that you absolutely hate to be asked I
do and it typically comes up in a social
setting typically when I’m meeting
people that I only know and often it’s
often we’ve been chatting for a while
something you know we’ve talked about
sports we’ve talked about the weather
we’ve exchanged some witty banter and
then somebody has to go ruin at all by
asking so what do you do
all right and local you’re all I love
what I do absolutely love what I do but
what I don’t love is the response and
that’s what I open up and tell somebody
else what I do knowing this I go into
the question I’m a mathematician and I
usually get one of three responses one
is for the person I’ve been successfully
communicating with for maybe up to 30
look and maybe they can muster out
something like well I must be really
smart or I’m kind of intimidated right
now all right the next person all the
worst is the one who’s not intimidated
whatsoever about what I do and they have
no qualms telling me about it
all right so I get this I I’ve always
taken math I hated all our math teachers
I don’t wanna take a math where we ever
get to use this stuff right and then I
get the third sort of unusual response
that our little doggy with glasses
represents and the occasional person who
almost embarrassingly not letting
anybody else to hear says I actually
like that okay so I’m trying to combat
that and this I’m trying to
the way that you think about mathematics
okay so that’s the goal tonight but
first we have to talk about sports
because the less force its March so we
have to talk about basketball right so
when I say basketball what comes to your
mind probably not this right it’s it’s
completely supposed to be something that
you can’t really see but if you’ve been
involved in basketball you know this is
an integral part right if you play
basketball or you’ve known something
thanks basketball what do you do more
than play game you should go to practice
yes right so we go to practice you do
all these crazy drills that if you put
cones down when you dribble around the
cones you dribble around your legs you
do suicides you do free-throw drills you
do ball handling drills you play bumper
knock out or whatever you call it which
to me seems like a monumental waste of
time then why in the world would the
coach just do this stuff that you’re
never actually going to use in a game
you see where I’m going with this
okay so my my claim is there’s a purpose
behind the drills on the repetition not
because can you imagine in the middle of
a basketball game I guess on a fast
break from and on the court throws down
without Chicago
dribbles around them goes into the layup
probably not going to happen but the
drills have made the person more
comfortable with the basketball it’s
more into natural reaction to the to the
game right so probably with us at
basketball
and so what I would like to do tonight
is try to take you mathematically on the
same dirty right to go from thinking
about it as the practice to the game
right that’s the classroom to the real
life all right so what I want to do is
talk about mathematical thinking versus
mathematics it’s just what most of you
think of what to say
mathematics all right so what is
mathematical thinking great question and
it seems like a real big idea to say you
don’t want to thank you for all thinking
about what you did in the classroom to
how you think about math in real life
okay so the math I would think is up
among view you’re probably saying that’s
always great lady can you give us an
example I’m so glad you asked
right and it’s three stop enough there’s
a wonderful book called how not to be
wrong to how the power of mathematical
thinking can check that off and see a
lot more examples all right so that the
idea of a faculty P is that you look at
an area of your life that really does
have anything to do with mathematics but
try to see it from the through the lens
of a mathematician alright so we’re
going to do roll freak easy topics war
we’ll start with more so the question
being posed was what can we do these
rear rollers ooh what can we do to
that’ll protect these planes right the
planes of our pilots in there right we
wanted to come back and and so they they
realize that they can armed with the
planes a little bit better but they also
laws with can’t armor the whole point
okay because if the be too heavy we’re
probably burn out too much cool all
right we can’t do that so you can choose
what are we going to reinforce this
plane right so they collected some
information looked at web versus the
penguin being shot up right and so they
looked at the main three areas that
engine the fuselage on the fuel system
in realize it looks like the fuselage
was taking the biggest hint all right
and then the rest of the plane they
looked at that I thought really thinking
home did on those and the weeks okay so
that’s such a week night they approach
the mathematician Abraham Wald who was a
Jewish mathematician who escaped from
Austria and comes the United States and
they don’t really trust him with a lot
of information okay but they didn’t take
in this and so what we like you to do is
help us to figure out how to do this
opportunity what’s the best way for sad
honor
she’s a fuselage and maybe or something
in order to protect the plane and he
said you’ve got it all wrong which
criest not petitions love to say all
right so he said you need to armor the
engine you need to armor the place where
you don’t find the locals why is that
okay great question I have to ask these
for you since is not interacted so
so they women and he somebody explained
was what you’re basing your assumptions
on is that you’re looking at all of the
planes but you’re not the reality is a
lot of the Pyke’s didn’t come back and
so what he saw as the fuselage can get
pretty shot up the rest of the plane can
get pretty shot up and it would come
back as you’re looking at it the engine
however could not and the reason there
were super bullet belts one of two
reasons either the Germans were really
bad shots or when the engine got hit the
plane were often like that so he
readjusted their thinking and they went
with it they were heard the engine and
they did it begin the Korean War the
Vietnam War
okay so this is not happening you’ve got
to challenge your assumptions when
you’re trying to make a decision
Thanks what am I is doing here as I’m
trying to make this decision
this one actually saved lives right the
rest not so much right so next politics
all politics so this is not really going
to solve any problems this can explain
to you why mathematicians know better
that they go into politics or it really
into any fuel that has to do with
people’s public opinion I guess the
problem is we dig ourselves on all
making it up all right so the question
might be how many of you think you ought
to actually answer this how do you think
that we should try to cut the deficit
well if you ask the American population
they’re going to the majority you’re
going to say yes I guess we should cut
the deficit the deficits terrible it’s
huge we need to get cut
great politicians make a great that’s
all I think too let’s go for it second
question how we do this we’re really got
two options right we can raise taxes or
we can cut spending well most people
really don’t want their taxes raised all
right so they’re like yes cut spending
we want to cut spending we’re all over
with that too here’s the problem people
really like the things that the
government spends money on okay so if
you try to dig a little deeper and
suggest what we should cut
guess what happens you can’t find a
majority of people that can agree on any
one thing to be cut because they
those programs they like the things that
the government supporting this is a
little simplistic version of it where
I’ve just gotten into stutters right so
third people want to raise taxes third
that people want to cut defense thirds
of people want to cut Medicare all right
so the agreements literally is to cut
spending got to service the people that
one has beneath the way you style okay
we going to go with the majority and
what Evan we gotta decide what where to
cut so let’s kind of fill in so we got
two things the people don’t want to do
that right well ok we’ll cut Medicare
mulching Thursday fall and do that
either all right this is a simplistic
version but it’s actually what’s
happening right so in the previous
administration there was a national
agreement to cut the deficit there was
national agreement to do it by cutting
spending thirteen different programs
were put forward as what could possibly
be cut and the people voting voted to
increase spending in eleven of those
categories so not only did they not hope
to cut the spending or keep it the same
they wanted to have a go up the other
two categories that they agreed to cut
or such a miniscule part of the budget
they really didn’t make any difference
okay so here’s the problem right so it’s
easy to get a group to agree on an end
goal but it’s hard to do is get a group
degree on how to reach that goal okay so
you need to be like a mathematician and
if we this all together or if you go to
a leadership place that where you really
do one of this in public opinion right
which is probably good idea would be a
dictator or maybe do but all tell me
okay so if you want to get public
opinion you have to be careful the more
you ask
the deeper you did the more likely you
are to get into a place where now it
doesn’t matter what you do the majority
of people are going to be
happy with okay so what’s going to
happen if I decide not go after the
deficit of majority of people are
unhappy because they wanted us to cut
the deficit if I do decide because the
deficit much due to raising taxes
majority of people are unhappy because
they want the tax rate but if I do it
through cutting spending a majority of
people are unhappy because they don’t
like what I cut okay so some point in
the leadership all we have to realize
this kind of drew that you can get into
and just make a decision you have to be
believed all right last one religion all
right so I played with this one for a
while
moving probably heard of Pascal’s wager
okay so this was the Pascal – and
hopefully of these and so he not badly
argued that the only logical thing to do
is to believe in the God of the Bible
it’s kind of a heavy argument but
basically if you don’t leave and you’re
wrong it’s a big penalty rise if you do
expect about you’re doing better to
believe all right a little heavy for
tonight so let’s go with me sitting in
church okay so we sit in church we’re
singing the song and all the people
around me are just amazed by Christ and
I’m sitting there amazed at the grasp on
infinity that the author of this hymn
has okay so this is let’s read this it
says when we’ve been there talking about
heaven ten thousand years bright shining
as the Sun we’ve no less days what we
know those days to see you guys for
anything when we first begun to
investors arrived at heaven you’ve had
five boy people streets of all it’s a
pretty cool place you’re hanging there
for days for weeks for months for years
ten thousand years you’re like this
place is great how about I believe any
person and you realize you’ve got
exactly the no st. same amount of time
left as you didn’t show them ten
thousand years earlier if that’s not a
beautiful picture of infinity I hope it
is right so so we’ve looked at these
examples of how half addicts can save
wise or how just think of anything
higher and all you can kick it out of or
just appreciate something or just be
weird okay this just scratches the
surface all right but my goal here is to
get you to realize that mathematics the
drill leads to the ability to think
mathematically okay so we’re going to
look at the basketball clip one more
time I’ve already got a minute because I
can’t leave without counting all right
so wrist account we’re going to count
all the way to three all right one is
that you’re all mathematical thinkers
all of your mathematical thinkers you’ve
been entirely too exposed to mathematics
in your life not to me now we’re all
along a spectrum right so we’re not all
of Abraham Wald saving lives into the
mathematical thinking spectrum right but
anytime you can sit down with a group of
your friends pull out a game you’ve
never played before read instructions
and actually play the game you’re
thinking about matically okay you might
say what just comes naturally well
that’s because you’ve learned and been
exposed to the way you have to think to
do not that all right bring me if you
can just have the thought that hey just
because something’s good it doesn’t mean
that more is better that’s not how I’m
thinking okay so we’re all gonna have
the figures number two it’s okay that
we’re not all on the same place on the
spectrum so I just argue that was hard
to get agreement I think we can probably
all agree that we don’t really want a
world filled
all the people that are really strong
mathematical thinkers okay so they bring
a good perspective but it’s one
perspective
all right so wherever you are on the
spectrum just appreciate and number
three for the love don’t be the heater
right when you need don’t be number two
right when you meet somebody at the
party or wherever you are and they tell
you in their mathematician are they
majored in math or something along those
horrible lines alright stop yourself
before you get your knee-jerk reaction
tell the person how much you hate it and
stop for a minute and take a breath back
up and think about the fact that there’s
anything this is goes beyond mathematics
if there’s anything that somebody loves
right that they’re passionate about that
they find beauty and there’s probably
something there even if you don’t see it
so rather than telling me how much you
may need it and bring your perspective
maybe just say wow that’s fantastic
tell me about it what do you like what
do you want to do with that okay so you
be that person so we’re gonna look at
the basketball clip we’ve gone way too
long well talking about basketball so
we’re going to go back to that same clip
I showed you how much you think about
the whole arena so the setup here this
was the championship last year
still no go North Carolina their tie
their four point seven seconds left the
low house ball two beautifully okay
there’s only ten people at that moment
playing basketball but there’s thousands
of people there right and there are all
different levels of basketball ability
of basketball understanding and yet they
can all appreciate what’s happening here
right what’s happening and twelve more
comments but everybody
really appreciate what’s happening here
whether or not they actually have to go
need a CT right so next time we found
out somebody’s a mathematician instead of throwing shade throw company