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The Newsmagazine of the Mathematical Association of America November 2008 | Volume 28 Number 8

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The Newsmagazine of the Mathematical Association of America November 2008 | Volume 28 Number 8 MAA FOCUS The Newsmagazine of the Mathematical Association of America November 2008 | Volume 28 Number 8 WHAT’S INSIDE 4 ............. A Window on the Fifth Dimension 10 ............ Preparing Students for a Life in Math or Computer Science 14 ............ An Intuitive Approach to the Borsuk-Ulam Theorem 20 ............ Write About Mathematicians in Non-Major Courses FOCUS_Nov_08FINAL.indd 1 10/21/08 10:39:46 AM MAA FOCUS November 2008 MAA FOCUS is published by the Mathematical Association of America in January, February, March, April, May/June, MAA FOCUS August/September, October, November, and December. Volume 28 Issue 8 Editor: Fernando Gouvêa, Colby College; [email protected] Inside Managing Editor: Carol Baxter, MAA [email protected] 4 A Window on the Fifth Dimension Senior Writer: Harry Waldman, MAA By Frank A. Farris [email protected] Please address advertising inquiries to: 8 Marcia P. Sward (1939-2008) [email protected] By Linda Rosen President: Joseph Gallian 10 Preparing Students for a Life in Math or Computer Science First Vice President: Elizabeth Mayfield, By Donna Pierce and Peter A. Tucker Second Vice President: Daniel J. Teague, Secretary: Martha J. Siegel, Associate 12 Teaching Time Savers: Secretary: James J. Tattersall, Treasurer: The Microphone is Mightier Than the Pen John W. Kenelly By Emily Dryden Executive Director: Tina H. Straley Director of Publications for Journals and 14 An Intuitive Approach to the Borsuk-Ulam Theorem Communications: Ivars Peterson By Alex Bishop, Adam Cimpeanu, Kyle Flood, Bianca Homberg, Steven The Mathematical Association of America Homberg, Eric Marriott, Jeffrey Roth, Linus Schultz, William Sherman, Alex intends to change the name of its newsmagazine Smith, Geoffrey Smith and James Tanton to MAA FOCUS. MAA FOCUS Editorial Board: Donald 16 The Courants and I J. Albers; Robert Bradley; Joseph Gallian; By Edwin Rosenberg Jacqueline Giles; Colm Mulcahy; Michael Orrison; Peter Renz; Sharon Cutler Ross; An- 20 Write About Mathematicians in Non-Major Courses nie Selden; Hortensia Soto-Johnson; Peter Stanek; Ravi Vakil. By Karl-Dieter Crisman Letters to the editor should be addressed to 22 Archives of the American Mathematics Spotlight: Fernando Gouvêa, Colby College, Dept. of Mathematics, Waterville, ME 04901, or by The Lawrence Biedenharn Papers email to [email protected]. By Carol Mead Subscription and membership questions 24 Reflections on Montclair State University-Beijing Connection should be directed to the MAA Customer By Mika Munakata and Aihua Li Service Center, 800-331-1622; email: [email protected]; (301) 617-7800 (outside 26 Mathematicians Playing a Role in Math Education: U.S. and Canada); fax: (301) 206-9789. MAA Headquarters: (202) 387-5200. What We Learned at the IME/MIME Workshop By Anna Bargagliotti, Rama Chidambaram, and Gizem Karaali Copyright © 2008 by the Mathematical Association of America (Incorporated). Educational institutions may reproduce 28 Employment Opportunities articles for their own use, but not for sale, provided that the following citation is used: “Reprinted with permission of MAA FOCUS, On the cover: Frank Farris’s “5D Window,” created to his specifications by Hans the newsmagazine of the Mathematical Schepker. See the article on page 4. (Photo by Frank Farris.) Association of America (Incorporated).” Periodicals postage paid at Washington, DC and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: MAA FOCUS Deadlines Send address changes to MAA FOCUS, February March April Mathematical Association of America, P.O. Editorial Copy December 10 January 14 February 9 Box 90973, Washington, DC 20090-0973. Display Ads December22 January 28 February 23 ISSN: 0731-2040; Printed in the United States Employment Ads December 10 January 14 February 9 of America. 2 November 2008 MAA FOCUS Cross-Cultural Study About Math Attitudes a Media Hit On Friday, October 10, 2008 the story were media hits. By Saturday Math Whizzes;” the Calgary Herald used Notices of the American Mathematical morning, Rimer’s article was the second “Negative stereotyping robbing US of Society published an online version of most emailed Times story, only behind an math talent.” “Cross-Cultural Analysis of Students election politics op-ed. Within one day, with Exceptional Talent in Mathemati- a Google® search located 30 US news The impetus for the study came in Janu- cal Problem Solving,” an article by Titu stories and 23 international ones related ary 2005, when then Harvard President Andreescu, Joseph A. Gallian, Jonathan to the study, including ones written in Lawrence Summers suggested that factors M. Kane, and Janet E. Mertz. The article Chinese, German, Hungarian, and Ital- other than socialization and discrimina- is a comprehensive analysis of decades ian as well as English language stories tion could be the primary reason there are of data on students identified as having published in India, Canada, Australia, many more men than women in high-end profound math ability. It suggests that Thailand, and Malaysia among others. science and engineering positions in the cultural attitudes put American leadership Among the outlets were the New York US. Summers’ remarks prompted Janet in the mathematical sciences and related Post, Denver Post, AOL News, ABC News Mertz, a biochemist at the University of fields at risk. (online), MSNBC.com, Yahoo News, and Wisconsin-Madison whose child excelled Smashit.com. in the IMO and Putnam, to initiate the Working with an advance copy, Sara study. Mertz had long suspected that Rimer of The New York Times and The Orlando Sentinel ran an edito- cultural attitudes are the prime reason Carolyn Y. Johnson of The Boston Globe rial agreeing with the recommendations for the under representation of women wrote lengthy stories about the study that given in the study for correcting the and minorities among the top finishers in included quotes from the authors, some problem. Numerous newspapers and these ultra-high-level math competitions, of the students mentioned in the study, websites in India posted the news releases but could not find hard data to support her and Boston-area academics. Rimer’s or their own stories. MyNews.in used the belief. Andreescu, former leader of the piece, news releases written by Allyn title “US kids are math duds, so reveals US Math Olympiad team, Gallian and Jackson of the AMS and Terry Devitt a study;” Science News used “Numbers Kane joined in the study. The Notices of University of Wisconson-Madison don’t add up for U.S. girls;” Science- article can be found at http://www.ams. together with the authors, and a Reuters Daily.com used “US Culture Derails Girl org/notices/200810/tx081001248p.pdf. MAA to Host Open House During the Joint Mathematics Meetings The selection of Washington, D.C. as former Presidents that home to the upcoming Joint Mathemat- line the staircase, or by ics Meetings presents MAA members thumbing through old a special opportunity to see a different volumes of the journals side of their beloved Association. MAA in the Begle Room. headquarters will host an open house that will give its members a chance to visit the Shuttle buses marked Dolciani Mathematical Center, the MAA with an “MAA Open Carriage House, and Halmos River of House” sign will depart Bricks on Wednesday, January 7th from from the Marriott Ward- 3 p.m. until 6 p.m. man Park Hotel’s 24th Street entrance every The open house will give members a half hour from 3:00 p.m. chance to see the things that make MAA to 5:30 p.m. and return headquarters so unique, such as the every half hour from The MAA Carriage House spiral staircase winding throughout the 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Dolciani building, the newly renovated If meeting attendee’s and left onto Church Street to get to the Carriage House, and the way the River would rather metro to the headquarters Carriage House at 1781 Church Street. of Bricks duplicates the confluence of buildings, they can catch a red-line train MAA FOCUS Deadlines the Potomac and Anacostia rivers that at the Woodley Park Station headed Refreshments will be available during the open house. Additional information February March April outline the nation’s capital. Those who toward Glenmont and get off at Dupont will be available during the meetings at Editorial Copy December 10 January 14 February 9 participate in the open house will also be Circle. Leave through the Dupont Circle the MAA booth in the exhibit hall at the Display Ads December22 January 28 February 23 able to take a peek into the Association’s North exit and walk east on Q Street to Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. Employment Ads December 10 January 14 February 9 past by checking out the portraits of 18th Street. Take a right on 18th Street 3 MAA FOCUS November 2008 A Window on the Fifth Dimension By Frank A. Farris Is there enough mathematics in your home? What visual aids across the bay at the eastern foot of the Dumbarton Bridge. do you keep on hand for that inevitable moment when guests We spent more hours sorting through possibilities, which after want to know why you spend your life on mathematics? Feeling a time ceased to appear finite. The goal was to implement cer- a lack in this area, I commissioned glass artist Hans Schepker to tain rules from the mathematical original: Crossing one of the produce a window — from the fifth dimension? — based on an circular boundaries leads to a neighboring color; moving from image that came up in my research. It turned out splendidly, and the center outward should lead from white through pastels to you can see it on the cover of this issue of MAA FOCUS. vivid saturated colors and then to darkness at the outside. (The outer darkness was replaced by clear glass in order to help the The story of the design involves complex functions, color as window appear to float in its frame.) a visualization tool, and five-fold symmetry.
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