ORMC Meetings • 2022-2023 Academic Year

There are many ways to characterize integers: primes versus composite, abundant versus deficient, even naughty versus nice. We will focus on the second of these, trying to make sense of the question, “what’s the probability an integer is abundant?” Exploring this question will compel us to think deeply about primes, and a menagerie of Greek letters, and even the question of naughty versus nice.

Students will learn set-theoretical foundations of probability and solve practice problems. Students will also have to save Alice and Bob from an evil dictator.

The lecture outlines an approach to elementary geometry different from the standard compass-and-ruler constructions. If one uses origami instead, the resulting algebraic structure (Galois group) is more rich. In particular, some problems not solvable by means of compass-and-ruler constructions, like trisecting an angle, become solvable. The room for the lecture is MS 4000A.

A guest lecture by Dr. Zuming Feng, to be given in MS 4000 A.