I don't care how good you are at
calculus or how good you think you're not.
For about a week in ninth grade in
the back of my geometry class, I was
convinced -- as a 14-year-old -- that I
could prove Fermat's Last Theorem.
There's not a lot that you need to know
about the theorem other than it's a
question that a 14-year-old can
understand that's 350 years old, has
consumed dozens of mathematical careers
before me, and with no mathematical
training, I had absolutely not a prayer
of proving it. Also if I had been paying
attention to the in-class movie, I would
have realized that Andrew Wiles had already done so.
I want you to take a
look at some math problems that seem
simple that aren't quite so simple.
I want you to argue with a friend.
I want you to take a position.
I want you to have an opinion.
I want you to be excited about mathematics.
My name is Kate Penner and
I'm a preceptor here in the math
department at Harvard University.
If you're a student at the level of M, 1, or 21. . . 18 and 19 too,
you're welcome to join us this semester
for math meetups.
I don't care how good you are at calculus. I don't care how good
you think you're not at calculus.
Check out the Facebook link below.
I hope to see you there.
