Mathematics Commons^™

The Emergence Of Creativity: Insights From Carnatic Raaga Improvisation And Mathematical Proof Generation, Srividhya Balaji, Sean Chorney

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Creativity is a broad phenomenon that scholars have interpreted in a multitude of ways. We notice that a majority of the views describe creativity as something innate. This paper aims to verge from this perspective and explore creativity in terms of the constant mutual interaction of a person and their environment. Using the theoretical framework, enactivism, and the notion of emergence, we investigate the creative processes involved in musical improvisations of south Indian classical or Carnatic music and mathematical proof generation. Interview excerpts from professional Carnatic musicians and research mathematicians on their respective creative processes during musical improvisation and proof …

Fostering Mathematical Creativity While Impacting Beliefs And Anxiety In Mathematics, James M. Fetterly

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This quantitative study examined the notion of mathematical creativity and its relationship to epistemological beliefs of the nature of mathematics and mathematical anxiety. A counterbalanced design was employed, randomizing a class of elementary pre-service teachers into two groups and giving a pre- and post-test to determine if significant differences exist in the participants who are exposed to problem posing, divergent thought, and invented strategies, that is, a punctuated, intentional experience with mathematical creativity. This difference in mathematical anxiety, beliefs, and creativity was also gauged using repeated measures during the study. Furthermore, beliefs and anxiety were correlated with mathematical creativity employing …

Everyday Examples In Linear Algebra: Individual And Collective Creativity, Aditya P. Adiredja, Michelle Zandieh

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This paper investigates creativity in students’ constructions of everyday examples about basis in Linear Algebra. We analyze semi-structured interview data with 18 students from the U.S. and Germany with diverse academic and social backgrounds. Our analysis of creativity in students’ everyday examples is organized into two parts. First, we analyze the range of students’ creative products by investigating the mathematical variability in the more commonly mentioned examples. Second, we unpack some of the collective processes in the construction of students’ examples. We examine how creativity was distributed through the interactions among the student, the interviewers, and other artifacts and ideas. …

Special Issue -- Creativity In Mathematics: Foreword, Emily Cilli-Turner, Houssein El Turkey, Gulden Karakok, Milos Savic, Gail Tang

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

No abstract provided.

A World Of Creativity, Mark Huber, Gizem Karaali

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

No abstract provided.

Connecting Ancient Philosophers’ Math Theory To Modern Fractal Mathematics, Colin Mccormack

Parnassus: Classical Journal

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Gameplay Strategies In Hearthstone: A Data Science Approach, Connor W. Watson

Theses

In recent years, games have been a popular test bed for AI research, and the presence of Collectible Card Games (CCGs) in that space is still increasing. One such CCG for both competitive/casual play and AI research is Hearthstone, a two-player adversarial game where players seeks to implement one of several gameplay strategies to defeat their opponent and decrease all of their Health points to zero. Although some open source simulators exist, some of their methodologies for simulated agents create opponents with a relatively low skill level. Using evolutionary algorithms, this thesis seeks to evolve agents with a higher skill …

Volume 12, Haleigh James, Hannah Meyls, Hope Irvin, Megan E. Hlavaty, Samara L. Gall, Austin J. Funk, Karyn Keane, Sarah Ghali, Antonio Harvey, Andrew Jones, Rachel Hazelwood, Madison Schmitz, Marija Venta, Haley Tebo, Jeremiah Gilmer, Bridget Dunn, Benjamin Sullivan, Mckenzie Johnson

Incite: The Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Introduction, Dr. Roger A. Byrne, Dean

From the Editor, Dr. Larissa "Kat" Tracy

From the Designers, Rachel English, Rachel Hanson

Immortality in the Mortal World: Otherworldly Intervention in "Lanval" and "The Wife of Bath's Tale" by Haleigh James

Analysis of Phenolic Compounds in Moroccan Olive Oils by HPLC by Hannah Meyls

Art by Hope Irvin

The Effects of Cell Phone Use on Gameplay Enjoyment and Frustration by Megan E. Hlavaty, Samara L. Gall, and Austin J. Funk

Care, No Matter What: Planned Parenthood's Use of Organizational Rhetoric to Expand its Reputation by Karyn Keane

Analysis of Petroleum Products for …

Collaboration (Reacting To The Past/Math/History/Writing), James Hayashi

Q2S Enhancing Pedagogy

This is an assignment for a Freshman level course in the College of Natural Science. By the end students will have an understanding of valid research, collaboration and communication skills. Faculty that chooses to use this assignment will be preparing students for an active learning environment, and understanding a “Big Idea”, valid research, technology and communication skills.

Faculty should give an example of what is valid research. As students are completing this assignment mini deadlines (check-ins) shall be set. With the check-ins for this assignment focus on how the group will communicate the check point and the collaboration.

The focus …

Job Announcement: Guillford College Is Hiring A Chair For Its Mathematics Department, Mark Dixon

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Guilford College is looking to hire a leader and educator of vision to chair its mathematics department. The chair will have the opportunity to build a revolutionary mathematics program that invites all students into the joy, beauty, creativity, and vitality of mathematics.

What The Revolution Requires, Timons Esaias

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

A flash fiction which addresses the coming revolution in the genre of Mathematical Fiction.

The Master Oiler, Ernesto Estrada

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

No abstract provided.

Sigint Signifier, Terry Trowbridge

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This poem is a meditation on the concept of signal-to-noise ratios. What is the most minimal signal that can be decoded, regardless of the amount of noise?

The Empress's Nose: A Parable, After Feynman, Robert Dawson

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

No abstract provided.

A Letter To Niccolò Fontana De Brescia, Jessica Huey

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

A letter to Niccolò Fontana de Brescia from an undergraduate student.

Perfect (A Poem), Joseph Chaney

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This sonnet-length, unrhymed syllabic poem speaks of the way the concept of perfection engages the imagination of mathematicians, an experience it compares to the mysterious, complex attraction we may feel toward a lover.

Statistical Poetry, Lawrence M. Lesser

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This poetry folder consists of author reflection followed by his eight new poems related to statistics.

Book Review: Prime Suspects: The Anatomy Of Integers And Permutations By Andrew Granville And Jennifer Granville, Paolo Mancosu

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Prime Suspects is a delightful graphic novel that performs what might, prima facie, seem almost like an impossible feat. Apart from the aesthetic pleasure it provides by being a well-illustrated and well thought out graphic novel, I would describe its major conceptual goal to be that of conveying to its reader a taste of the exciting nature of mathematical discovery. This is accomplished by focusing on a set of results connecting the study of prime numbers, the study of cycles of permutations, irreducible polynomials in finite fields and more.

Simple Arithmetic: Heavy On Butter, Cream, Wine, Sarah Voss

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

The language of poetry is one way to offer perspective on ethical issues and social behavior. The language of mathematics is another. The piece herein combines both these ways.

On "Animals", Ql Converts, And Transfer - An Interview, Gizem Karaali, H. L. Vacher

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

In March 2017, Gizem Karaali interviewed Len Vacher, the editor in chief of Numeracy, the flagship journal of the National Numeracy Network. This is the extended transcript of this conversation, which ranges from quantitative literacy to computational geology, from transfer of learned content and skills to interdisciplinary collaboration.

The User's Guide Project: Looking Back And Looking Forward, Don Larson, Kristen Mazur, David White, Carolyn Yarnall

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

In 2014 Luke Wolcott created the User's Guide Project, in which a group of algebraic topologists came together to write user's guides to coincide with their research papers in hopes of making their research more accessible. We examine the role of this innovative project within the greater mathematics community. We discuss the structure and history of the project, its impact on the community, and its value to the participants of the project. We end by encouraging the math community to recognize the value of the project and expand the User's Guide Project to other subfields.

My Last Fermat’S Last Theorem Talk, Richard Delaware

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

From the dangerous snowfall preceding and nearly ending it, to the pleasant years-long fallout afterward, I tell the story of the events surrounding my final presentation of an expository talk on Fermat’s Last Theorem in the same year but months before Andrew Wiles announced his proof.

My Sets Are My Foundation, Andres Sanchez

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

You might be wondering, what the hell does set theory have to do with writing? I’ll tell you a secret:\ everything is built on sets. Sets are things of beauty. They are great ways to conceptualize, compartmentalize, and classify the world and everything it encompasses. And now I know I’ve danced around the question of what sets have to do with my writing. So, here is my answer: I use set theory as the foundation for all of my writing.

Tired: A Reflection On Asceticism And The Value Of Quantitative Assessment, Frances Dean

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

I have spent a lot of time thinking this past year and a half about the relationship between asceticism and success. As a mathematics student and a collegiate athlete, I have far too often gotten caught up in the pursuit of objective standards. This chase has left me burnt out and broken. Existential philosophy has been my greatest asset in discerning the true purpose of asceticism. I reflect on this journey and the nature of assessment in this short reflection.

Surviving Mathematics, Nathalie M. Luna

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

In this essay written in an informal voice, the author shares the ups and downs of her experience in academia. She shares her motivation to study mathematics, her undergraduate experience in Puerto Rico, and her graduate experience in South Texas.

On Not Teaching Addition: A Homeschooling Parent Teaches And Researches Math, Marion D. Cohen

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Interactions with the humans in one’s life can have bearings on the way one interacts with one’s work – and vice versa. In particular, the ways in which a math person who is also a parent interacts with their children can correlate with the ways that person interacts with students, colleagues, and with math itself. This article describes some of that correlation in one mathmom’s life. In particular, this mathmom worked toward balancing, both as a mom and as a teacher, her beliefs and feelings with societal mindsets and practices.

Tips For Undergraduate Research Supervisors, Stephan Ramon Garcia

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

I was recently asked to contribute a paper to a forthcoming Foundations for Undergraduate Research in Mathematics (FURM) volume [1]. The article contained, in addition to several lengthy case studies, a list of brief recommendations for undergraduate research supervisors. Several colleagues suggested developing these general principles into a separate, self-contained article. This is that article.

Mathematical Cognition And The Arts, Marcel Danesi

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This article revisits the study of mathematics in the arts, and vice versa, the arts in mathematics, with a view to connecting mathematical and artistic creativity to the same neural circuits—a proposition put forward for mathematics and language in a critical 2000 book by Lakoff and Núñez, Where Mathematics Comes From: How the Embodied Mind Brings Mathematics into Being. This expanded perspective would open up suggestive avenues for connecting mathematics, language, and the arts as part of an imaginative blend that comes out in different forms but having the same underlying neural source. Whether or not this can be …

Mathematical Possibilities In Modernism: Can Literature Be A System?, Arka Chattopadhyay

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

From Aristotle’s Poetics, literature and logic have been companions in approaching the hypothetical realm of the ‘what if.’ In this paper, I focus on the combinatorial possibilities of logic to see how mathematics becomes an important tool for the Modernist text’s aesthetic appeal to anti-representational and self-enclosed systemic autonomy. Is mathematical discourse autonomous vis-à-vis external reality? Can literary Modernism achieve textual autonomy that goes against realistic verisimilitude by following mathematical discourse? Though literary texts often negotiate formal systems with sophisticated governing logics, can literature itself become a logico-mathematical system? I trace the dialectic of form and system in the …