The Mathematicians Podcast

Episode 41 - Hypatia - Less than fairer

This week we explore the brilliant, and tragically short, life of Hypatia of Alexandria. Born around 370 CE, she was a pioneering female mathematician and philosopher who led the last great school of mathematics in the ancient world. 
Hypatia’s story is also a dramatic tale of political and religious upheaval. A respected pagan intellectual with influence in Alexandria's civic life, she found herself caught in the violent conflicts of the early Christian church. Join us as we examine the forces that shaped her world and led to her untimely end, reflecting on the fragile legacy of knowledge and the powerful impact of teachers, both ancient and modern.
Keywords:
Hypatia, Alexandria, history of mathematics, female mathematicians, ancient philosophy, Neoplatonism, Theon of Alexandria, early Christianity, Roman Empire, ancient history, mathematics, philosophy, women in STEM, The Mathematicians Podcast.
Hashtags:
#Hypatia #HistoryOfMaths #WomenInMaths #AncientAlexandria #Philosophy #Neoplatonism #TheMathematiciansPodcast #HistoryPodcast #WomenInSTEM #AncientHistory 

Episode 42 - Boethius - A Fork in the Road

The Romans are here, in ROME! Discover the dramatic rise and fall of the Roman Empire, its lasting global impact, and the fascinating (and sometimes contentious) question of who inherited its crown. Then, meet Boethius, the last classical scholar, whose time on death row led to The Consolation of Philosophy. This episode unpacks his brilliant philosophy of causation, free will, and how god knows the future without pre-determining our choices. We'll explore Aristotle's Sea Battle paradox, Boethius's own #LogicalInnovations (like De hypotheticis syllogismis), and his monumental effort to translate Greek mathematics and #Philosophy, shaping the entire medieval intellectual landscape. Get ready for #AncientHistory, deep #PhilosophyPodcast, and the "sneaky maths" that saved #WesternThought! Keywords: #Boethius #ConsolationOfPhilosophy #RomanEmpire #LateAntiquity #MedievalPhilosophy #TemporalLogic #FreeWill #Causation #Providence #Fate #Quadrivium #HistoryOfMaths #HistoryPodcast

Episode 43 - John Philoponus - To infinity and stopping

Welcome back to The Mathematicians Podcast! This episode introduces our first "John" – John Philoponus, also known as John the Grammarian or John of Alexandria. This Christian theologian, philosopher, and arguably mathematician from 6th-century Egypt is primarily known for his religious doctrine, but we look into the fascinating overlap between mathematics and religion: the nature of infinity.
Join us as we explore Philoponus's arguments against the Aristotelian view of an eternal cosmos, his insights into the conservation of momentum and the concept of "initial impetus," and his revolutionary thoughts on the vacuum and fluid drag. We'll trace the historical arguments around infinity from Zeno to Aristotle, Euclid, and Archimedes, showing how Philoponus's ideas shaped both theological orthodoxy and the future of scientific thought.
You'll also discover John Philoponus's crucial role in documenting and popularizing the astrolabe, a pivotal scientific instrument of his era. Prepare for an episode that proves how deeply intertwined mathematics, physics, and theological debates were in the ancient world.
Keywords: John Philoponus, John the Grammarian, John of Alexandria, infinity, Aristotelian physics, Christian theology, ancient mathematics, history of science, astrolabe, momentum, vacuum, impetus, ancient Egypt, 6th century CE, philosophy of mathematics, cosmology, Unmoved Mover, Theism, Pantheism, Deism, The Mathematicians Podcast.
Hashtags:#TheMathematiciansPodcast #HistoryOfMaths #JohnPhiloponus #Infinity #AncientScience #ChristianTheology #Aristotle #Astrolabe #Momentum #Vacuum #PhilosophyOfScience #MathematicalHistory #Podcast #SciencePodcast #AncientEgypt #6thCentury #EarlyScience #MathsAndReligion #Cosmology 

Episode 44 - The Injectives with Hope Duncan - On Infinity

This week on The Mathematician's Podcast, we take a break from the philosophical and theological debates of the past to chat with an intellectual heavyweight of our own age! In another special "Injectives" episode, Ben is joined by Hope Duncan, a maths communicator and researcher at the University of Leeds whose particular interest is infinity.
Join us as Hope tackles some fundamental (and some silly!) questions from Ben's school students, concepts like dividing by zero and the mass of the universe. The conversation quickly escalates into a fascinating discussion on the history and modern understanding of infinity, covering:
The historical struggle with infinitesimals and their surprising decline in modern calculus.
The dichotomy of potential vs. actual infinity, from ancient philosophers to modern #SetTheory.
How we can "increase" infinity without changing its #Cardinality, illustrated with clever #Bijections between natural numbers and integers.
The work of #Cantor in proving that not all infinities are created equal, introducing the concept of different "sizes" of infinity, like the uncountably infinite Real Numbers.
A look at the #ZFC axioms, exploring the foundations of modern set theory, from the obvious (axiom of extensionality) to the profoundly abstract (axiom of choice).
The implications of #Gödel's incompleteness theorems, revealing the inherent limits of axiomatic systems and the existence of independent statements within ZFC.
Hope's personal research into #LargeCardinals – even bigger infinities that offer new ways to tackle unsolved mathematical problems.
This episode is a captivating journey through the evolution of one of maths' most mysterious concepts, revealing that even at the bedrock of mathematics, there's still so much to explore and discover. Hope shares what motivates her to sit with the uncomfortable "why" of mathematics, making set theory sound like the ultimate puzzle.
 
You can find out more from Hope on Bluesky @hopeiona.bsky.social, or Youtube @hopeduncanmaths
 
 
The music was-"Danse Macabre - Finale"Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
 
 
Keywords: #Mathematics #MathsPodcast #Infinity #SetTheory #Calculus #Infinitesimals #Cantor #ZFC #Axioms #Gödel #IncompletenessTheorems #LargeCardinals #PhilosophyOfMaths #HopeDuncan #TheMathematiciansPodcast 

Episode 45 - Simplicius - Keeping it Simplicius

Welcome back to The Mathematicians Podcast! In this episode, host Benjamin Cornish takes us back to the 6th century CE to explore the life and legacy of Simplicius of Cilicia. A pivotal figure caught between two intellectual giants, Simplicius studied under both Aristotelian and Platonic traditions, becoming one of the last significant scholars of Plato's Academy before its closure by Justinian.
Join us as we uncover Simplicius's crucial role as a pagan apologist, philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician. Learn how he became a conduit for preserving ancient knowledge, meticulously commenting on the works of Aristotle and Plato, and attempting to bridge their philosophical divide on topics like rationalism vs. empiricism, and idealism vs. realism.
The episode also revisits the epic debate between Simplicius and John Philoponus on the nature of infinity, the eternal universe, and the concept of motion and impetus.
Keywords: Simplicius, John Philoponus, Plato's Academy, Aristotle, Neoplatonism, Pagan philosophy, Byzantine Empire, Persian Empire, infinity, actual infinity, potential infinity, momentum, cause and effect, unmoved mover, ancient mathematics, philosophy of mathematics, history of science, ancient Greece, late antiquity.
Hashtags: #TheMathematiciansPodcast #Simplicius #AncientPhilosophy #HistoryOfMathematics #Plato #Aristotle #Neoplatonism #JohnPhiloponus #Infinity #Paganism #ByzantineHistory #ClassicalStudies #Philosophy #ScienceHistory #Podcast

Episode 46 - Anthemius of Tralles - On Burning Mirrors

Join us on The Mathematicians Podcast as host Benjamin Cornish uncovers the whimsical and often mischievous side of Anthemius of Tralles, the Byzantine Greek architect and mathematician! From earthquake pranks on his neighbour Zeno to pioneering work in optics and conic sections, Anthemius proves that genius can be seriously fun. Discover the forgotten history of burning mirrors, the true shape of light, and the secrets behind the magnificent Hagia Sophia.
Keywords: Anthemius of Tralles, Byzantine mathematics, history of optics, conic sections, Hagia Sophia, ancient architects, mischievous mathematicians, podcast, mathematics history, geometry
Hashtags: #MathematiciansPodcast #AnthemiusOfTralles #HistoryOfMaths #Optics #ConicSections #HagiaSophia #AncientGreece #MathsHumor  #STEMeducation

Episode 47 - Isidorus of Miletus - Build it, and they will come

This week, we bridge the gap between Alexandria and Constantinople with Isidorus of Miletus, a mathematician and architect who preferred teaching to writing. We look into how he and his partner, Anthemius of Tralles, were commissioned to build the legendary Hagia Sophia in a mere five years, after a sports riot burned down half the city. Discover the architectural genius behind its "floating" dome, a marvel of pendentives that has stood for centuries.
Then, we follow the extraordinary journey of a lost text by Archimedes, which Isidorus himself studied. From a library in Constantinople to a 10th-century copy in Jerusalem, this priceless work was scraped clean by a monk for a prayer book, painted over by an art forger, and finally sold at auction for millions. Uncover the cutting-edge science that resurrected the hidden text, revealing Archimedes' work in combinatorics—the Stomachion puzzle. It’s a tale of genius, destruction, and incredible rediscovery, proving that sometimes the most interesting things are hiding in the most boring places.
Hashtags:#HistoryOfMathematics #IsidorusOfMiletus #HagiaSophia #ByzantineArchitecture #Archimedes #Palimpsest #AncientHistory #MathsPodcast #STEM #Constantinople #HistoryPodcast #Architecture
Keywords:Isidorus of Miletus, Hagia Sophia, Anthemius of Tralles, Byzantine, Constantinople, Archimedes Palimpsest, The Method, Stomachion, Procopius, Justinian, Nika Riots, Pendentive Dome, History of Science, Combinatorics, Eutocius of Ascalon.

Episode 48 - Eutocius of Ascalon - Show Your Workings

This week on The Mathematicians Podcast, join Benjamin Cornish as he shines a spotlight on Eutocius of Ascalon, the unsung hero who kept the flames of ancient mathematics burning! Born in 480 CE, Eutocius headed the prestigious Alexandrian school and dedicated his life to preserving and elucidating the monumental works of mathematical titans like Archimedes. We'll explore his crucial commentaries on "On the Sphere and Cylinder" and "Measurement of a Circle," unravelling fascinating insights into early approximations of pi and the elusive origins of square root calculations. Discover why some figures count more than their theorems.
Keywords: Eutocius of Ascalon, History of Mathematics, Archimedes, Alexandrian School, Greek Mathematics, Mathematical Commentaries, Pi Approximation, Square Root, Ancient Geometry, Preservation of Knowledge, On the Sphere and Cylinder, Measurement of a Circle, Apollonius' Conics, Doubling the Cube, Mathematical Heritage.
 
#EutociusOfAscalon #HistoryOfMathematics #Archimedes #AncientGreece #AlexandrianSchool #MathematicalCommentaries #Pi #SquareRoots #MathematicalHeritage #Podcast 
 

Episode 49 - Bede - Just in Time

Was Bede a mathematician? Well, he certainly made history count. Join Benjamin Cornish for a trip to Northumbria (which is definitely in England) to meet the "OG monk" who mastered the calendar. In this episode, we dip into "On the Reckoning of Time" to discover how one man calculated the date of Easter, argued with the tides, and dated the Garden of Eden to a Tuesday (or close enough). We also explore why we use the AD/BC system and why you should never trust a Solstice.
Keywords: Bede, History of Mathematics, Northumbria, Calendars, Paschal Moon, Tides, Chronology, AD/BC.
Hashtags: #MathsHistory #TheVenerableBede #MedievalHistory #Podcast #Calendar #Northumbria #Maths
 
 
 
The music was-"Danse Macabre - Finale"Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode 50 - Alcuin of York - A wolf, a Goat and a Cabbage

How do you get a wolf, a goat, and a cabbage across a river without turning the boat into a buffet? Welcome to the Season 1 Finale of The Mathematicians Podcast! Today, we go to the court of Charlemagne to meet Alcuin of York: clergyman, poet, teacher, and potentially history’s first queer mathematician.
Alcuin arguably invented the genre of "Recreational Mathematics." In this episode, we open his book Propositiones ad Acuendos Juvenes (Problems to Sharpen the Young), a collection of logic puzzles that includes the world’s first recorded river-crossing problems, inheritance riddles, and a few "impossible" questions designed solely to troll his students.
We also discuss Alcuin’s contribution to literacy (specifically the invention of the question mark), his thoughts on baptism, and why he might have been the original miniscule fan.
Housekeeping:Please note that the show will be moving to a monthly release schedule as I prepare for the arrival of a new family member. If you would like to support the show through this next phase, please visit the new Ko-Fi page below!
Support the Show: Ko-Fi.com/BenjaminCornishContact: @mathematicians-pod on Bluesky
Keywords:Alcuin of York, Charlemagne, Carolingian Renaissance, Recreational Mathematics, History of Mathematics, Logic Puzzles, River Crossing Problem, Medieval History, Education History, Series Finale.
Hashtags:#MathsHistory #AlcuinOfYork #LogicPuzzles #Charlemagne #MedievalHistory #RecreationalMaths #Podcast #STEMHistory #CarolingianRenaissance #SeasonFinale