Mathematics

In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams, the number 42 was revealed to be the “Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything”. But he didn’t say what the question was! I will reveal that here. In fact it is a simple geometry question, which then turns out to be related to the mathematics underlying string theory.

Speaker Biography

John Baez is a leader in the area of mathematical physics at the interface between quantum field theory and category theory, and has broad interests in mathematics, and science more generally. He created one of the earliest blogs "This week's finds in Mathematical Physics" (before the term blog existed!)

Baez did his PhD at MIT, and was a Gibbs Instructor at Yale before moving to University of California, Riverside in 1988.

About the series

Starting in 2021, PIMS has inaugurated a high-level network-wide colloquium series. Distinguished speakers will give talks across the full PIMS network with one talk per month during the academic term. The 2021 speaker series is part of the PIMS 25th Anniversary showcase.

In the classical pointwise ergodic theorem for a probability measure preserving (pmp) transformation $T$, one takes averages of a given integrable function over the intervals $\{x, T(x), T^2(x), \hdots, T^n(x)\}$ in the forward orbit of the point $x$. In joint work with Jenna Zomback, we prove a “backward” ergodic theorem for a countable-to-one pmp $T$, where the averages are taken over subtrees of the graph of $T$ that are rooted at $x$ and lie behind $x$ (in the direction of $T^{-1}$). Surprisingly, this theorem yields (forward) ergodic theorems for countable groups, in particular, one for pmp actions of free groups of finite rank where the averages are taken along subtrees of the standard Cayley graph rooted at the identity. For free group actions, this strengthens the best known result in this vein due to Bufetov (2000). After reviewing the subject history and discussing the statements of our theorems in the first half of the talk, we will highlight some ingredients of proofs in the second half.

A celebrated theorem of Jorgens-Calabi-Pogorelov says that global convex solutions to the Monge-Ampere equation det(D^2u) = 1 are quadratic polynomials. On the other hand, an example of Pogorelov shows that local solutions can have line singularities. It is natural to ask what kinds of singular structures can appear in functions that solve the Monge-Ampere equation outside of a small set. We will discuss examples of functions that solve the equation away from finitely many points but exhibit polyhedral and Y-shaped singularities. Along the way we will discuss geometric and applied motivations for constructing such examples, as well as their connection to a certain obstacle problem for the Monge-Ampere equation.

Mathematics on the Indian subcontinent has been flourishing for over two and a half millennia, and this culture of inquiry has produced insights and techniques that are central to many of our mathematical practices today, such as the base ten decimal place value system and trigonometry. Indeed, many of their technical procedures, such as infinite series expansions for various mathematical relations predated those that were developed with the advent of the Calculus in Europe, but notably in contrasting intellectual circumstances with distinctly different epistemic priorities. However, while many histories of mathematics have centered on the so-called “western miracle” in their analysis of the ignition and flourishing of modern science, they have done so at the expense of other non-European traditions. This talk will highlight some of the significant mathematical achievements of India, and explore the work that remains to be done integrating them into more standard histories of mathematics.​

One of the most important techniques provided by modern logic is the use of models to show the consistency of theories. The technique burst onto the scene in the late 19th century, and had its most important early instance in demonstrating the consistency of non-Euclidean geometries. This talk investigates the development of that technique as it transitions from a geometric tool to an all-purpose tool of logic. I’ll argue that the standard narrative, according to which our modern technique provides answers to centuries-old questions, is mistaken. Once we understand how modern models work, I’ll argue, we see important differences between the kinds of consistencyclaims that would have made sense e.g. to Kant and the kinds of consistency-claims that we can demonstrate today. We’ll also see some philosophically-interesting shifts, over this time period, in the kinds of things that we take proofs to demonstrate.

Speaker

Patricia Blanchette is Professor of Philosophy and Glynn Family Honors Collegiate Chair in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. Prior to coming to Notre Dame, Blanchette taught in the Department of Philosophy at Yale University. Blanchette works in the history and philosophy of logic, philosophy of mathematics, history of analytic philosophy, and philosophy of language. She is an editor of the Bulletin of Symbolic Logic, and serves on the editorial boards of the Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic and of Philosophia Mathematica. She is the author of Frege’s Conception of Logic (Oxford University Press 2012).