Mathematics for Human Flourishing
Event details
Date: Wednesday 6th March 2024
Time: ACDT: 4:30pm-5:30pm
Location: University of South Australia, City West Campus, Sir Hans Heysen Building HH4.08
06 March 2024
Mathematics for Human Flourishing
presented by Francis Su
Benediktsson-Karwa Professor, Harvey Mudd College
This talk is aimed at a wide audience – including those who don’t see themselves as ‘maths people’ – and is an opportunity not to be missed!
People often think of maths as just a set of skills, like doing arithmetic or factoring a quadratic. Yet amazingly, maths is a deeply human enterprise that can meet basic human longings, such as for beauty and exploration and truth, and can builds virtues like persistence, creativity, joy and wonder. In an era where computers and AI can outperform humans at maths skills, we must reclaim the importance of maths as a vehicle for developing virtue. An incarcerated man---now my friend--has helped me see this more clearly than ever before.
