Theme for presentation about culture of mathematic

Question

I'm looking for theme for short presentation about culture of mathematic. Somethng that sholud be understandable for everyone who is interested with math. For example on previous lesson we have listened about Ramanujan.

Answer 1

Perhaps the best way to introduce the culture of mathematics is to illustrate the cornerstones of the history of mathematics:

• How the ancients would deal with mathematics. The Greek culture in mathematics is one of the greatest among the ancient cultures: I would suggest stressing their view of arithmetics, algebra and geometry as one entity. Arabic and Indian culture (especially the first appearance of Pascal's triangle) are also great topics, and may help to explain why we use numbers the way we do now.

• Renaissance's mathematical growth. Starting from the invention of the logarithms, to calculus much later, one can show how mathematics both served as a tool to ease calculations (logarithmic tables) or as an expression of one's own philosophy (Leibniz's work on Calculus).

• The rush for the foundations of mathematics and Gödel's theorem. This might be much less known as a subject, but illustrating the birth of mathematical logic and the crisis it ushered in can be stimulating.

These periods offer the most beautiful innovations and fundamental aspects of mathematical culture, including mathematical beauty and mathematical thought. One may also discuss it by important figures, like you did with Ramanujan. This is a little bit more difficult, since it does not offer a comprehensive view of how mathematics evolved as part of culture.

You could also show how culture impacted mathematical research, although it can be much more challenging to illustrate in a meaningful and entertaining way.