Math Problems: Stories about struggles with math
The Story Collider
Story Collider, Inc.
4.4 • 824 Ratings
🗓️ 5 January 2018
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week, we present two stories about the struggles "math people" face. Part 1: Lew Lefton tries to succeed as both a math professor and a math comedian. Part 2: Vanessa Vakharia faces her first day as student teacher of a math class. Lew Lefton is a faculty member in the Georgia Tech School of Mathematics and the Assistant Dean of Information Technology for the Georgia Tech College of Sciences. He also has the role of Assistant Vice President for Research Cyberinfrastructure at Georgia Tech. Lefton co-founded and is the acting executive director of Decatur Makers, a family-friendly makerspace in downtown Decatur. He is on the board of the Southeast Makers Alliance and has been involved as a co-producer of Maker Faire Atlanta since 2014. Lefton has a bachelor of science degree in math and computer science from New Mexico Tech, and a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Illinois. He moved to Decatur in 1999. Lefton is also an accomplished and experienced comedian who has done stand up and improv comedy for more than 30 years. Vanessa Vakharia is the founder and director of The Math Guru, a super cool boutique math & science tutoring studio in Toronto. She has her Bachelor's of Commerce, Teaching Degree, Diploma in Graphic Design and Master's in Math Education. She specializes in teenage engagement in mathematics education, with a focus on encouraging young women to pursue STEM related fields as well as reinventing media representations of females as they intersect with math. She travels globally engaging audiences with her workshop, “Imagining a World Where Kim Kardashian Loves Math,” encouraging teenagers, teachers, and EVERYONE to re-interpret and re-invent traditional stereotypes of what it means to be a “math person.” She is also a founding member of Goodnight, Sunrise, a rock n roll band where she plays the keytar and belts lead vocals. Yes, she totally wants to be a rock star, who wouldn’t? Mindy Kaling is her idol and Vanessa believes that she should be yours too.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi everyone. Before we start today's episode about math, I just wanted to let you guys know that we actually have a free show of math stories coming up this Thursday at the tipsy crow in San Diego, California. |
| 0:13.2 | Incredible mathematicians like Ken Ono and Piper Heron will be sharing their stories. So if you're in the San Diego area, check out our website, |
| 0:24.1 | storyclider.org, for more information. Hope to see you there. |
| 0:28.0 | A science story, huh? |
| 0:30.5 | Is NYU a scientist? |
| 0:33.3 | I felt. I felt. I was so... And I just thought, well... |
| 0:34.2 | It was that golden moment. |
| 0:37.3 | Because science was on my side. |
| 0:43.8 | Hi, everybody. |
| 0:49.1 | Welcome to the Story Collider. |
| 0:51.1 | I'm Liz Neely, executive director, and I'm filling in for Aaron Barker while she |
| 0:55.4 | explores the wilds of Boca Raton, Florida. This week, we're presenting two stories about the |
| 1:01.4 | challenges that math people face, whether they're teachers or stand-up comedians. Our first story is |
| 1:08.3 | from Lou Lefton. It was recorded in October 2017 at the Highland Inn Ballroom in Atlanta, Georgia. |
| 1:15.6 | The theme that night was identity. |
| 1:22.6 | My first time was in 1983. |
| 1:29.8 | It was in Champaign, Illinois, on the outskirts of town. |
| 1:33.0 | There was a nondescript cinder block white banquet hall. |
| 1:37.8 | People, about 100 people inside. |
| 1:40.3 | They were taken off their winter jackets and milling around. |
| 1:43.9 | The loud corner, you could tell where the bar was. |
| 1:47.1 | They were serving old style and big glass jugs of almond and burgundy. |
... |
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