Math! Science! History!

This year, February 28 is not the last day of the month! Happy Leap Year! If you aren't familiar with the origins of Leap Year, have I got a story for you!! I also explain how Leap Year is organized!  If you are interested in reading stories about the history of math and science, please feel free to visit me at my blog at www. MathScienceHistory.com !  To purchase Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life, vis...

It's Black History Month! Dr. Angie Turner King left a huge legacy in the world of black academia in STEM. She didn't just forge a path, she built a highway for African Americans in STEM. Her legacy includes Katherine Johnson and Jasper Brown, just to name a couple. She was voted as a favorite professor and she helped to change the landscape of academic diversity.  If you are interested in reading...

It's Black History Month! This week, I talk about Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson. She is America's first black, female physicist to earn her doctorate.  This month I am honoring the black, noble goddesses in STEM who inspire, motivate, and forge paths for those who have been marginalized. Each week I talk about one of my favorite sheroes who succeeded despite our structural racism and antiquated gender b...

It's Black History Month! This week, I introduce Dr. Roger Arliner Young. She was America's first black, female zoologist to get her doctorate.  This month I'll be honoring the black, noble goddesses in STEM who inspire, motivate, and forge paths for those who have been marginalized. Each week I'll talk about one of my favorite sheroes who succeeded despite our structural racism and antiquated gen...

January 27 marks the 188th anniversary of Lewis Carrol's birthday. Many people know him as the author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Many don't know that he was also a mathematician, who wove logic into his story.  If you are interested in seeing diagrams and an explanation of the logic that he used in the Mad Hatter Tea Party dialogue, or are interested in reading literature by scientists a...

In the 19th century, rollercoasters were new and exciting. Sometimes too exciting. Like, a 12 G-force, break your neck exciting! How was this even possible in 1895?! If you are interested in reading more about the physics and math of these early rollercoasters, or are interested in learning more about the history of math and science, please visit me at www. MathScienceHistory.com  ! To buy my book...

The story about Hypatia of Alexandria is almost 2,000 years old. She was one of our earliest female mathematicians, astronomers, philosophers, and professors. But above all of that, she was loved by Alexandria! So why was she murdered?! The answer is in the podcast! If you are interested in reading more about the history of math and science, please visit me on my blog at  www. MathScienceHistory.c...

The 2020s are upon us!! One hundred years ago, the 1920s produced a wealth of technology and discoveries! But, did you know that the other 20s since the first century brought us some amazing math, science, and technology?!  If you are interested in reading more about the history of math and science, please visit me on my blog at www. MathScienceHistory.com ! To purchase Hypatia: The Sum of Her Lif...

The holidays are upon us! What better way to celebrate than sharing a fun logic puzzle about five weird scientists and their holiday celebration. For the sake of the puzzle, let us just assume that these scientists are neighbors, and all exist in the same era. They include William Buckland, Tycho Brahe, Ilya Ivanovich Ivanov, Stubbins Ffirth, and Pythagoras. I will post my answers next week on my...

Admiral Grace Murray Hopper was born on December 9, 1906, in New York, New York. The story of her brilliance and her life is inspiring. She exemplified perseverance. From college to the Navy to her work with compilers, she never gave up! I have a video on my Website of her interview on 60 Minutes, which is one of my favorites. www. MathScienceHistory.com   To purchase Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life,...

When Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE, it destroyed yet preserved the ancient world of Herculaneum, along with the Villa de Papyri. In 1752, excavators discovered almost 1,800 scrolls, that today we are finally able to "unwrap" and read thanks to Artificial Intelligence. You can find more video, images, and more details about these ancient papyri at my Website www. MathScienceHistory.com   Thanks f...

Euclid's Elements  is considered one of the most foundational bodies of work in the field of mathematics. Written around 300 BCE (over 2,000 YEARS AGO!), it was a textbook that provided students the opportunity to learn most of the theories and propositions written at that time. However, even though it was groundbreaking, there was already a history of math that preceded this book, as you will fin...

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...