What is the length of Britain’s coastline? How does a frost crystal grow? How many questions are there in the problem set? Finding an answer to each of these requires some exploration of fractals.
The university experience extends beyond the classroom. It’s not just about coursework and studying, but about the connections and friendships that can last a lifetime.
But for many students, and especially for first-year students, it can be challenging to get over the feeling of discomfort that can accompany trying to meet new people.
As the fall semester begins, the Faculty of Mathematics welcomes six first-year students who have already distinguished themselves academically as recipients of the coveted Schulich Leader Scholarship.
In a superficial sense, mathematics is a human construction. 1+1=2 only insofar as we give meaning to numbers and symbols, in a similar way that we give meanings to nouns and verbs in language.
Researchers from the Cheriton School of Computer Science are working on new systems that increase the correctness and reliability of health-related searches.
Mathematicians and theoretical physicists explore multiple dimensions that go beyond the ones we understand with our common sense.
We can understand the three spatial dimensions as part of our direct lived experience. We can perhaps also understand time as a temporal dimension with some effort, bringing the number of dimensions up to four.
Entrepreneurs are the people who take chances with innovative ideas and business. They make things happen and break new ground.
In the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Waterloo, the entrepreneurial spirit is in our DNA. Many of our programs link with entrepreneurship. And numerous startups have grown from the work of our students and professors.
Movies are a cultural mirror that shows us who we are. They reflect our values and aspirations, but also our preconceived notions and assumptions. Movies about math and mathematicians are no different.
For example, many movies featuring mathematicians depict them as savants. The stereotypical savant character ranges from quirky genius to troubled outsider to dangerous deviant.
Mathematics is like a language.
Nowadays, it’s a language with the same symbols and meaning in every place it’s used. A multiplication sign is a multiplication sign everywhere, and everybody agrees on what a multiplication sign means.
But it wasn’t always so.
