards? And how many do you need?
[https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts_2023-2024 2023 - 2024 Abstracts]


===Eva Elduque===
[https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts_2022-2023 2022 - 2023 Abstracts]
''Pick's Theorem''


In this talk, we will a very easy formula that allows us to quickly compute the areas of polygons whose vertices are points of a grid, and we will prove that this formula works. (Solutions to the worksheet distributed during the circle can be found [[File:Pick.pdf]].)
[https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts_2021-2022 2021 - 2022 Abstracts]


===Jessica Lin===
[https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts_2020-2021 2020 - 2021 Abstracts]
''The Math of Sudoku''


Have you ever sat next to someone in the airport or airplane who plays sudoku? Have you ever tried to play yourself? When you play, do you have some strategies that help you to complete the puzzle? It turns out that there is some deep mathematics behind this simple game. Come to math circle this week to learn about it, and maybe you can help the person next to you solve his/her sudoku!
[https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts_2019-2020 2019 - 2020 Abstracts]


===Ryan Julian===
[https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_2016-2017 2016 - 2017 Math Circle Page]
''The Geometry of Hockeysticks and Eight Dimensional Oranges''


Like most people, I've often considered opening an eight dimensional grocery store. Of course, the main difficulty with this plan is that I'd need some way of neatly stacking all of the eight dimensional fruit that I'd be selling. In this talk, we'll explore a variety of elementary counting problems, discover that nearly all elementary counting problems are really the same problem, and we'll apply these new insights to determine how to stack 8 dimensional fruits into neat 8 dimensional pyramids.
[https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts_2016-2017 2016 - 2017 Abstracts]


[https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_2015-2016 2015 - 2016 Math Circle Page]


===Daniel Erman===
[https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Math_Circle_de_Madison_2015-2016 2015 - 2016 Math Circle Page (Spanish)]
''How to catch a (data) thief''


I will discuss some surprising statistical facts that have been used to catch companies that lie about data.
[https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts_2015-2016 2015 - 2015 Abstracts]


===Will Mitchell===
[https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Archived_Math_Circle_Material The way-back archives]
''Are these networks the same?''


The question of deciding whether two things are the same comes up in many different places in math. In this session we'll consider the problem of deciding if two networks or "graphs" are the same. This leads to some entertaining and challenging puzzles.  We will also learn a bit about how people try to solve similar problems using computers.  This problem has applications in the design of electronic circuits and in searching for organic chemical compounds within large databases.
==Link for presenters (in progress)==
[https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Math_Circle_Presentations Advice For Math Circle Presenters]


=Contact Information Form=
[http://www.geometer.org/mathcircles/ Sample Talk Ideas/Problems from Tom Davis]
[https://fs18.formsite.com/crabbott/form1/index.html Link to Contact Information Form]


==[[Archived Math Circle Material]]==
[https://www.mathcircles.org/activities Sample Talks from the National Association of Math Circles]
[[Archived Math Circle Material]]


=Link for presenters (in progress)=
[https://epdf.pub/circle-in-a-box715623b97664e247f2118ddf7bec4bfa35437.html "Circle in a Box"]
[https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Math_Circle_Presentations  https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Math_Circle_Presentations]

Latest revision as of 15:39, 18 November 2024

Logo.png

For the site in Spanish, visit Math Circle de Madison

What is a Math Circle?

The Madison Math Circle is a weekly series of mathematically based activities aimed at interested middle school and high school students. It is an outreach program organized by the UW Math Department. Our goal is to provide a taste of exciting ideas in math and science. In the past we've had talks about plasma and weather in outer space, video game graphics, and encryption. In the sessions, students (and parents) are often asked to explore problems on their own, with the presenter facilitating a discussion. The talks are independent of one another, so new students are welcome at any point.

The level of the audience varies quite widely, including a mix of middle school and high school students, and the speakers generally address this by considering subjects that will be interesting for a wide range of students.


MathCircle 2.jpg MathCircle 4.jpg


After each talk we'll have pizza provided by the Mathematics Department, and students will have an opportunity to mingle and chat with the speaker and with other participants, to ask questions about some of the topics that have been discussed, and also about college, careers in science, etc.

The Madison Math Circle was featured in Wisconsin State Journal: check it out!

All right, I want to come!

Our in person talks will be at, Monday at 6pm in 3255 Helen C White Library, during the school year. New students are welcome at any point! There is no fee and the talks are independent of one another. You can just show up any week, but we ask all participants to take a moment to register by following the link below: 

Math Circle Registration Form

All of your information is kept private, and is only used by the Madison Math Circle organizer to help run the Circle.

If you are a student, we hope you will tell other interested students about these talks, and speak with your parents or with your teacher about organizing a car pool to the UW campus. If you are a parent or a teacher, we hope you'll tell your students about these talks and organize a car pool to the UW (all talks take place in 3255 Helen C White Library, on the UW-Madison campus, right next to the Memorial Union).


Fall Schedule

Fall Schedule
Date Location and Room Speaker Title
Oct 7 3255 College Library Caitlin Davis How to Cut a Cake (Fairly)
Oct 14 3255 College Library Uri Andrews Math, Philosophy, Psychology, and Artificial Intelligence
Oct 21 3255 College Library Sam Craig Fractal geometry and the problem of measuring coastlines
Oct 28 3255 College Library Cancelled Cancelled
Nov 4 3255 College Library Sam Craig Proofs of the Pythagorean theorem, new and old.
Nov 11 3255 College Library Chenxi Wu Heron’s method for approximating square roots
Nov 18 3255 College Library Diego Rojas Non-Transitive Dice: The Math That Doesn’t Play Fair
Nov 25 3255 College Library TBA TBA
Dec 2 3255 College Library TBA TBA
Dec 9 3255 College Library TBA TBA
Dec 16 3255 College Library TBA TBA

Fall Abstracts

Abstract 10/7

Caitlin Davis
Title: How to Cut a Cake (Fairly)

Imagine you and a friend are sharing a cupcake. How can you cut the cupcake so that each of you gets your fair share? If you've ever shared a cupcake (or some other treat) with a friend, you might have an answer! Now what if you're sharing a cake with several friends? Can we use the same strategy to cut the cake fairly? We'll talk about how math can be used to study questions like this.

Abstract 10/14

Uri Andrews
Title: Math, Philosophy, Psychology, and Artificial Intelligence

People come to understand the truth via a process of arguing. This could be a philosophical debate. This could be an internal dialogue. This could be in a courtroom. This could be deciding with your family where to go for dinner. These are all different forms of argumentation, with different rules for when you are convinced. In a courtroom, you have to be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt, whereas when deciding where to go for dinner, you might just have to look hungriest to win. These processes can be mathematically modeled. Moreover, this is important for the modern goal of teaching a computer how to think and how to understand human reasoning (Artificial Intelligence).


Abstract 10/21

Sam Craig
Title: Fractal geometry and the problem of measuring coastlines

A fractal is a shape which looks about the same when you look closely as when you look far away. I will show some examples of fractals that arise in math (like the Sierpinski triangle) and in nature (like the coastline of an island) and discuss the difficulties in determining what the length of a fractal means.

Abstract 11/4

Sam Craig
Title: Proofs of the Pythagorean theorem, new and old.

The Pythagorean theorem has been known for thousands of years and over that time, people have found a number of different ways to prove the theorem. We will talk about a proof given by Pythagoras, a proof by US President Andrew Garfield, and a very recent proof (that you might have heard of in the news) by Calcea Johnson and Ne'Kiya Jackson.

Abstract 11/11

Chenxi Wu
Title:Heron’s method for approximating square roots.

We will talk about Heron's method for approximating square roots. This will lead us on a journey through approximation methods including Newton's method, through algebraic concepts like the p-adic numbers, and Hensel's Lemma.

Abstract 11/18

Diego Rojas
Title:Non-Transitive Dice: The Math That Doesn’t Play Fair.

What if I told you there’s a set of dice where winning doesn’t follow the rules you expect? In this talk, we’ll explore the strange and surprising world of non-transitive dice, where the usual logic of “if A is better than B, and B is better than C, then A must be better than C” simply falls apart. Using math, probability, and a little imagination, we’ll uncover why these dice defy intuition and how they challenge our understanding of competition and strategy. Get ready to think about games—and math—in a whole new way!

Directions and parking

Our meetings are held on the 3rd floor of Helen C. White Hall in room 3255.

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Parking. Parking on campus is rather limited. Here is as list of some options:

Email list

The best way to keep up to date with the what is going is by signing up for our email list. Please add your email in the form: Join Email List

Contact the organizers

The Madison Math Circle is organized by a group of professors and graduate students from the Department of Mathematics at the UW-Madison. If you have any questions, suggestions for topics, or so on, just email the organizers here. We are always interested in feedback!

Donations

Please consider donating to the Madison Math Circle. Our main costs consist of pizza and occasional supplies for the speakers. So far our costs have been covered by donations from the UW Mathematics Department as well as a generous gifts from private donors. The easiest way to donate is to go to the link:

Online Donation Link

There are instructions on that page for donating to the Math Department. Be sure and add a Gift Note saying that the donation is intended for the "Madison Math Circle"! The money goes into the Mathematics Department Annual Fund and is routed through the University of Wisconsin Foundation, which is convenient for record-keeping, etc.

Alternately, you can bring a check to one of the Math Circle Meetings. If you write a check, be sure to make it payable to the "WFAA" and add the note "Math Circle Donation" on the check.

Or you can make donations in cash, and we'll give you a receipt.

Help us grow!

If you like Math Circle, please help us continue to grow! Students, parents, and teachers can help by:

  • Like our Facebook Page and share our events with others!
  • Posting our flyer at schools or anywhere that might have interested students.
  • Discussing the Math Circle with students, parents, teachers, administrators, and others.
  • Making an announcement about Math Circle at PTO meetings.
  • Donating to Math Circle.

Contact the organizers if you have questions or your own ideas about how to help out.

Useful Resources

Archived Abstracts

2023 - 2024 Abstracts

2022 - 2023 Abstracts

2021 - 2022 Abstracts

2020 - 2021 Abstracts

2019 - 2020 Abstracts

2016 - 2017 Math Circle Page

2016 - 2017 Abstracts

2015 - 2016 Math Circle Page

2015 - 2016 Math Circle Page (Spanish)

2015 - 2015 Abstracts

The way-back archives

Link for presenters (in progress)

Advice For Math Circle Presenters

Sample Talk Ideas/Problems from Tom Davis

Sample Talks from the National Association of Math Circles

"Circle in a Box"

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