A picture is worth a thousand words, so the saying goes. It should, therefore, follow that visual elements can generate interest in mathematics. One way to do this is to introduce “visual proofs” to our students. Though mathematicians do not accept visual proofs as formal proofs, these “proofs” explain why certain patterns exist in mathematical structures and numbers. Sadly, our education system completely misses this exciting style of presenting mathematical ideas.
In this talk, the speaker will present a sample of visual proofs. All these proofs are simple and intuitive, and most of the audience will be familiar with some of them. He has successfully used many of these visual proofs in lectures given to students (of 6th to 10th grade). The audience of this lecture is those who want to excite students about mathematics: these include teachers, parents, and math enthusiasts who enjoy spreading the joy of mathematics to the younger generation.
The main purpose of this lecture is to try to develop a repertoire of visual proofs and handouts that can bring joy and excitement to some of our mathematics classrooms. The speaker hopes to discuss not only the proofs themselves but also how they can be used as a pedagogical tool in our teaching.
We will include a charming proof of summing up a particular geometric series due to the great master Archimedes and the so-called ”two cake” proof of Pythagoras’ theorem.
About the Speaker:
Dr. Sarmad Abbasi was born in Khairpur Mir, Sindh, and finished his 12th grade from Public School Hyderabad. He continued studying mathematics and theoretical computer science first at the University of Georgia and then at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, eventually obtaining doctorate degree in computer science. For the past 20+ years, he has taught at various universities in Pakistan. He has been keenly interested in science, the philosophy of science, and its teaching. He has launched Math-Cat, a KZread channel to promote mathematics and theoretical computer science. Dr. Sarmad is also affiliated with Educative, an EdTech company. During his spare time, he conducts research in both mathematics and theoretical computer science. He reads philosophy and literature, and at times lectures about them.