Math-Life Balance

This episode is about women in math, from the perspective of sociology! Many thanks to Olga Paris-Romaskevich for the conversation. Olga's webpage: https://olga.pa-ro.net/ The book "Matheuses": https://www.insmi.cnrs.fr/fr/matheuses Here is a link for Olga's talk on gender and mathematics: https://amubox.univ-amu.fr/s/SBRqbTLHSG5PFMF Here is a list of references Olga used when spoke about social psychology: 1) Definition of social stereotype : (Leyens, Yzerbut, Schadron, 1994), slide 7 2) Stereotype threat result : Spencer, Steele, & Quinn (1999). Stereotype Threat and Women’s Math Performance. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 35 Social psychology : stereotype threat, slides 9 and 10 3) Aronson, J., Lustina, M. J., Good, C., Keough, K., Steele, C. M., & Brown, J. (1999). When White men can't do math: Necessary and sufficient factors in stereotype threat. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 35(1), 29–46. 4) pp.12-13 : John VS Jennifer study Moss-Racusin, Dovidio, Brescoll, Graham, & Handelsman (2012). PNAS, 109, 16474-16479 5) Begeny, C. T., Ryan, M. K., Moss-Racusin, C. A., & Ravetz, G. (2020). In some professions, women have become well represented, yet gender bias persists- Perpetuated by those who think it is not happening. Science advances, 6(26), eaba781 0:00 teaser 1:03 Olya's book about "math girls" 5:38 why there are so few women in math 9:01 brilliance as social construct 14:11 russian tease of women in math 18:05 math in the sociology book 22:35 why to make women only math events 30:33 and why we definitely need them 34:19 how to make a good outreach event 38:33 cool gender equity initiatives 41:12 Mura's experience in math as a girl 46:55 female role models in math 51:18 homage to Sophia Kovalevskaya 53:34 fun facts everyone should know! 58:56 moral support for women in math

Richard is a math professor at Brown University as well as an author of very funny books about math for kids! Enjoy learning about Richard and his adventures in the world of math and art :) Richard's webpage: https://www.math.brown.edu/reschwar/ Chapters: 0:00 teaser 0:33 why math books for kids 5:22 crazy cool visualizations vs obsessions 8:50 most of math is failure 13:23 accessibility vs precision in papers 17:55 what about abstract more math 23:25 being Thurston's student 29:32 advice for those who feel not good enough at math 32:42 how Richard almost quit math 34:41 story from Mura about Berkeley woods 35:45 Richard's famous April 1st prank 43:16 and other pranks 44:43 and the mask! oh my god the mask

Jordan is a mathematician as well as an author of popular books about mathematics, with great sense of humour. And this interview goes as wild as the picture of the interviewee on his webpage! Jordan's webpage: https://people.math.wisc.edu/~ellenberg/ Chapters: 0:00 intro 0:28 a year of writing fiction 4:12 what's hard about writing 11:31 finding math everywhere 15:19 cool thoughts on writing 22:58 teaching writing to math folks 24:55 pain & joy of bad writing 29:15 Jordan's workshop where we met 34:30 how to know when the article is ready 38:34 how to make interviews? 45:51 Mura complaining about interviewees :) 51:26 how people really feel about math 54:55 how to survive the lack of feedback 1:03:32 bringing standup tricks into writing 1:09:08 sentimental approach to finishing books 1:12:00 Jordan's book recommendation for us

Steven Strogatz, who works at Cornell University, is a well-known math popularizer and the first applied mathematician on Mura's channel. Enjoy their chat about unexpected applications of math, befogged communication amongst mathematicians and what not :) Steven's homepage: https://www.stevenstrogatz.com/ Chapters: 0:00 teaser 0:37 when catholic priests become useful 6:35 math, philosophy & couples therapy 13:23 Steven's studies on sleep 21:27 Steven's insecurities in math 24:21 what's wrong with math talks 34:13 no carrot, no stick... 38:24 opinion on strong opinions 41:34 advice about giving up 49:24 different approaches to graduate advising 52:27 chat about Mura's advisor 57:11 Steven Strogatz Prize for Math Communication 1:01:40 how to write friendly math outreach

Enjoy the interview with Dennis Gaitsgory, who thinks about questions deeply yet answers lightly! Jokes included :) Dennis webpage: https://people.mpim-bonn.mpg.de/gaitsgde/ 0:00 teaser 0:30 attending a class by Witten 5:15 math vs physics: difference? 9:20 doing math: happiness and frustration 13:10 what changes with age 17:10 non-math problems: oh no! ;) 23:23 advice for getting back into math 26:45 how to prove Langlands correspondence... 31:49 when math doesn't work 33:25 raising kids: thoughts 36:00 book recommendation from Dennis 37:38 stories about India 40:36 beautiful non-math hobby 42:40 hot take on grant system 45:06 guess Dennis' favourite animal! 47:12 advice to young mathematicians

David Kazhdan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Kazhdan http://www.ma.huji.ac.il/~kazhdan/ Dennis Gaitsgory: https://people.mpim-bonn.mpg.de/gaitsgde/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Gaitsgory Quanta article: https://www.quantamagazine.org/monumental-proof-settles-geometric-langlands-conjecture-20240719/ Israel Gelfand: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Gelfand George Luszting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Lusztig Vladimir Voevodsky: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Voevodsky 0:00 intro 0:25 why math 5:35 student of Gelfand 11:04 Langlands program & motives & physics 14:35 math heroes 16:37 main interest in math 21:01 how about math puzzles 24:34 approaches to hard problems 27:30 negative emotions? introspection? 31:41 collaboration with Lusztig 36:20 thoughts on Voevodsky 41:02 impressions from conferences 45:23 Harvard in the good old days 48:25 family connections

Simon Singh is, according to himself, "an author, journalist and TV producer, specialising in science and mathematics, the only two subjects I have the faintest clue about". In this interview we chat about various projects of Simon, from theatre festivals to math education in schools, and argue about math outreach. Have fun listening! Simon's webpage: simonsingh.net Parallel project: parallel.org.uk Math-Life Balance on YouTube: youtube.com/@math-life-balance Chapters: 0:00 teaser 0:41 math & magic at Fringe 9:15 cool math for teenagers 16:16 why kids really need it 18:52 confidence for various projects 20:41 Shakespeare in math class? 28:51 what could go wrong 30:48 outreach and effectivity 34:56 Simon gets annoyed :) 37:03 too much outreach? 39:50 math in Simpsons and writing 44:38 sweet book selling story 46:45 how I learned about Simon

Grant Sanderson is the creator of the coolest math youtube channel, "3blue1brown". In this interview, Grant and Mura chat about a bunch of different topics, such as feelings towards abstract math, and even hear Grant read a piece from his poem. Enjoy Grant's beautiful thoughts and exquisite English!Grant's channel: youtube.com/ 3blue1brown Grant's homepage: 3blue1brown.com/about Grant's poetry: 3blue1brown.com/blog/poems The Math-life balance YouTube channel: youtube.com/@math-life-balance Chapters: 0:00 teaser 0:45 introducing Grant and his job 2:52 struggles of having a popular YouTube channel 6:03 sociology of math outreach 10:36 why people love 3blue1brown 13:22 how to popularize abstract math 17:40 making algebraic K-theory popular 21:17 how to measure success 27:16 did god hand you the definition of a topological space? 32:27 who writes wiki pages and and why 36:13 which feelings cause abstraction 44:39 what if you don't understand math 46:49 unpacking genius 51:48 how Grant deals with the frustration of not understanding math 55:16 Grant's poetry 1:01:47 Grant's question to mathematicians 1:03:38 advice from Grant

In this interview, Jeremiah Heller and Vesna Stojanoska share their experience of combining math and family life, discuss their ways to get over occasional demotivation in research and speak about social aspects of research. Jokes included! Jeremiah's homepage: https://faculty.math.illinois.edu/~jbheller/ Vesna's homepage: https://faculty.math.illinois.edu/~vesna/ Mike Hopkins’ talk at Paul Goerss’ birthday conference: youtu.be/Ix4pg87LKVk Chapters: 0:00 teaser 0:34 their family and other animals 4:04 kids’ curiosity about math 8:30 wishes for kids’ future 11:04 existential chat about adulthood 13:51 research & relationship 16:13 finding friends outside math bubble 19:26 two-body problem 21:59 math talks as storytelling 27:01 approaches to doing math 31:02 getting over demotivation in research 35:23 mathematics is a social endeavour 37:12 jobmarket pressure 43:24 having kids & academia 47:18 solid advice

Dhruv Ranganathan is a lecturer at Cambridge University, working in algebraic geometry. In this video, Dhruv talks about doing research with undergrads, being tortured by math problems, looking for friends to write math papers, and other cool stuff! Dhruv's webpage: https://www.dhruvrnathan.net Photo: from the webpage 0:00 teaser 0:41 from cricket to air planes 2:16 adventure novels childhood 4:46 what do algebraic geometers do 8:39 experience of undergrad research 12:30 how undergrad research really works 15:35 “now I’m a believer”(c) 18:25 why so much pressure in doing math 21:09 how we create pressure for young people 23:44 doing math as a coping mechanism 27:00 math torture vs intense cartoon watching 28:50 speakers love getting any math questions 30:54 math for extroverts 34:25 teaching students who leave academia 37:33 don’t beat yourself up for math mistakes 39:39 how we try and fail to improve inclusivity 43:44 don’t put people from minorities on every committee 45:45 the advice that’s too hard to follow 48:35 fireplace

Kevin Buzzard is a professor in Imperial College London working in number theory and formal proof verification. In this interview, Kevin shares his views on the role of computers in doing math, tells about his experience of upbringing 3 kids as a researcher and raises questions about the way we approach math education. Lots of glorious laughter and unforgettable facial expressions are included! Kevin's homepage: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/k.buzzard Channel podcast: https://anchor.fm/math-life-balance​​​​ Chapters: 0:00 teaser 0:48 Kevin’s t-shirt 3:06 imagination in math 5:36 computers vs humans 10:43 computers and infinity 12:35 math as a zen puzzle 15:19 role of fashion in math 20:06 mathematicians detecting mistakes 24:41 imperfections in our math 29:14 when the dust settles 31:56 not caring what people think 36:01 how to entertain kids in the subway 40:26 babies as the way to understand humanity 42:52 doing math when you have 3 kids 46:09 writing papers with non-mathematicians 48:54 why kids are forced to memorize math? 53:29 doing exams vs learning math 57:16 unusual advice for students 59:15 the answer to the ultimate question

Maria Chudnovsky is a professor at Princeton University, working in graph theory and combinatorics. In this interview, Maria shares her personal experiences: learning Hebrew from math lessons, giving a talk at NASA, using math at her own wedding, and many more! Maria's homepage: http://web.math.princeton.edu/~mchudnov/ Photo: from Maria's homepage The essay we mentioned: W.T. Gowers "The two cultures of mathematics" https://www.dpmms.cam.ac.uk/~wtg10/2cultures.pdf 0:00 teaser 0:29 respect for math at home 2:43 math helps when you don’t speak the local language 6:42 building a world around a research problem 11:37 explaining math to a broad audience 16:00 giving a talk at NASA 19:42 applying graph theory to your wedding 23:16 problem solving vs learning 27:58 being bad at math olympiads 30:40 working with your own students 33:23 experience of doing a PhD 36:02 memorizing math 37:55 studying physics vs math 43:43 maintaining a work-life balance 49:08 everyone has self-doubts 50:54 first time teaching a class 55:46 final advice

Tomer Schlank is a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, working in homotopy theory and arithmetic geometry. In this interview, Tomer shares his experience of advising a big group of students, speaks about the importance of embracing the struggle, and explains how to get unstuck in a math problem. Tomer's homepage: https://mathematics.huji.ac.il/people/tomer-schlank Photo: from Tomer's homepage 0:00 teaser 0:31 astronaut’s dreams 4:06 enjoying the struggle 8:27 top-down thinking 11:35 seminar with physicists 14:52 math dream with Vesna Stojanoska 19:24 taking breaks in projects 22:32 advising 11 students 26:47 doing math & drinking arak 31:14 being stuck is good for you 34:49 how to get unstuck 38:08 don’t worry about talent 42:33 why people hate math 45:36 run towards the problem 48:25 don’t look down on other parts of math 51:43 final advice

Saul Glasman worked in homotopy theory and K-theory, and now works as a software engineer. In this interview, we discuss the hardships of academic jobmarket, fears around leaving math, and the fundamental problems in academia. Saul's homepage: http://www-users.math.umn.edu/~sglasman/ Photo: from his website #mathematician​​​​​​ #mathlife​​​​​​ #interview​​​​​​ #academiavsindustry #leavingacademia #jobmarketacademia 0:00 teaser 0:44 always loved math 2:04 why left academia 8:55 the fears of leaving 14:02 staying in touch with math 20:33 send greetings to Saul :) 21:55 stigma around leaving academia 25:13 problems in academia 30:11 we aren't taught to teach 35:50 there's freedom in industry 37:36 and you feel productive! 42:44 social interactions: academia vs industry 45:19 learning effective team work 49:15 you can learn to enjoy a job 52:20 why can't we do internships 55:47 what you wish you knew 59:02 advice for those who have doubts

Giulia Saccà is an assistant professor at Columbia University, working in algebraic geometry. In this interview, Giulia gives jobmarket advice for mathematicians, contemplates some of the struggles that minorities in math get to deal with, and tells about books that resemble math research. Giulia's homepage: http://math.columbia.edu/~giulia/ Photo: Allegra Boverman Women in Math program at IAS: https://www.ias.edu/math/wam 0:00 teaser 0:27 interests in history in philosophy 6:51 jobmarket advice 11:37 talking about our insecurities helps 16:23 struggles of minorities in math 20:05 what to do with impostor syndrome 27:01 how to find role models 30:48 Women in Math program at IAS is great 35:57 the future of online seminars 41:06 how to keep track of math projects 47:27 which music helps to do math 49:31 alpinism resembles doing research 52:21 Proust writes about math 58:44 the joy of cooking 1:00:40 a wish for young mathematicians

In this [episode], I read a piece from Thurston's essay "On proof and progress in mathematics", where he reflects on the importance of seeing mathematicians' progress and contributions much broader than just in proving new theorems. William Thurston on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Thurston Cover photo: from this Wikipedia page The full essay: https://arxiv.org/pdf/math/9404236.pdf Thurston's lecture "Knots to Narnia": https://youtu.be/IKSrBt2kFD4 Thurston's answer on MathOverflow about contributions in mathematics: https://mathoverflow.net/questions/43690/whats-a-mathematician-to-do/44213#44213

This sarcastic [episode] is dedicated to my family and all my friends of the last 10 years. They will see why. A special thanks to Nicole R. for the help with the video(s)! And to my brother for the T-shirt: there’s a tiny cute bug that says "I have giant problems". 0:00 Prologue 0:53 Inclusivity statement 1:24 How to build an abusive relationship with your research 3:00 How to suffer from doing research 5:10 How to be unproductive 7:01 How to compare yourself with others 8:38 How to feel worse from reassurance 9:33 Epilogue

Irakli Patchkoria is a lecturer at the University of Aberdeen, working in homotopy theory. In this interview, he speaks about math-tennis balance, shares his experience of moving from Georgia to Western Europe and admits taking part in illegal actions on university exams. Irakli's homepage: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/people/irakli.patchkoria Photo: Irakli's private photo collection 0:00 teaser 1:13 epic story of family math 6:21 father’s advice 10:25 don’t work too much 14:41 experience in collaborations 19:02 Georgians and assimilation 21:47 making new friends (hey, Zurich!) 25:47 cheating on exams 28:38 you will have ideas for papers 33:48 don’t be afraid of stars in math 38:16 partying hard 41:25 drinking with mathematicians 43:41 math and the meaning of life 46:22 please make jokes in talks 48:53 helping young mathematicians

Peter Scholze is a professor in Bonn University, working in number theory and arithmetic geometry. In this interview, we chat about the pressure of the Fields medal, discuss the pain of writing math papers and argue about math. Peter's homepage: http://www.math.uni-bonn.de/people/scholze/ Photo: Hausdorff Center for Mathematics / Barbara Frommann Merkurjev's lecture on the proof of Bloch-Kato conjecture: https://youtu.be/bUaWCOtBUHs 0:00 proof or relatability 0:58 influence of the background 2:50 learning math vs solving problems 7:38 Peter is not creative 11:55 math chat (sorry!) 14:23 collaborating with Dustin Clausen 16:29 math gives head ache 18:20 pressure of Fields medal 21:47 representing others is the worst 24:01 interviews with prodigies 26:53 don't waste time on the Riemann hypothesis 29:28 emails from amateur mathematicians 34:01 lockdown time is unproductive 36:52 writing math is pain 40:50 thanks to Germany for sponsoring math 45:09 updating Hilbert’s list of problems 49:07 Oberwolfach AG’s are cool 55:31 advice for young mathematicians

Ravi Vakil is a professor at Stanford University, working in algebraic geometry. In this interview, Ravi talks about the importance of a community for learning math, discusses the ways of learning to be creative at math and shares how considering other career options helped him to be happier as a mathematician. A clarification for Ravi's comment on the situation with math in USSR: Due to deep-rooted antisemitism in the Soviet Union, the admission of ethnically Jewish mathematicians into top universities was unofficially “limited” by the state. Faced with these hurdles, Jewish mathematicians opted for institutions specializing in specific technologies, such as the Oil and Gas Institute. Over time, some of these lesser known institutions earned a reputation for producing leading academics in the fundamental sciences. Ravi's homepage: http://math.stanford.edu/~vakil/​ Photo: website of Stanford University 0:00​ teaser 0:40​ wish to be an embassador 4:36​ school teachers are the most important 7:17​ coming up with math questions 12:56​ don’t write emails with vague questions 19:12​ not making students intimidated 25:41​ building welcoming communities 29:34​ USSR math: fairytale vs antisemitism 32:13​ big picture vs details 39:55​ learn math by solving problems 41:45​ consider other jobs to release pressure 49:00​ why look down on applied mathematicians 53:15​ how to follow math talks 59:27​ the most desired interviewee 59:58​ wish for young mathematicians