Keith Houston on the History of Pocket Calculators

Patented: History of Inventions | 16 August 2023 | 0h 45m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
Interview with Keith Houston about his book Empire of the Sum: The Rise and Reign of the Pocket Calculator. Discusses how humans did mathematics before calculators; the development of number systems, slide rules and mechanical calculators; and shares stories about key steps in the development of pocket calculators.

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How To Expect The Unexpected

Futureproof with Jonathan McCrea | 25 July 2023 | 0h 17m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
Interview with Kit Yates about his book How To Expect The Unexpected: The Science of Making Predictions and the Art of Knowing When Not To. Discusses randomness, the cognitive biases that get in the way of making good predictions, and offers tips on making better predictions.

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Mathematical Models w/ Erica Thompson

Talk Nerdy with Cara Santa Maria | 23 January 2023 | 1h 21m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
Interview with Erica Thompson about her book Escape From Model Land: How Mathematical Models Can Lead Us Astray and What We Can Do About It. Discusses the intersection of science, mathematics, and humanity, including how we make sense of data and use it to predict future outcomes.

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Tai-Danae Bradley on Algebra, Topology, Language, and Entropy

Sean Carroll’s Mindscape | 23 November 2021 | 1h 21m | Listen Later | iTunes | Spotify
Interview with Tai-Danae Bradley discussing her work using mathematical ideas from areas like category theory, topology, and quantum probability theory to analyze real-world phenomena like the structure of natural-language speech. A masterclass in the crisp communication of complex ideas.

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Ellen Peters on Innumeracy in the Wild: Misunderstanding and Misusing Numbers

New Books in Mathematics | 31 May 2021 | 1h 08m | Listen Later | iTunes | Spotify
Interview with Ellen Peters about her book Innumeracy in the Wild: Misunderstanding and Misusing Numbers. Describes the three components of numeric ability – objective numeracy, subjective numeracy, and the innate number sense – and how they vary within and across populations. Discusses the inequities caused by this variance in quantitative reasoning skills.

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