How Not to Be Wrong with Jordan Ellenberg

Overview

Our Winter Core Maths Festival is comprised of six talks by seven inspirational speakers. We hope that these will enthuse, challenge and enlighten you and offer a springboard to the creation of fantastic contextualised maths lessons.

Who will benefit from attending?

These sessions are designed to appeal to all maths teachers, regardless of how much experience of Core Maths you have had, if any. 

We strongly believe that greater collaboration across departments can be hugely beneficial for students and encourage you to invite your science and social science colleagues to this talk.

Presenter

Professor Jordan Ellenberg

Internationally-best selling author of How Not To Be Wrong and Shape

Content

“A delight, full of simple yet deep insights about many areas of modern life” Alex Bellos

We are honoured that internationally-best selling author of How Not To Be Wrong and Shape, Jordan Ellenberg is speaking at this year’s Festival. Jordan is a professor of mathematics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with a Ph.D. in mathematics from Harvard and an MFA in creative writing from John Hopkins. He has written articles on mathematical topics in the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal.

In ‘How Not to be Wrong’, Jordan presents the surprising revelations to a multitude of diverse questions such as:

‘How early should you get to the airport?’

‘What does “public opinion” really represent?’

‘Why do tall parents have shorter children?’

In his talk, Jordan will debunk the view that the maths we learn at school is a dull set of rules, laid down by the ancients, not to be questioned. He will explore how maths touches everything we do and will allow us to see the hidden structures beneath the messy and chaotic surface of our daily lives.

This fascinating talk will ignite your curiosity and leave you with a host of responses to “when will I ever use that?”

Materials and Equipment

During the session, there will be opportunities to ask questions via the chat function on the platform but microphones and webcams are not necessary.

Eligibility

This course is free for teachers from state-funded schools, colleges and academies in England. Teachers based in other parts of the UK or in independent schools and colleges may apply, but places will only be allocated if there is availability.

Cost

This course is free for teachers from state-funded schools, colleges and academies in England. Teachers based in other parts of the UK or in independent schools and colleges may apply, but places will only be allocated if there is availability.