Imagine Math 6: Between Culture and Mathematics

Description

Imagine mathematics, imagine with the help of mathematics, imagine new worlds, new geometries, new forms. Imagine building mathematical models that make it possible to manage our world better, imagine combining music, art, poetry, literature, architecture and cinema with mathematics. Imagine the unpredictable and sometimes counterintuitive applications of mathematics in all areas of human endeavour. Imagination and mathematics, imagination and culture, culture and mathematics. This sixth volume in the series begins with a homage to the architect Zaha Hadid, who died on March 31st, 2016, a few weeks before the opening of a large exhibition of her works in Palazzo Franchetti in Venice, where all the Mathematics and Culture conferences have taken place in the last years. A large section of the book is dedicated to literature, narrative and mathematics including a contribution from Simon Singh. It discusses the role of media in mathematics, including museums of science, journals and movies. Mathematics and applications, including blood circulation and preventing crimes using earthquakes, is also addressed, while a section on mathematics and art examines the role of math in design. A large selection presents photos of mathematicians and mathematical objects by Vincent Moncorge. Discussing all topics in a way that is rigorous but captivating, detailed but full of evocations, it offers an all-embracing look at the world of mathematics and culture. Front Matter ....Pages I-XIII Introduction (Michele Emmer)....Pages 1-2 Front Matter ....Pages 3-3 ZHA, Zaha Hadid Architects (Gianluca Racana)....Pages 5-26 Zaha Hadid: Fluid and Topological Architecture (Michele Emmer)....Pages 27-45 Front Matter ....Pages 47-47 A Mathematician at MUSE, the Science Museum of Trento (Marco Andreatta)....Pages 49-55 To Bring Math to the World, Start with Mathematicians (Frank Morgan)....Pages 57-62 My Life in the Shape of Maupertuis (Osmo Pekonen)....Pages 63-74 Front Matter ....Pages 75-75 From Music to Mathematics and Backwards: Introducing Algebra, Topology and Category Theory into Computational Musicology (Moreno Andreatta)....Pages 77-88 Mathematics and Labyrinths in Twentieth Century’s Music (Susanna Pagano)....Pages 89-99 Front Matter ....Pages 101-101 How to Prevent Crimes Using Earthquakes (Marco Abate)....Pages 103-113 A Negative Number as Sum of All Natural Numbers (Marco Codegone)....Pages 115-123 The Arch of Titus at the Circus Maximus: From Mathematical Models to Virtual Reconstruction (Corrado Falcolini)....Pages 125-133 The Space of Planar Soap Bubble Clusters (Frank Morgan)....Pages 135-144 Mathematics as a Social Language: A (Past and Present) Phenomenology (Paolo Rossi)....Pages 145-148 Front Matter ....Pages 149-149 Balance in…Forms (Giordano Bruno, Massimo Ciafrei)....Pages 151-170 Mathematical and Numerical Description of the Heart Function (Alfio Quarteroni, Christian Vergara, Mikel Landajuela)....Pages 171-177 Weird Gears (Gian Marco Todesco)....Pages 179-193 Front Matter ....Pages 195-195 Historical Notes on Star Geometry in Mathematics, Art and Nature (Aldo Brigaglia, Nicla Palladino, Maria Alessandra Vaccaro)....Pages 197-211 Pentagonal Structures as Impulse for Art (Cornelie Leopold)....Pages 213-223 Mathematics, a Closer Look (Vincent Moncorgé)....Pages 225-245 Front Matter ....Pages 247-247 Drowning by Numbers: Topology and Physics in Fluid Dynamics (Amaury Mouchet)....Pages 249-266 Front Matter ....Pages 267-267 Éloge des Mathématiques (Michele Emmer)....Pages 269-279 Luca Pacioli: Letters from Venice (Paola Magnaghi-Delfino, Tullia Norando)....Pages 281-290 Dante’s Underworld (Riccardo Schiavi)....Pages 291-301 The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets (Simon Singh)....Pages 303-316 From Algebra to the Secrets of the Universe: The Fascinating Life of Mary Somerville (Elisabetta Strickland)....Pages 317-326 Back Matter ....Pages 327-327