Math! Science! History!

Happy 11-11! t's Nigel Tufnel Day! If you've seen Spinal Tap, you know that D-minor is the saddest of all keys. You also know that Nigel didn't know the difference between inches and feet, much like the ancient Delians didn't know the difference between length and volume. The Delian Problem, also known as Doubling the Cube, provides a problem that is impossible to solve. This fun problem is defini...

If you think that you need a telescope to enjoy our gorgeous November night skies, think again! In 300 BCE Hipparchus invented the astrolabe. It was an all-purpose handy tool used to find the constellations in the night sky, as well as to measure rivers and buildings.  If you are interested in learning more about the astrolabe, please come visit me at www. MathScienceHistory.com . I'll have links...

On October 29, 1969 two letters were sent from UCLA to Stanford, and Lo! The Internet was Born! From there, the information freeway evolved into a speedway, and now, here we are! Downloading podcasts, watching movies, watching cat videos!  If you are interested in reading about its history and seeing photos of 3420 Boelter Hall, where it all began, come visit me at www.mathsciencehistory.com  !  T...

I have a secret about my celebrity crush. But we must be discrete about it! If you are interested in learning more about discrete math and my favorite Die Hard puzzle, please feel free to visit me at www.mathsciencehistory.com  and read more about it (there are visuals too).  To purchase Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life visit https://a.co/d/eU41Uun Also, while you are at my Website, please feel free t...

In 1870 Matilda Joslyn Gage published her tract "Woman as Inventor." This pamphlet listed many women in science who went unnoticed while their male counterparts received accolades. Even this year, not one woman received a Nobel in science or medicine. This podcast names the many women who deserved scientific accolades for their contributions to science. And, it lists several things we can do to fi...

Laura Maria Caterina Bassi received her Ph. D. at 21 years of age. She was the first woman to earn a professorship in physics at a university. As a trailblazer for women in STEM, she was one of the first women in science to accomplish so much! Her story is truly memorable.  If you are interested in reading more about the history of math and science, please visit my website, https://www.mathscience...

Pi is a wonderful, magical number. Pi is a mathematical constant that has over a trillion digits. But, in 250 BCE, it was only accurate to two digits. Around 250 BCE Archimedes wrote his treatise  Dimension of the Circle,  which is a brief body of work that describes the measurements of a circle, including his approximation of the value of pi. After that, the number went on and on and on..... If y...

John Dalton helped to usher in atomic research. Our current subatomic research has evolved from his very beginnings when he began to identify his elemental theories in chemical reactions in his first five elements. These five simple notations opened up a whole world of elemental calculations for future generations to discover.  If you are interested in reading more about his work and theories, you...

Long before our history books were written, many etchings were calculations. Math has been the foundation of our ancestral intellect. From etchings on bones to the geometrical calculations of our cosmos, math has guided us with every epiphany! This podcast is about the history of people, innovations, and theories that have spurred us on to the unimaginable discoveries of our ineffable future! Welc...

Welcome to Math! Science! History! , the podcast where the curious past meets the curious mind! I'm Gabrielle Birchak, an independent researcher, storyteller, and lifelong explorer of how math and science ideas take shape. In this show, I uncover the brilliant, bizarre, and often overlooked stories behind the development of math and science, from ancient Mesopotamian counting tablets to the strang...