Madison Math Circle: Difference between revisions

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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_4.jpg|500px]]  
[[Image: MathCircle_2.jpg|550px]] [[Image: MathCircle_4.jpg|550px]]  




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 check it out]!
'''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!=


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 fee and the talks are independent of one another, so you can just show up any week, but we ask all participants to take a moment to register by following the link below:
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:


<!-- [https://fs18.formsite.com/crabbott/form1/index.html '''Math Circle Registration Form''']-->
[https://forms.gle/5QRTkHngWf43nmCC9 '''Math Circle Registration Form''']


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




==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.  Send an empty email to join-mathcircle@lists.wisc.edu
==Contact the organizers==
The Madison Math Circle is organized by a group of three professors and three 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@lists.wisc.edu here]. We are always interested in feedback!
<center>
<gallery widths=480px heights=240px mode="packed">
File:de.jpg|[https://www.math.wisc.edu/~derman/ Prof. Daniel Erman]
File:pmwood.jpg|[http://www.math.wisc.edu/~pmwood/ Prof. Phillip Matchett Wood]
File:Craciun.jpg|[http://www.math.wisc.edu/~craciun/ Prof. Gheorghe Craciun]
</gallery>
<gallery widths=500px heights=250px mode="packed">
File:dj.jpg|[http://www.math.wisc.edu/~djbruce/ DJ Bruce]
File:Ee.jpg|[http://www.math.wisc.edu/~evaelduque/ Eva Elduque]
File:mrjulian.jpg|[http://www.math.wisc.edu/~mrjulian/ Ryan Jullian]
</gallery>
</center>
==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.  So far our costs have been covered by donations from the UW Mathematics Department as well as a 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.
==Help us grow!==
If you like Math Circle, please help us continue to grow!  Students, parents, and teachers can help by:
*Posting our [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/images/MMC_Flyer_2016.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.
=Meetings for Fall 2015 and Spring 2016=


== Fall Schedule ==
<center>
<center>
All talks start at '''6pm in room 3255 of Helen C. White Library''', 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: #e8b2b2;" align="center" | Fall 2015
! colspan="4" style="background: #e8b2b2;" align="center" | Fall Schedule
|-
! Date !! Speaker !! Topic
|-
| September 14, 2015 || David Sondak || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#September_14_2015 How to SEE Sound]
|-
| September 21, 2015 || Uri Andrews|| [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#September_21_2015  Guarding Mona Lisa]
|-
| September 28, 2015 || Eva Elduque|| [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#September_28_2015  Pick's Theorem]
|-
| October 5, 2015 || Jessica Lin|| [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#October_5_2015 The Math of Sudoku]
|-
| October 12, 2015 || Ryan Julian || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#October_12_2015 Eight Dimensional Oranges]
|-
| October 19, 2015 || <s>Keith Rush</s> || CANCELLED
|-
| October 26, 2015 || Megan Maguire || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#October_26_2015 Aperiodic tilings: Beyond your parents' bathroom floor]
|-
| November 2, 2015 || Marko Budisic|| [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#November_2_2015 Mathematics of GPS satellites]
|-
| November 9, 2015 || Tess Anderson || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#November_9_2015  Gold Coins and Goats]
|-
| November 16, 2015 || DJ Bruce || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#November_16_2015 To Infinity And Beyond?]
|-
| November 23, 2015 || Tullia Dymarz (Last meeting of fall) || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#November_23_2015 TBA]
|-
! colspan="3" style="background: #e8b2b2;" align="center" | Spring 2016
|-
! Date !! Speaker !! Topic
|-
| February 1, 2016 || Will Mitchell || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#February_1_2016 Are these networks the same?]
|-
|-
| February 8, 2016 || Lalit Jain || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#February_8_2016  Large amounts of small money]
! Date !! Location and Room || Speaker || Title
|-
|-
| February 15, 2016 || Daniel Erman || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#February_15_2016  What is the biggest number?]
| Oct 7 || 3255 College Library || Caitlin Davis || How to Cut a Cake (Fairly)
|-
|-
| February 22, 2016 || Soumya Sankar || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#February_22_2016 What would you do if you had only nickels and dimes? ]
| Oct 14 || 3255 College Library || Uri Andrews || Math, Philosophy, Psychology, and Artificial Intelligence
|-
|-
| February 29, 2016 || Alexandra (Sashka) Kjuchukova || [[#Alexandra (Sashka) Kjuchukova | TBA]]
| Oct 21 || 3255 College Library || Sam Craig || Fractal geometry and the problem of measuring coastlines
|-
|-
| March 7, 2016 || Alisha Zachariah || [[#Alisha Zachariah | TBA]]
| Oct 28 || 3255 College Library || Cancelled || Cancelled
|-
|-
| March 14, 2016 || Chiara Franceschini || [[#Chiara Franceschini | TBA]]
| Nov 4 || 3255 College Library || Sam Craig || Proofs of the Pythagorean theorem, new and old.
|-
|-
| March 21, 2016 || No Meeting (Spring Break) ||  
| Nov 11 || 3255 College Library || Chenxi Wu || Heron’s method for approximating square roots
|-
|-
| March 28, 2016 || No Meeting (Spring Break) ||  
| Nov 18 || 3255 College Library || Diego Rojas || Non-Transitive Dice: The Math That Doesn’t Play Fair
|-
|-
| April 4, 2016 || Becky Eastham || [[#Becky Eastham | TBA]]
| Nov 25 || 3255 College Library || Kaiyi Huang || A geometric investigation into a space shuttle failure
|-
|-
| April 11, 2016 || Andrew Kidd || [[#TBA | TBA]]
| Dec 2 || 3255 College Library || TBA || TBA
|-
|-
| April 18, 2016 || Solly Parenti || [[#Solly Parenti | TBA]]
| Dec 9 || 3255 College Library || TBA || TBA
|-
|-
| April 25, 2016 || Betsy Stovall || [[#Betsy Stovall | TBA]]
| Dec 16 || 3255 College Library || TBA || TBA
|-
|-
| May 2, 2016 || Jen Beichman || [[#Jen Beichman| TBA]]
|}
|}


</center>
</center>


=High School Meetings=
= Fall Abstracts =
 
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!


=== Abstract 10/7 ===
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<center>
 
{| style="color:black; font-size:100%" table border="2" cellpadding="10" width="700" cellspacing="20"
{| style="color:black; font-size:120%" border="1" cellpadding="14" cellspacing="0"
|-
|-
! colspan="5" style="background: #e8b2b2;" align="center" | Fall 2015
| bgcolor="#e8b2b2" align="center" style="font-size:125%" | '''Caitlin Davis'''
|-
|-
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD"  align="center" | '''Title: How to Cut a Cake (Fairly)'''
|-
|-
! Date !! Location !! Speaker !! Topic !! Link for more info
| 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.
| September 28, 2015 || 2:45pm East High || Daniel Erman || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#September_28_2015_2 How to Catch a (data) thief] ||
|}                                                                      
|-
| October 19, 2015 || 2:45pm East High || Carolyn Abbott || [https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts#October_19_2015 Donuts and Coffee Cups]  ||
|-
! colspan="5" style="background: #e8b2b2;" align="center" | Spring 2016
|-
|-
! Date !! Location !! Speaker !! Topic !! Link for more info
|-
| February 22, 2016 || 2:45pm Memorial High || TBD || TBD ||
|-
| April 18, 2016 || 2:45pm Memorial High || TBD || TBD  ||
|-
|}
</center>
</center>


<!--
=== Abstract 10/14 ===
== Abstracts ==
<center>
<center>
{| style="color:black; font-size:100%" table border="2" cellpadding="10" width="700" cellspacing="20"
{| style="color:black; font-size:100%" table border="2" cellpadding="10" width="700" cellspacing="20"
|-
|-
| bgcolor="#e8b2b2" align="center" style="font-size:125%" | '''Prof. Daniel Erman'''
| bgcolor="#e8b2b2" align="center" style="font-size:125%" | '''Uri Andrews'''
|-
|-
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD"  align="center" | '''Title: How to Catch a (Data) Thief'''
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD"  align="center" | '''Title: Math, Philosophy, Psychology, and Artificial Intelligence'''
|-
|-
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD"  |   
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD"  |   
I will discuss some surprising statistical facts that have been used to catch companies that lie about data.
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).  
 
|}                                                                         
|}                                                                         
{| style="color:black; font-size:100%" table border="2" cellpadding="10" width="700" cellspacing="20"
|-
| bgcolor="#e8b2b2" align="center" style="font-size:125%" | '''Carolyn Abbott'''
|-
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD"  align="center" | '''Title: Donuts and coffee cups: the topology of surfaces'''
|-
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD"  | 
A classic problem in topology is to decide whether one surfaces can be deformed into another, without creating any holes or connecting any new points (stretching and bending is allowed!).  If you can do so, such surfaces are considered 'the same.' We will formalize this notion and classify all closed surfaces, along the way answering such questions as whether a coffee cup is the same as a donut.
|}                           
</center>
</center>


= Abstracts =


== September 14, 2015  ==
=== Abstract 10/21 ===
<center>
<center>
{| style="color:black; font-size:100%" table border="2" cellpadding="10" width="700" cellspacing="20"
{| style="color:black; font-size:100%" table border="2" cellpadding="10" width="700" cellspacing="20"
|-
|-
| bgcolor="#e8b2b2" align="center" style="font-size:125%" | '''David Sondak'''
| bgcolor="#e8b2b2" align="center" style="font-size:125%" | '''Sam Craig'''
|-
|-
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD"  align="center" | '''Title: How to SEE Sound'''
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD"  align="center" | '''Title: Fractal geometry and the problem of measuring coastlines'''
|-
|-
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD"  |   
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD"  |   
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.
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>
</center>


== September 21, 2015 ==
=== Abstract 11/4 ===
<center>
<center>
{| style="color:black; font-size:100%" table border="2" cellpadding="10" width="700" cellspacing="20"
{| style="color:black; font-size:100%" border="2" cellpadding="10" width="700" cellspacing="20" table
|-
|-
| bgcolor="#e8b2b2" align="center" style="font-size:125%" | '''Prof. Uri Andrews'''
| bgcolor="#e8b2b2" align="center" style="font-size:125%" | '''Sam Craig'''
|-
|-
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD" align="center" | '''Title: Guarding Mona Lias'''
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD" align="center" | '''Title: Proofs of the Pythagorean theorem, new and old.'''
|-
|-
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD" |  
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD" |
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?
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>
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== September 28, 2015 ==
=== Abstract 11/11 ===
<center>
<center>
{| style="color:black; font-size:100%" table border="2" cellpadding="10" width="700" cellspacing="20"
{| style="color:black; font-size:100%" border="2" cellpadding="10" width="700" cellspacing="20" table
|-
|-
| bgcolor="#e8b2b2" align="center" style="font-size:125%" | '''Eva Elduque'''
| bgcolor="#e8b2b2" align="center" style="font-size:125%" | '''Chenxi Wu'''
|-
|-
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD" align="center" | '''Title: Pick's Theorem'''
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD" align="center" | '''Title:Heron’s method for approximating square roots.'''
|-
|-
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD" |  
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD" |
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]].)
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>
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== October 5, 2015 ==
=== Abstract 11/18 ===
<center>
<center>
{| style="color:black; font-size:100%" table border="2" cellpadding="10" width="700" cellspacing="20"
{| style="color:black; font-size:100%" border="2" cellpadding="10" width="700" cellspacing="20" table
|-
|-
| bgcolor="#e8b2b2" align="center" style="font-size:125%" | '''Jessica Lin'''
| bgcolor="#e8b2b2" align="center" style="font-size:125%" | '''Diego Rojas'''
|-
|-
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD" align="center" | '''Title: The Math of Sudoku'''
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD" align="center" | '''Title:Non-Transitive Dice: The Math That Doesn’t Play Fair.'''
|-
|-
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD" |  
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD" |
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!
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!
|}
</center>


|}                                                                       
</center>


== October 12, 2015 ==
=== Abstract 11/25 ===
<center>
<center>
{| style="color:black; font-size:100%" table border="2" cellpadding="10" width="700" cellspacing="20"
{| style="color:black; font-size:100%" border="2" cellpadding="10" width="700" cellspacing="20" table
|-
|-
| bgcolor="#e8b2b2" align="center" style="font-size:125%" | '''Ryan Julian'''
| bgcolor="#e8b2b2" align="center" style="font-size:125%" | '''Kaiyi Huang'''
|-
|-
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD" align="center" | '''Title: The Geometry of Hockeysticks and Eight Dimensional Oranges'''
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD" align="center" | '''Title:A geometric investigation into a space shuttle failure'''
|-
|-
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD" |  
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD" |
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.
We know that a circle has the same width in every direction, but is it the only object that has this property? NASA engineers assumed so, which, together with a string of other mistakes, might have led to the tragic failure of their space shuttle launch. Let’s look further into this problem so that we won’t make the same mistake again!
|}                                                                      
|}
</center>
</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''']


== October 26, 2015 ==
==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>
<center>
{| style="color:black; font-size:100%" table border="2" cellpadding="10" width="700" cellspacing="20"
<gallery widths="500" heights="300" mode="packed">
|-
File:Uri.jpg|[https://www.math.wisc.edu/~andrews/ Prof. Uri Andrews]
| bgcolor="#e8b2b2" align="center" style="font-size:125%" | '''Megan Maguire'''
</gallery>
|-
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD"  align="center" | '''Title: Aperiodic tilings: Beyond your parents' bathroom floor'''
|-
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD"  | 
A tiling is a way of covering the plane with geometric shapes such that there are no overlaps or gaps. If you have any tile in your home (maybe in your kitchen or bathroom) that is most likely an example of a tiling. Come learn about the cool math behind tilings and about the coolest tiling of all, the Penrose tiling.


|}                                                                       
<gallery widths="500" heights="250" mode="packed">
</gallery>
</center>
</center>


== November 2, 2015 ==
==Donations==
<center>
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:
{| style="color:black; font-size:100%" table border="2" cellpadding="10" width="700" cellspacing="20"
|-
| bgcolor="#e8b2b2" align="center" style="font-size:125%" | '''Marko Budisic'''
|-
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD"  align="center" | '''Title: Mathematics of GPS Satellites'''
|-
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD"  | 
GPS is a system of satellites circling the Earth at a height 12,500 miles. That means you could easily fit both Mars and Venus in the distance between your phone and each car-sized satellite hovering in space. Once considered science fiction, GPS is now a part of our everyday life: we can use it through our phones, through our car navigation, and even some watches. Simple math equations lie at the heart of this system, and we will write them down, understand what they mean, and figure out how to solve them.
|}                                                                       
</center>


== November 9, 2015 ==
[http://www.math.wisc.edu/donate Online Donation Link]
<center>
{| style="color:black; font-size:100%" table border="2" cellpadding="10" width="700" cellspacing="20"
|-
| bgcolor="#e8b2b2" align="center" style="font-size:125%" | '''Tess Anderson'''
|-
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD"  align="center" | '''Title: Gold Coins and Goast'''
|-
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD"  | 
What do pulling gold coins out of a a hat have to do with the famous Monty Hall "Goat Problem" in which you are a game show contestant trying to pick out the one prize hidden behind one of three doors?  Come and find out while savoring some chocolate gold coins. We will also discuss a jailer problem in which an infinite number of jailers try to free an infinite number of prisoners. If time permits, other fun problems will be discussed.
|}                                                                       
</center>


== November 16, 2015 ==
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.
<center>
{| style="color:black; font-size:100%" table border="2" cellpadding="10" width="700" cellspacing="20"
|-
| bgcolor="#e8b2b2" align="center" style="font-size:125%" | '''DJ Bruce'''
|-
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD"  align="center" | '''Title: To Infinity and Beyond?'''
|-
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD"  | 


1, 2, 3,..., infinity? What is infinity? Is infinity plus one bigger than infinity? Beginning by figuring out what we mean when we say to collections of objects have the same number of things we will slowly work our way deep into the world of infinity. This world is often weird and counterintuitive, and we shall explore it!
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.
|}                                                                       
</center>


== February 1, 2016 ==
Or you can make donations in cash, and we'll give you a receipt.
<center>
{| style="color:black; font-size:100%" table border="2" cellpadding="10" width="700" cellspacing="20"
|-
| bgcolor="#e8b2b2" align="center" style="font-size:125%" | '''Will Mitchell'''
|-
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD"  align="center" | '''Title: Are these networks the same?'''
|-
| bgcolor="#BDBDBD"  | 
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.
|}                                                                       
</center>
-->


<!--
==Help us grow!==
=Contact Information Form=
If you like Math Circle, please help us continue to grow!  Students, parents, and teachers can help by:
[https://fs18.formsite.com/crabbott/form1/index.html Link to Contact Information Form]
* 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=
=Useful Resources=
==Annual Reports==
 
[https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/images/Math_Circle_Newsletter.pdf  2013-2014 Annual Report]
 


== Archived Abstracts ==
== Archived Abstracts ==
[[Archived Math Circle Material]]
 
[https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts_2023-2024 2023 - 2024 Abstracts]
 
[https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts_2022-2023 2022 - 2023 Abstracts]
 
[https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts_2021-2022 2021 - 2022 Abstracts]
 
[https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts_2020-2021 2020 - 2021 Abstracts]
 
[https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts_2019-2020 2019 - 2020 Abstracts]
 
[https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_2016-2017 2016 - 2017 Math Circle Page]
 
[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]
 
[https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Math_Circle_de_Madison_2015-2016 2015 - 2016 Math Circle Page (Spanish)]
 
[https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Madison_Math_Circle_Abstracts_2015-2016 2015 - 2015 Abstracts]
 
[https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Archived_Math_Circle_Material The way-back archives]


==Link for presenters (in progress)==
==Link for presenters (in progress)==
[https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Math_Circle_Presentations  Advice For Math Circle Presenters]
[https://www.math.wisc.edu/wiki/index.php/Math_Circle_Presentations  Advice For Math Circle Presenters]


[http://www.mathcircles.org/content/lesson-plans Sample Lesson Plans]
[http://www.geometer.org/mathcircles/ Sample Talk Ideas/Problems from Tom Davis]
 
[https://www.mathcircles.org/activities Sample Talks from the National Association of Math Circles]


[http://www.mathcircles.org/content/circle-box "Circle in a Box"]
[https://epdf.pub/circle-in-a-box715623b97664e247f2118ddf7bec4bfa35437.html "Circle in a Box"]

Latest revision as of 15:58, 25 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 Kaiyi Huang A geometric investigation into a space shuttle failure
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!


Abstract 11/25

Kaiyi Huang
Title:A geometric investigation into a space shuttle failure

We know that a circle has the same width in every direction, but is it the only object that has this property? NASA engineers assumed so, which, together with a string of other mistakes, might have led to the tragic failure of their space shuttle launch. Let’s look further into this problem so that we won’t make the same mistake again!

Directions and parking

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

Helencwhitemap.png

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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