OLLI101432 - FRIDAY FORUM - Theorems as Masterpieces

Course Description

Theorems as Masterpieces

Date/Time: October 14, 10-11 AM
Location: Online via Zoom    

Hosted By: William Dunham, Research Associate in Mathematics, Bryn Mawr College

Here we shall discuss “theorems,” the logical building blocks of mathematics.  We consider the nature of theorems generally and describe how to prove them, both directly and indirectly.  To illustrate, there will be simple examples, and we’ll mention a few landmark theorems from such masters as Euclid, Archimedes, and Euler.  At talk’s end, we give a proof of one of history’s greatest results, the Pythagorean theorem, to illustrate the beauty of mathematical reasoning.

The presentation should suggest why a nicely proven theorem qualifies, in the words of Bertrand Russell, as “one of the highest forms of art.”

NOTE:  The talk is elementary and has no mathematical prerequisites … even though a geometric diagram or an algebraic expression might appear now and then.